To take away a number or amount from another; to remove or deduct. One of the four basic arithmetic operations.
From Latin subtrahere, from sub- (under, from below) + trahere (to draw, pull). Originally meant 'to draw from underneath,' with the mathematical sense developing in medieval Latin.
Subtraction is cognitively harder than addition - children typically master addition first because our brains naturally accumulate information, while subtraction requires the more complex mental operation of actively removing or undoing, explaining why 'carrying the one' feels easier than 'borrowing.'
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