Infinity symbol Infinity symbol The infinity symbol (sometimes called the lemniscate) is a mathematical symbol representing the concept of infinity. The shape of a sideways figure eight has a long pedigree; for instance, it appears in the cross of Saint Boniface, wrapped around the bars of a Latin cross. However, John Wallis is credited with introducing the infinity symbol with its mathematical meaning in 1655, in his "De sectionibus conicis". Wallis did not explain his choice of this symbol, but it has been conjectured to be a variant form of a Roman numeral for 1,000 (originally CIƆ, also CƆ), which was sometimes
Diple (textual symbol) Diple (textual symbol) Diple (, meaning double, referring to the two lines in the mark >) was used in margins to draw attention to something in text. It is sometimes also called antilambda because the sign resembles a Greek capital letter lambda (Λ) turned upon its side. In some ways its usage was similar to modern day quotation marks; guillemets (« »), used for quotations in French, are derived from it. Isidore remarks in his "Etymologiae" (I.XXI.13) that the diple was used to mark quotations from the Bible. He also talks about "diple peri strichon" (or "sticon"), which was used