What is "an Algebra"?

Question

My Master's teacher asked this question and asked us to use any means necessary to answer it.

Note the difference between: "What IS algebra?"

He specifically asked: "What is 'an algebra'?"

Anyone have any ideas?

Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

Well, "algebra" is derived from the Arabic "al jabr", which I think referred to "bone setter" or "bone fixer" or something like that.

He is probably trying to get a response like "a field is a group upon which two operations have been defined".