I come via Latin from Greek,
Step in the direction of something big, so to speak.The scholars know me very well,
Without me, they may fail.I provide a helping hand to all,
and found sometimes on flowers so small.Though stepping stone, I am always a minor,
But I always make my dependent finer.
who am I?
Note. I am not sure about word-play tag, but I think it should be there
Hint:
Everyone come across this thing in middle/high school or in college, but most of us ignores it wholeheartedly
I think the word you are looking for is
Lemma
I come via Latin from Greek, Step in the direction of something big, so to speak.
The most common meaning of lemma as an intermediate theorem in a proof has Latin origin: lemma, from Greek lambanein, to take. See Lemma etymology
The scholars know me very well, Without me, they may fail.
Lemmas are important subsidiary results for larger mathematical theorems.
Also in lexicography a lemma is the canonical or dictionary form of a set of words.
For example:
run, runs, ran and running are forms of the same lexeme, with run as the lemma. Lexeme, in this context, refers to the set of all the forms that have the same meaning, and lemma refers to the particular form that is chosen by convention to represent the lexeme. In lexicography, this unit is usually also the citation form or headword by which it is indexed.
I provide a helping hand to all, and found sometimes on flowers so small.
The flower clue - a second meaning of lemma is the lower of the two bracts that enclose each floret in a grass spikelet which has Greek origin Greek from lepein, to peel.
Though stepping stone, I am always a minor, But I always make my dependent finer
A lemma is a minor building block for a theorem - but can be very difficult : Fundamental lemma
Going way out in left field...
Abacus
previous answer that I don't remember
I come via Latin from Greek,
Greek root, latin evolved
Step in the direction of something big, so to speak.
Counting, small to large
The scholars know me very well, Without me, they may fail.
Abacus around for a long time.
I provide a helping hand to all, and found sometimes on flowers so small.
Manual/hand device. Possible reference to chrysanthemum stone, possibly Gypsophila, or baby's breath, whose name is derived from the fact that all the flowers in this family thrive on soil high in gypsum. Gypsum might have been a common material for the abacus! Wow, way tangential!
Though stepping stone, I am always a minor, But I always make my dependent finer
Early abacus' were made from stone, it's primitive (stepping), it will make a mathematician finer because of the way it makes you think.
Answer:
Dewey Decimal Classification
I come via Latin from Greek,
Decimal is from latin root
Step in the direction of something big, so to speak.
helps you find things
The scholars know me very well, Without me, they may fail.
used in libraries, without which it would be hard to find books
I provide a helping hand to all,
helps anyone who uses it, easy to use
and found sometimes on flowers so small.
dew is found on flowers in the mornings
Though stepping stone, I am always a minor,
stepping stone to actual knowledge, minor = decimal
But I always make my dependent finer.
The classification works by category/subcategory making the search results finer
My answer is:
Prime Numbers
I come via Latin from Greek,
My origins are from the Greeks, but the word "prime" is derived from Latin.
Step in the direction of something big, so to speak.
They increase without end.
The scholars know me very well,
Scholars study them constantly.
Without me, they may fail.
Without them many theorems would fail.
I provide a helping hand to all,
They are found and used in many applications.
and found sometimes on flowers so small.
Flowers frequently have a prime number of petals.
Though stepping stone, I am always a minor,
They cause all of the other integers to exist even though they are fewer in number.
But I always make my dependent finer.
All of the other integers are derived from primes causing all integers to be separated only by 1.
Answer:
A stem.
I come via Latin from Greek
Many words stem from Latin and Greek.
Scholars know me very well
Same as above
I provide a helping hand to all
A stem is defined as something that is supportive
Found sometimes on flowers so small
Obviously the stem of a flower
I am always a minor
The long part of minor music notes are called stems
But I always make my dependent finer
I think this is referring to the use of stems in language again
My answer is :
Fibonacci Sequence
I come via Latin from Greek
Inspired by Greek's "Golden Ratio" but developed by Italian Fibonacci
Step in the direction of something big
The sequence is infinite
The scholars know me very well,
Primary mathematic principle
Without me, they may fail.
Principle used by mathematicians
I provide a helping hand to all,
Used from beginner to advanced maths
found sometimes on flowers so small.
Fibonacci Sequence can be seen in flowers
Though stepping stone, I am always a minor,
Basic principle taught in maths
But I always make my dependent finer.
Improve math abilities
My answer:
Beta
I come via Latin from Greek,
The letter Beta comes from the Greek alphabet and is also found in the latin alphabet
Step in the direction of something big, so to speak.
Could be a step in the direction of something big because of the importance of letters for civilization. Or a step towards something big because Beta is also number 2, so the first step to bigger numbers.
The scholars know me very well, Without me, they may fail.
Beta is used in maths and economics, without knowledge of this students will fail their tests.
I provide a helping hand to all,
Not sure about this one.
and found sometimes on flowers so small.
Beta looks like B, which sounds like Bee, which is found on flowers.
Though stepping stone, I am always a minor, But I always make my dependent finer.
In equations there are often multiple betas, but they all help to explain the dependent variable.
the answer is
pi or pythagoras theorem
i come from latin via greek
both are originated from the greek culture and travelled to all over the world
Step in the direction of something big
pythagoras theorem and value of pi origin is for human civilization development.
The scholars know me very well,
all students of university or colleges knows very well about them
Without me, they may fail.
if we do not know the value of pi or does not calulate the right hypotneus we may fail in our exam
I provide a helping hand to all,
they provide to the correct accuracy to lauch the space shuttle
found sometimes on flowers so small.
it related to golden ratio i think so
Though stepping stone, I am always a minor,
we do not know how much they gave to human civilization
But I always make my dependent finer.
but their contribution is always finer
My answer is:
A letter
I come from Latin via Greek
A lot of Latin letters came from Greek.
Step in the direction of something big so to speak
Letters are a sign of recognition and can help you with your life such as job opportunities and awards.
The scholars know me very well
Scholars receive a letter of recommendation from schools in exchange for free/discounted tuition and other perks.
Without me they fail
Scholars should be able to read, write and speak letters in order to actually pass their classes.
I provide a helping hand to all
Letters help us read and write out our statements.
Found sometimes on flowers so small
Letters are found on the 6 letter flower "clover"
Though stepping stone, I'm always a minor.
Letters are the minor courses associated with some major courses, such as Arts and Sciences. Letters are used in all the subjects as a way of reading and writing.
But I always make my dependent finer
Letters are a symbol of recognition to the dependent, thus making them better. They are also forms of invitation to a special event or gathering
And as for the Note...
You were probably confused that it shouldn't be in the word play tag because, technically, Letters A-Z aren't words, but letter is a word.
My answer is:
Hypothesis
I come via Latin from Greek,
My origins are from the Greeks, but the word "hypothesis" is derived from Latin.
Step in the direction of something big, so to speak.
A step in the direction to a general theory.
The scholars know me very well,
Scholars have been proposing them extremely frequently for millennia.
Without me, they may fail.
If you don't propose one, you may go off on a tangent in your pursuit of knowledge.
I provide a helping hand to all,
A hypothesis helps anyone in the search for truth.
and found sometimes on flowers so small.
There are many hypotheses about flowers, especially flower growth (Fibonacci/Primes).
Though stepping stone, I am always a minor,
Each hypothesis is a small step toward the ultimate prize of a general theory.
But I always make my dependent finer.
Over time, all of the hypotheses will eventually yield a theory.
My answer is:
Evolution
Explanation:
I come via Latin from Greek,
The word has its origins in Latin.
Step in the direction of something big, so to speak.
Evolution results in organisms better adapted to survive
The scholars know me very well,
Without me, they may fail.
Scholars study it.
I provide a helping hand to all,
Evolution results in offspring better suited to survive, thus helping the species.
and found sometimes on flowers so small.
Even flowers show evolutionary traits.
Though stepping stone, I am always a minor,
Over time, evolution can result in big changes, but it is a small change at a time and is slow.
But I always make my dependent finer.
Again, the offspring (dependants) are better suited to survive.
