Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Arithmetic \A*rith"me*tic\, n. [OE. arsmetike, OF. arismetique,
   L. arithmetica, fr. Gr. ? (sc. ?), fr. ? arithmetical, fr. ?
   to number, fr. ? number, prob. fr. same root as E. arm, the
   idea of counting coming from that of fitting, attaching. See
   {Arm}. The modern Eng. and French forms are accommodated to
   the Greek.]
   1. The science of numbers; the art of computation by figures.

   2. A book containing the principles of this science.

   {Arithmetic of sines}, trigonometry.

   {Political arithmetic}, the application of the science of
      numbers to problems in civil government, political
      economy, and social science.

   {Universal arithmetic}, the name given by Sir Isaac Newton to
      algebra.