Euclid's lemma

Meaning

Noun

• The proposition that if a prime number p divides an arbitrary product ab of integers, then p divides a or b or both;
  slightly more generally, the proposition that for integers a, b, c, if a divides bc and gcd(a, b) = 1, then a divides c;
  the proposition that for elements a, b, c of a given principal ideal domain, if a divides bc and gcd(a, b) = 1, then a divides c.

Origin

• Named after ancient Greek mathematician Euclid of Alexandria (fl. 300 BCE). A version of the proposition appears in Book VII of his Elements.