There are oddball holidays all over the place, and some have an extremely logical location on the calendar.
Star Wars Day is May 4th, as in "May the force be with you," and Pi Day is March 14, since the first three numerals of the infinitely repeating number pi (π) are 3.14.
Pi is maybe the most famous special number, partly because some folks with a gift for memorization like to learn and recite pi to an absurd number of digits. You can check out the first million digits here. Or you can start memorizing the first bunch right now:
3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058...
So while you're pondering pi or counting sheep, take a break to consider some mathy terms in honor of Pi Day.
What are yout plans for Pi Day? How about joining Vocabulary.com in a special Pi Day Vocabulary Jam on 3/14 at 3:14 p.m. EST? Here's how to join us.
And if you want to spend even more time studying the parlance of pi, check out this vocabulary list: Pi Day.
irrational
To be irrational is to throw reason aside, doing things that make no sense, like putting orange juice on your corn flakes, corn flakes on your pizza, or pizza on your bookshelf. So what does this have to do with math? Well, there are irrational numbers. I have always loved this term, maybe because the logical, cold world of mathematics feels like it could use a wild card, stirring up trouble willy-nilly. In math, irrational numbers are real numbers that can't be expressed as rational numbers such as 1,788 or -44. Pi is an example — thus the endlessly repeating digits — which means Pi Day should be part of Irrational Numbers Awareness Month.
circumference
This word refers to a length, but an ultra-specific one: the length of a circle, if you went all the way around the horn. You can talk about the circumference of any circle, from a ball to a globe to the globe. When someone travels all the way around the world, you can say they circumnavigated the planet.
digit
While your fingers can be called digits, in the land of math, digits are numbers — specifically the spaces taken up by numbers. A number like 8 has one digit, while 2,089,432,666,821,308 has 16. People often talk about digits when discussing salary: if you're pulling down six digits, you're making at least $100,000 a year. Making seven or eight digits is even better (and rarer). When you get someone's phone number, you can say you got their digits.
infinite
If you like books, movies, TV, and other fiction because they have the ability to blow your mind,
but you think math is a bore, consider the concept of the infinite. An infinite number — like Pi — has no end. You could never get to the end of it, even if you kept counting all day, every day, for the rest of your life. An infinite number, like numbers themselves, never ends, man. The noun form is infinity, which can apply to anything without an end or limit. I like to think about massive, unknowable concepts like infinity when I'm frustrated with paying my taxes or figuring out why my knees hurt. The upcoming superhero blockbuster Avengers: Infinity War is named for the Infinity Gauntlet, a glove-like weapon that gives the wearer limitless power and is on my Christmas list.
fraction
A fraction is a part of something. In math, that means a number such as ¼ or 12/8. When people use the word more loosely, it usually refers to a tiny part of something: just an itty-bitty bit. If a fraction of voters support blowing up the moon, that doesn't indicate a ton of support, which is understandable, because what did the moon do to anybody?
arithmetic
This word is often used as a synonym for math, but it's actually just part of math. Arithmetic is the stuff a calculator can help you with: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. This is a pretty essential part of math, and it's a big part of school, thus the phrase "reading, writing, and 'rithmetic." However, there's a lot more to math than just arithmetic, as anyone who's studied algebra, calculus, or geometry knows. These types of math involve shapes, formulas, symbols, and concepts that go far beyond the basics of arithmetic.
calculate
To calculate is to do some arithmetic, like if you calculated that you were three miles from home or owed twenty dollars for dinner plus tip. Besides math, this word is used metaphorically for others kinds of figuring out. Often, calculating is a synonym for thinking. In that figurative sense, calculate has a bit of a heartless connotation. A ruthless, severe person can be described as cold and calculating.
integer
Fractions are parts of numbers, but plenty of numbers are whole and complete, thank you very much. A fancy math term for a whole number is integer. 34 is an integer, but ¾ is not. Whole doesn't have to mean positive: -34, -9000, and -2 are all integers too.
It doesn't take much calculation to know that math terms will help you in English and math class, so that's a vocabulary bargain. They won't help you in history or gym, but such is life.
