Mr. Boxy
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The equal sign we have today was first used in the 1500s, although we aren't entirely sure where it came from. Mathematician Robert Recorde used what he called "Gemini lines" in his book "The Whetstone of Witte" published in 1557. In the foreward he explains that this kept him from writing "is equal to" repeatedly. There's also a manuscript written around this time at the University of Bologne, but a definite date hasn't been put to the paper. It may have been before or after Recorde's book.
At the time the "=" wasn't the only symbol used to represent equality. Two vertical parallel lines, ||, were sometimes used as were the æ and œ symbols which were short for "aequalis," the Latin word for "equals." "=" didn't become the standard until the 1700s. Even then the symbol had changed: Recorde's was several times longer than what we use now.
The equal sign is also used as a tone letter in some languages. In these languages the pitch at which you say something changes its meaning, a bit like how English speakers will go up in pitch when saying something to show that it's a question. Congolese Budu uses the "=" exclusively, but Kenyan Sabaot and many Papau New Guinea languages use "=" and "?" interchangeability. Note that this colon is slightly different than the ":" on your keyboard.
 Posted 5257 day ago
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