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(lemmy.sdf.org)
a translation of @euphoric_cat’s illegible post
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this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2024
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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)
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: ‰.
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.