'algorism' originates from the Old French 'algorisme', which was derived from the name of the Persian mathematician 'al-Khwarizmi', who introduced the decimal positional number system to the Western world.

'algorisme' transformed into the Middle English word 'algorism', and eventually became the modern English word 'algorism'.

Initially, it referred to the system of Arabic numerals, but over time it evolved to also mean a method of calculation using these numerals.