I made this one up -
No one is sure where the word "Algebra" really came from. The debate still continues in dusty professorial clubs across the world. Some say from the Arabic language, some say from Greek, but here is the real story.
Long ago there was this mediocre King, and he wanted desperately to be remembered for something, but he just couldn't think of any way to do that. One day, he heard some people talking about the cool formulas for figuring out things the sailors were using. How to tell how high a mast should be for a certain amount of sail, stuff like that. The mediocre King thought ... "A Ha!" Then he put his talents to work. He hired a bunch of scribes, sent them all out on the ships for 6 months to a year with pen and paper, and told them to report back as soon as ther ships returned. While out on the ocean, the lubberly scribes observed and noted many new and wonderful things. When they returned the mediocre King locked them up in cells in the dungeon, one by one, as they returned with the valuable info. When they all were back, and he had the notes to compile the Book that would make him famous, and just before he had them all done away with to protect his reputation, he felt a sudden stab of compassion. He gathered them all together in the main torture hall and spoke to them, saying: "You have served me well, and I will allow you a great honor in return - I will let you name this new science, just before I have William here chop your heads off. What name shall the world know this wonderful science by henceforth?" One and all, the poor little doomed scribes whispered " Algae Bra! Algae Bra! "

Anyways, imagine way back when in the Mediterranean, the Phoenician sailors just starting to make trade happen, and they were inventing all this new stuff while they learned how to do it better.