·

Glyph origin

Use as a multiplication or product operator is usually attributed to German polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.

Symbol

·

1. (mathematics) The product operator.

   Synonyms: ×, *

   Antonyms: ÷, /

   7 · 8 = 56

2. (in a few countries, such as the UK) A decimal point.

   3·14, £1,234·99

3. (mathematics, vectors) The dot product operator.

   (1,2,5) · (3,4,−1) = 6

4. (mathematics) Indicates what elements can vary.

   If we have f(x,y) we can analyze the properties of f(·,y) which is a function of x found by fixing a particular y.

5. (chemistry) Indicates addition compounds.

   BF₃·NH₃

6. (music) A pointing mark in Anglican chant, which indicates nonstandard places in the text where the chant should change note.

   Coordinate terms: |, ', :, *, —, ‖, †

7. See ・ for the middle dot used in Japanese katakana.
8. See ‧ for the hyphenation point.

Letter

·

1. (Shavian) the 'namer dot' that optionally precedes proper names to mark them as such.

Punctuation mark

·

1. The raised point, used like a semicolon.

Punctuation mark

· (·)

1. middot, middle dot (called punt volat (“flown dot”) in Catalan, and found in the combination l·l to distinguish it from the digraph ll. It was once used for elision, especially in poetry.)

Punctuation mark

·

1. Separates first and last names in personal names transcribed into Chinese characters.

   巴拉克·奧巴馬／巴拉克·奥巴马  ―  Bālākè Àobāmǎ  ―  Barack Obama

2. Separates the title of a literary work or collection from the title of a section.

   《論語·子張》 [MSC, trad.]
   《论语·子张》 [MSC, simp.]

   “Lúnyǔ Zǐzhāng” [Pinyin]

   Analects, "Zizhang"

   《青少年文庫·傲慢與偏見》 [MSC, trad.]
   《青少年文库·傲慢与偏见》 [MSC, simp.]

   “Qīngshàonián Wénkù Àomàn yǔ Piānjiàn” [Pinyin]

   Teenage Book Collection: Pride and Prejudice

3. Separates the name of a fixed melody or format from the title of a poem or song.

   《水調歌頭·明月幾時有》 [MSC, trad.]
   《水调歌头·明月几时有》 [MSC, simp.]

   “Shuǐdiào Gētóu Míngyuè Jǐshí Yǒu” [Pinyin]

   "Mid-Autumn Festival Night" to the tune of "Shuidiao Getou"

4. Separates items in a list in titles.

   《天·地·人》  ―  “Tiān Dì Rén”  ―  Heaven, Earth, Man

5. Separates the month from the day in events, commemorations, etc. named after dates, only used after January (一 (yī)), November (一一 (yīyī)) and December (一二 (yī'èr)) when hanzi are used.

   一·二八事變／一·二八事变  ―  yī-èrbā shìbiàn  ―  January 28 Incident

   9·11襲擊事件／9·11袭击事件  ―  9-11 xíjī shìjiàn  ―  9/11 attacks

   九一八事變／九一八事变  ―  jiǔ-yībā shìbiàn  ―  Mukden Incident (lit. September 18 Incident)

Punctuation mark

·

1. (neologism, often proscribed) Used in certain forms of gender-neutral writing either before or around the feminine suffix, to avoid both the use of the masculine as the default form and the verbosity of writing out both the masculine and feminine forms.

   étudiant·es ― étudiantes et étudiants ― female students and male students

   étudiant·e·s ― étudiantes et étudiants ― female students and male students

Letter

·

1. the raka

Punctuation mark

·

1. (grammar) raised point (άνω τελεία (áno teleía)) or Greek semicolon ( ; ))

Punctuation mark

·

1. Alternative form of ⸱, the word divider.
2. (numismatics) Alternative form of 𐆑, the uncia, found on coins