[r-t] "Factorial"

[Hayden Charles]

Richard Smith wrote on 17/03/2020 14:55:
> 
> Does anyone know when the word "factorial" was coined?  I seem to have 
> lost my access to the OED at the moment.
> 
> RAS

Assuming you mean the n! type of factorial, OED says, 'This notation was 
introduced by C. Kramp ( Élémens d'arithmétique universelle (1808) p. v).

First usage quotation given by OED is :

1869   J. J. Raven Church Bells Cambridgeshire 38   The number of 
changes that can be rung on a peal of bells is the factorial of the 
number of the bells.

HJC