The + and − Signs Took Centuries to Conquer Math—Here’s How They Won
Math’s most familiar symbols—the plus and minus signs—weren’t always so simple. For centuries, European mathematicians scribbled out words like *più* and *meno* or used letters like P (for “more”) and M (for “less”) to mark addition and subtraction. Luca Pacioli, the 15th-century monk-turned-math-guru, codified those clunky notations in his 1494 tome *Summa de arithmetica*, but the symbols we use today were still a generation away.
A German Merchant and a Shorthand Revolution
In 1489, Johannes Widmann—a merchant and math teacher from Leipzig—dropped the first hint of what was to come. His arithmetic treatise introduced the + and − signs, though he reserved them for tracking surpluses and deficits, not arithmetic operations. It wasn’t until 1518 that Henricus Grammateus, a German printer and mathematician, repurposed them for addition and subtraction in his work. The shift stuck.
By 1557, Robert Recorde, the Welsh physician and math popularizer, had cemented their place in British textbooks. The +, likely borrowed from the Latin *et* (“and”), and the −, possibly a slashed *m* or a macron over the letter, had finally won the day.
From Math to Marketing: How the Plus Sign Became a Brand’s Best Friend
Today, the + does double duty. In equations, it’s a precise operator. In ads and logos, it’s a promise—one that *TIME* magazine calls “the ultimate shorthand for ‘more, better, or premium.’” Disney+, Apple News+, Flour + Water: the symbol’s clean lines and implied upgrade sell without saying a word.
There’s no rulebook for what the + can signify. A streaming service? A chef’s “elevated” twist? A bank’s “enhanced” account? The symbol’s power lies in its vagueness—it suggests value without defining it.
The Minus Sign Stays True to Its Roots
Meanwhile, the − has held steady. It still means subtraction, negative numbers, debt, or loss—depending on the context. Its design has evolved, too: Hebrew scribes used a different mark, and commercial fonts sometimes tweak its shape. But its core purpose? Unchanged.
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