The equal sign, equals sign, or = is a mathematical symbol used to indicate equality. It was invented in 1557 by Robert Recorde. The equals sign is placed between the things stated to be equal. In mathematics, a set of symbols is frequently used in mathematical expressions. ... See also the disambiguation page title equality. ... Events Spain is effectively bankrupt. ... Robert Recorde (c. ...

History

The = symbol that is now universally accepted in mathematics for equality was first used by Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde in The Whetstone of Witte (1557). The original form of the symbol was much wider (longer) than the present form. In his book[1], Recorde explains his design: to avoid the tediouse repetition of these woordes: is equalle to : I will sette as I doe often in woorke use, a pair of paralleles, or Gemowe [i.e. "twin"] lines of one lengthe, thus: =, bicause noe .2. thynges, can be moare equalle. According to Scotland's St Andrews University Maths History website[2], "The symbol = was not immediately popular. The symbol || was used by some and æ (or œ), from the word 'æqualis' meaning equal, was widely used into the 1700s." Jump to: navigation, search National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English, Welsh Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff First Minister Rhodri Morgan Area  - Total Ranked 3rd UK 20,779 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 3rd UK 2,903,085... A mathematician is a person whose area of study and research is mathematics. ... Events Spain is effectively bankrupt. ... Timeline of Scottish history Caledonia List of not fully sovereign nations Subdivisions of Scotland National parks (Scotland) Traditional music of Scotland Flower of Scotland Wars of Scottish Independence National Trust for Scotland Historic houses in Scotland Castles in Scotland Museums in Scotland Abbeys and priories in Scotland Gardens in Scotland... University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews was founded between 1410-1413 and is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the United Kingdom. ... Jump to: navigation, search The word mathematics comes from the Greek μάθημα (máthema) which means science, knowledge, or learning; μαθηματικός (mathematikós) means fond of learning. Today, the term refers to a specific body of knowledge - the rigorous, deductive study of numbers, shapes, patterns, and change. ... Jump to: navigation, search Events and trends The Bonneville Slide blocks the Columbia River near the site of present-day Cascade Locks, Oregon with a land bridge 200 feet (60 m) high. ...

The invention of the equals sign is commemorated in St Mary's Church, Tenby, Wales. St Marys Church, Tenby, is a church located in the town of Tenby in western Wales. ... Jump to: navigation, search Harbour of Tenby in Nov, 2001 Tenby (Welsh: Dinbych-y-Pysgod, fortlet of the fishes) is a town in Pembrokeshire, west Wales, lying on Carmarthen Bay. ... Jump to: navigation, search National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location within the UK Official languages English, Welsh Capital Cardiff Largest city Cardiff First Minister Rhodri Morgan Area  - Total Ranked 3rd UK 20,779 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 3rd UK 2,903,085...

Related symbols

A symbol used to denote items that are approximately equal is ≈, and the symbol used to denote when items are not equal is ≠ (most programming languages, which are limited to the ASCII character set, use "!=" or "<>" to represent "not equal to"; "!=" has carried over into newsgroups and internet forums). The symbol ≡ is often used to indicate an identity, or a congruence relation in modular arithmetic. An approximation is an inexact representation of something that is still close enough to be useful. ... Jump to: navigation, search A programming language or computer language is a standardized communication technique for expressing instructions to a computer. ... Jump to: navigation, search There are 95 printable ASCII characters, numbered 32 to 126. ... Jump to: navigation, search A newsgroup is a repository, usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from many users at different locations. ... Jump to: navigation, search Gaia Online, the largest English language forum-based community as of April 2005 — powered by a modified version of phpBB. An Internet forum is a web application which provides for discussion, often in conjunction with online communities. ... In mathematics, an identity is an equality that remains true regardless of the values of any variables that appear within it. ... In mathematics and especially in abstract algebra, a congruence relation or simply congruence is an equivalence relation that is compatible with some algebraic operation(s). ... Jump to: navigation, search Modular arithmetic is a system of arithmetic for integers, where numbers wrap around after they reach a certain value — the modulus. ...

In programming languages, the equal sign may either denote a boolean operator to test equality of values (sometimes a double equal sign ==), or it may denote an assignment (sometimes denoted with a colon equals :=). In logical calculus, logical operators or logical connectors serve to connect statements into more complicated compound statements. ... In most imperative computer programming languages, the assignment operation is one of the basic operations. ... Jump to: navigation, search A colon is a punctuation mark, with one dot above another, e. ...

See also

• Equality (mathematics)
• Plus and minus signs
• Double hyphen

See also the disambiguation page title equality. ... The plus (+) and minus (−) signs are used universally to represent the operations of addition and subtraction, and have been extended to many other meanings, more or less analogous. ... Double hyphen in the Fraktur typeface. ...

References

Cajori, Florian (1993). A History of Mathematical Notations, New York: Dover (reprint). ISBN 0486677664

External links

• Earliest Uses of Symbols of Relation
• Image of the page of The Whetstone of Witte on which the equal sign is introduced