Prime factor exponent notation


In his 1557 work The Whetstone of Witte, British mathematician Robert Recorde proposed an exponent notation by prime factorisation, which remained in use up until the eighteenth century and acquired the name Arabic exponent notation. The principle of Arabic exponents was quite similar to Egyptian fractions; large exponents were broken down into smaller prime numbers. Squares and cubes were so called; prime numbers from five onwards were called sursolids.
Although the terms used for defining exponents differed between authors and times, the general system was the primary exponent notation until René Descartes devised the Cartesian exponent notation, which is still used today.
This is a list of Recorde's terms.
Cartesian indexArabic indexRecordian symbolExplanation
1Simple-
2Square z-
3Cubiccꝭ-
4Zenzizenzic zzsquare of squares
5First sursolidßfirst prime exponent greater than three
6Zenzicubiczcꝭsquare of cubes
7Second sursolidsecond prime exponent greater than three
8Zenzizenzizenzic zzzsquare of squared squares
9Cubicubiccꝭcꝭcube of cubes
10Square of first sursolidsquare of five
11Third sursolidthird prime number greater than 3
12Zenzizenzicubiczzcꝭsquare of square of cubes
13Fourth sursolid
14Square of second sursolidzBßsquare of seven
15Cube of first sursolidcꝭßcube of five
16Zenzizenzizenzizenziczzzz"square of squares, squaredly squared"
17Fifth sursolid-
18Zenzicubicubiczcꝭcꝭ-
19Sixth sursolid-
20Zenzizenzic of first sursolidzzß-
21Cube of second sursolidcꝭBß-
22Square of third sursolidzCß-

By comparison, here is a table of prime factors: