The Origins Of The Word 'Calculus'

I came across something recently that I found a bit shocking.

You might too, especially if you're scientifically inclined.

But first a disclaimer. 

I honestly don't know if it's true, although it does make some sense and sounds plausible. 

It concerns the origins of the word 'calculus'.

Sounds innocent enough, right? Calculus is the mathematical study of change. What could be shocking about that? 

Conventional wisdom has it that calculus was invented by either Gottfried Leibniz or Isaac Newton in the 17th century (in what came to be known as the Leibniz–Newton calculus controversy) and is named after the Latin for a small stone on an abacus frame.

But it seems someone else got there first...

Apparently there was an ancient astronomy school in India, near Calcutta, that had been studying maths for over 2500 years and had discovered not just calculus but even more complex maths centuries earlier. It is here that calculus really gets its name!  

If you are implying that there is a relation between the name 'Calcutta' and the word 'calculus', just bear in mind that the British invented the town's name and that as such it didn't exist until the 17th century ... 

A nice anecdote, among many, about the possible origin:

 "A British merchant was travelling through the village, when he came upon a peasant stacking hay into the barn. 

Not knowing where he was, the merchant asked the peasant. 

He didn't, of course, understand English, and guessed that the man must be inquiring about the date the crop was harvested.

 In his own language, he replied "Kāl Kāʈa" which in Bengali means "harvested yesterday" (Kal – Yesterday, Kāʈa – cut, which here means harvested). The merchant was happy in the knowledge that he had learned about the name of the place, which became in the English transcription, "Calcutta".