Short answer: No one knows.
Long answer: Some people speculate it's short for "modulus". Others suggest that it's m because the letters m, n, p, etc, are used to represent parameters. But there's no substantial evidence for either claim.
It definitely doesn't come from the French verb to climb, monter. Noted French mathematicians such as Rene Descartes never used m to designate slope. French math courses today use the form y = ax + c.
Chat with our AI personalities
It is not documented why the letter m was chosen for slope. However, mathematician John Conway suggested that m could mean 'modulus of slope'.
This is true for many reson the answer is that it used to be called "module of slope" but now its just called slope.
If you mean: y = mx+b then the slope of the line is m and the y intercept is b
In slope intercept form, m IS the slope. y = mx + b slope is change in height divided by change in x direction.
If you mean: y = mx+b then 'm' is the slope and 'b' is the y intercept for a straight line equation