Rules for compositors and readers at the University Press, Oxford · Oxford University Press
SPECIAL SIGNS OR SYMBOLS
The signs + (plus), - (minus), = (equal to), > (‘larger than’, in etymology signifying ‘gives’ or ‘has given’), < (‘smaller than’, in etymology signifying ‘derived from’), are now often used in printing ordinary scientific works, and not in those only which are mathematical or arithmetical. In such instances +, -, =, >, <, should in the matter of spacing be treated as words are treated. For instance, in— spectabilis, _Bœrl. l. c._ (= Haasia spectabilis) the = belongs to ‘spectabilis’ as much as to ‘Haasia’, and the sign should not be put close to ‘Haasia’. A thin space only should be used. In Philological works an asterisk * prefixed to a word signifies a reconstructed form, and must be so printed; a dagger † signifies an obsolete word. The latter sign, placed before a person’s name, signifies deceased. In Medical books the formulae are set in lower-case letters, j being used for i both singly and in the final letter, e.g. gr.j (one grain), ℥viij (eight ounces), ʒiij (three drachms), ℈iij (three scruples), ♏︎iiij (four minims).
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