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The word "obelus" comes from ὀβελός (obelós), the Ancient Greek word for a sharpened stick, spit, or pointed pillar. [1] This is the same root as that of the word 'obelisk'. [2] In mathematics, the first symbol is mainly used in Anglophone countries to represent the mathematical operation of division and is called an obelus. [3]
Three variants of obelus glyphs. The dagger symbol originated from a variant of the obelus, originally depicted by a plain line − or a line with one or two dots ÷. [7] It represented an iron roasting spit, a dart, or the sharp end of a javelin, [8] symbolizing the skewering or cutting out of dubious matter.
The division sign (÷) is a mathematical symbol consisting of a short horizontal line with a dot above and another dot below, used in Anglophone countries to indicate the operation of division. This usage, though widespread in some countries, is not universal and the symbol has a different meaning in other countries.
The obelus was introduced by Swiss mathematician Johann Rahn in 1659 in Teutsche Algebra. [10]: 211 The ÷ symbol is used to indicate subtraction in some European countries, so its use may be misunderstood. [11] In some non-English-speaking countries, a colon is used to denote division: [12]:
Johann Rahn [1] (Latinised form Rhonius) (10 March 1622 – 25 May 1676) was a Swiss mathematician who is credited with the first use of the division sign, ÷ (a repurposed obelus variant) [2] and the therefore sign, ∴. [3] The symbols were used in Teutsche Algebra, published in 1659.
A mathematical symbol is a figure or a combination of figures that is used to represent a mathematical object, an action on mathematical objects, a relation between mathematical objects, or for structuring the other symbols that occur in a formula. As formulas are entirely constituted with symbols of various types, many symbols are needed for ...
An obelus (symbol: ÷ or †, plural: obeluses or obeli) is a symbol consisting of a short horizontal line with a dot above and another dot below, and in other uses it is a symbol resembling a small dagger. In mathematics it is mainly used to represent the mathematical operation of division. It is therefore commonly called the division sign.
Greek letters are used in mathematics, science, engineering, and other areas where mathematical notation is used as symbols for constants, special functions, and also conventionally for variables representing certain quantities. In these contexts, the capital letters and the small letters represent distinct and unrelated entities.