quadrature of the circle

noun

Mathematics.

1. the insoluble problem of constructing, by the methods of Euclidean geometry, a square equal in area to a given circle.

Word History and Origins

Origin of quadrature of the circle¹

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

Yet, from time to time, treatises are published which boldly announce that they set forth the quadrature of the circle.

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Bolyai gives also, as his title indicates, a geometrical construction, in hyperbolic space, for the quadrature of the circle, and shows that the area of the greatest possible triangle, which has all its sides parallel and all its angles zero, is πι�, where i is what we should now call the space-constant.

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I do not know whether the phrase "Follies of Science" originated with him or not, but he enumerates the Quadrature of the Circle; the Duplication, or, as he calls it, the Multiplication of the Cube; the Perpetual Motion; the Philosophical Stone; Magic, and Judicial Astrology, as those known to him.

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The generally accepted list is as follows: The Quadrature of the Circle or, as it is called in the vernacular, "Squaring the Circle."

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De Morgan tells of a Jesuit who came all the way from South America, bringing with him a quadrature of the circle and a newspaper cutting announcing that a reward was ready for the discovery in England.

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