Symbols:Arithmetic and Algebra/Positive Quantity

Positive

$+$

A unary operator prepended to a number to indicate that it is positive.

For example:

$+5$

If a number does not have either $+$ or $-$ prepended, it is assumed to be positive by default.

The $\LaTeX$ code for \(+5\) is +5 .

Also see

• Symbols:Negative Quantity

See:

Symbols:Addition

Symbols:Commutative Operation

Symbols:Disjunction (Deprecated)

for other uses of this symbol.

Historical Note

The use of the $+$ sign to indicate a positive quantity first appeared in $1489$ in a work by Johannes Widmann.

Sources

• 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): plus sign: 1.
• 2014: Christopher Clapham and James Nicholson: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): plus sign