The Etymology of "Algebra" and "Algorithm"
The word "al-jabr" in the title of al-Khwarizmi’s chief work, through Latin translation, became "algebra," the internationally common name for modern algebra; his own name "al-Khwarizmi," transliterated by medieval Latin scholars as "Algorithmi," thereafter further evolved into "algorithm," a core term of modern computer science — the name of a ninth-century Baghdad mathematician thus accidentally became the direct etymological source of two of the most basic concept-words shaping the modern digital world.
An Emissary of the Indian Numeral System
Al-Khwarizmi wrote a treatise systematically introducing the decimal numeral system originating in India (including "0," a revolutionary numerical concept), and this system, brought to Europe through the Arab world, gradually replaced the clumsy and inconvenient Roman numeral notation, greatly simplifying the efficiency of commercial bookkeeping and scientific calculation; though the original birthplace of this numeral system was India, because it was brought to Europe through the works of Arab scholars, Europeans thereafter long mistakenly called it "Arabic numerals," a name still used today.