In combinatorics and in experimental design, a Latin square is an n × n array filled with n different symbols, each occurring exactly once in each row and exactly once in each column. Here is an example:
| A | B | C |
| C | A | B |
| B | C | A |
The name "Latin square" was inspired by mathematical papers by Leonhard Euler, who used Latin characters as symbols. Of course, other symbols can be used instead of Latin letters: in the above example, the alphabetic sequence A, B, C can be replaced by the integer sequence 1, 2, 3.
Read more about Latin Square: Reduced Form, Applications, Heraldry
Famous quotes containing the words latin and/or square:
“Is there no Latin word for Tea? Upon my soul, if I had known that I would have let the vulgar stuff alone.”
—Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953)
“In old times people used to try and square the circle; now they try and devise schemes for satisfying the Irish nation.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)