Definition:Subtraction/Historical Note

Historical Note on Subtraction

The symbol $-$ for subtraction originated in commerce, along with the symbol $+$ for addition, where they were used by German merchants to distinguish underweight and overweight items.

These symbols first appeared in print in $1481$.

However, Regiomontanus was the first to use it in its current shape, in an unpublished manuscript from $1456$.

Sources

• 2005: Clifford A. Pickover: A Passion for Mathematics ... (previous): Numbers, History, Society, and People: The symbols of mathematics
• 2008: Ian Stewart: Taming the Infinite ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $4$: Lure of the Unknown: Algebraic symbolism