  In Babylonian mathematics two Sumerian words of fractions occur, which were
originally used in non-mathematical texts. They are igi-n-g\'al "the reciprocal
of (the number) n", which is often abbreviated to igi-n, and igi-te-en whose
meaning is somewhat abstract, that is, "a proportion (of something)" or "the
ratio (of something to another)"(1). Thus the mathematical meanings of the two
terms are quite clear, but we have not been able to clarify their literal
meanings or their origins so far.
  In the present paper I shall offer a most probable interpretation of the
early term, igi-n-g\'al, and a definite solution to the etymology of the later
term, igi-te-en, both of which are based on my analysis of several mathematical
terms that concern multiplication or division.
