Notationerne {{math|sin<sup>&minus;1</sup>(''x'')}}, {{math|cos<sup>&minus;1</sup>(''x'')}}, {{math|tan<sup>&minus;1</sup>(''x'')}} osv. som blev indført af [[John Herschel]] i 1813<ref name="Cajori">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bBoPAAAAIAAJ |last=Cajori |first=Florian |author-link=Florian Cajori |title=A History of Mathematics |page=272 |edition=2 |date=1919 |publisher=[[The Macmillan Company]] |location=New York, USA}}</ref><ref name="Herschel_1813">{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qpRJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA8 |last=Herschel |first=John Frederick William |author-link=John Frederick William Herschel |title=On a remarkable Application of Cotes's Theorem |journal=Philosophical Transactions |page=8 |volume=103 |number=1 |date=1813 |publisher=Royal Society, London}}</ref> bruges også ofte. Denne metode er i logisk konflikt med notationer som {{math|sin<sup>2</sup>(''x'')}} som traditionelt bruges til betegne {{math|(sin(''x''))<sup>2</sup>}} og ikke {{math|sin(sin(''x''))}}. Risikoen for forveksling er dog begrænset, specielt da de reciprokke trigonometriske funktioner har egne navne. Ikke desto mindre råder nogle forfattere til at undgå denne notation pga. dens tvetydighed.<ref name="Korn_2000">{{cite book |title=Mathematical handbook for scientists and engineers: Definitions, theorems, and formulars for reference and review |url=https://archive.org/details/mathematicalhand00korn |first1=Grandino Arthur |last1=Korn |first2=Theresa M. |last2=Korn |edition=3<!-- (based on 1968 edition by McGrawHill, Inc.) --> |date=2000 |orig-year=1961 |publisher=[[Dover Publications, Inc.]] |location=Mineola, New York, USA |chapter=21.2.-4. Inverse Trigonometric Functions |page=[https://archive.org/details/mathematicalhand00korn/page/n828 811] |isbn=978-0-486-41147-7}}</ref>
Matematik