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A horizontal stroke with a dot above and below, indicating division.
Also known as: Obelus, Divided by sign, Divide symbol
The obelus indicates division in elementary arithmetic. It is largely confined to school mathematics: professional notation prefers a fraction bar or a solidus, and ISO 80000-2 advises against it because of ambiguity.
Indicates division between two quantities, as in 6 ÷ 2, and is read aloud as 'divided by'.
Contexts: Mathematics
Is largely restricted to elementary teaching; higher mathematics uses a fraction bar or solidus instead, partly because expressions such as 6 ÷ 2(1+2) are read inconsistently.
The ambiguity is about how readers apply precedence, not about the sign's meaning, which is not in dispute.
Contexts: Mathematics
A horizontal stroke with one dot centred above it and one centred below.
Division against multiplication.