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.
Modern English dictionary
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