sieve of Er|a|tos|the|nes

sieve of Er|a|tos|the|nes «_EHR uh TOS thuh _NEEZ»,

a method for finding prime numbers by writing down a series of whole numbers, beginning with 2, then crossing out all the second numbers except 2, all the third except 3, and so on until all but the prime numbers remain. The method was invented by Eratosthenes, 276?-194? _B.C., a Greek mathematician.