10 new mathematical symbols and their origin meaning and their uses
Answers
- +
plus sign ca. 1360 (abbreviation for Latin et resembling the plus sign) Nicole Oresme
- −
minus sign 1489 (first appearance of minus sign, and also first appearance of plus sign in print) Johannes Widmann
- √
radical symbol (for square root) 1525 (without the vinculum above the radicand) Christoff Rudolff
- (…)
parentheses (for precedence grouping) 1544 (in handwritten notes) Michael Stifel
1556 Niccolò Tartaglia
- =
equals sign 1557 Robert Recorde
- ×
multiplication sign 1618 William Oughtred
- ±
plus-minus sign 1628
- ∷
proportion sign
- n√
radical symbol (for nth root) 1629 Albert Girard
- <
- >
strict inequality signs (less-than sign and greater-than sign) 1631 Thomas Harriot
- xy
superscript notation (for exponentiation) 1636 (using Roman numerals as superscripts) James Hume
1637 (in the modern form) René Descartes
- %
percent sign ca. 1650 unknown
- ÷
division sign (a.k.a. obelus) 1659 Johann Rahn.