Pronunciation: ' sim(p)-s ə nz-
Function: noun
Etymology: Thomas Simpson † 1761 English mathematician
Date: circa 1875
: a method for approximating the area under a curve over a given interval that involves partitioning the interval by an odd number n + 1 of equally spaced ordinates and adding the areas of the n /2 figures formed by pairs of successive odd-numbered ordinates and the parabolas which they determine with their included even-numbered ordinates