• DoctorSpocktopus@lemmy.ca
      1·
      10 months ago

      Um actually…

      Latin: per centum

      Italian per cento

      Abbreviated to p. cento

      Then just pc with a loop for the o in cento

      Then the fraction bar came around to sub for per, the c became a circle, and % was born.

      (Most of this after the adoption of Arabic numerals)

      • _cnt0@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        10 months ago

        The c became a circle is nonsense. The two circles in % denote the two zeros in 100, as they denote the three zeros in thousand/per mille: ‰.

        • DoctorSpocktopus@lemmy.ca
          1·
          10 months ago

          I would tend to agree that it’s likely an aspect of the reasoning for the double circle; a visual pun. I don’t know enough to dispute the Wikipedia article with evidence, however.

          If that is the reasoning, I wish they would’ve done something less ambiguous, like -/c or over-lined 100.