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The diagonal cross used to indicate multiplication.
Also known as: Times sign, Times symbol, Cross product sign
The multiplication sign indicates a product. It is also read as 'by' in dimensions, and its use in mathematics is usually credited to William Oughtred's 1631 Clavis Mathematicae.
Indicates multiplication between two quantities, as in 3 × 4, and is read aloud as 'times'.
Contexts: Mathematics
Reads as 'by' when giving dimensions or a grid — a 4 × 6 photograph, a 3 × 3 matrix, screen resolution.
Contexts: Mathematics
Its use for multiplication is generally credited to William Oughtred in the seventeenth century; the letter x is a substitute adopted because the true sign is absent from most keyboards.
17th century onward · Contexts: Mathematics
Two equal strokes crossing diagonally, forming an X.
The same crossed diagonals: in arithmetic they multiply, in an interface they close or reject.
Multiplication against division.
Both are diagonal crosses; the saltire is a heraldic charge, not an operator.