A vinculum is a horizontal line placed over a mathematical expression, used to indicate that it is to be considered a group. Vinculum is Latin for "chain", reflecting the function of the symbol. A mathematical expression is a string of symbols which describes (or expresses) a (potential or actual) computation using operators and operands. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

Examples of its use include the case of a group of infinitely repeating digits, for example,

It is also used in common arithmetic to denote that the numerator is being divided by the denominator as a whole group. Arithmetic or arithmetics (from the Greek word αριθμός = number) is the oldest and simplest branch of mathematics, used by almost everyone, for tasks ranging from simple daily counting to advanced science and business calculations. ...

It is also used in the notation of a radical to indicate the radicand whose root is being indicated. In the next case, the quantity ab + 2 is the radicand, and thus has a vinculum over it. In mathematics, an nth root of a number a is a number b, such that bn=a. ... A radicand is a mathematical expression whose root is being considered in a radical. ...

It is also used to show the repeating terms in a periodic continued fraction. Quadratic irrational numbers are the only numbers that have these. In mathematics, a quadratic irrational, also known as a quadratic surd or quadratic irrationality, is an irrational number that is the solution to some quadratic equation with rational coefficients. ...

The vinculum is also sometimes used in Boolean algebra, where it serves to indicate a group of expressions whose logical result is to be negated, as in In abstract algebra, a Boolean algebra is an algebraic structure (a collection of elements and operations on them obeying defining axioms) that captures essential properties of both set operations and logic operations. ... Negation (i. ...

The vinculum should not be confused with a similar-looking vector notation, e.g. "vector from A to B", or "vector named a". In physics and in vector calculus, a spatial vector is a concept characterized by a magnitude, which is a scalar, and a direction (which can be defined in a 3-dimensional space by the Euler angles). ...

External Links: [Periodic Continued Fraction]