Background of the Addition Sign

The writing of the ancient Egyptians is called Egyptian hieroglyphics. It uses little pictures for words. One of the earliest symbols for an addition sign is found in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

It is a pair of legs walking toward the right.

The date for this symbol is around 1850 Before the Common Era (BCE). That date makes this symbol almost 3,900 years old.

Two thousand, four hundred years later in Europe, mathematicians wrote the letters “P” for addition. The word for more in Latin piu, which was used in math for addition. The letter “P” was an abbreviation or short way to write piu.

French and German mathematicians used the plus sign (+) in their writings. The Wales man, Robert Recorde who invented the equals sign (=) introduced the plus sign to the English-speaking world in 1557.

Derived from Plus and minus signs – Wikipedia. Available and accessed on 3 February 2025.