How did the female and male symbols originate? What does the arrow and the plus sign mean, anyway?
545983
they represent the planets Mars (male) and Venus (female)
804060
Here's what one website had to say about its meaning, its origin is in the link:   \n *  Simply, the Greek letter "L" stands for "liberation." \n    * The Greek Spartans believed that the lambda represented unity. \n    * The Romans took it as meaning "the light of knowledge shining into the darkness of ignorance." \n    * The charged energy of the gay movement. This stems from the lambda's use in chemistry and physics to denote energy in equations. \n    * The synergy which results when gays and lesbians work together towards a common goal (a gestalt theory which also stems from the physics-energy theory) \n    * The notion that straights and gays, or gays and lesbians, or any pairing of these three, are on different wavelengths when it comes to sex, sexuality, or even brain patterns. This again comes from the lambda's presence in chemistry and physics, where it is sometimes used to represent the wavelength of certain types of energy. \n    * An iconic rendering of the scales of justice and the constant force that keeps opposing sides from overcoming each other. The hook at the bottom of the right leg would then signify the action and initiative needed to reach and maintain balance. \n    * The lambda is also though by some to have appeared on the shields of Spartan and/or Theben warriors. The Thebes version is more popular because, as legend has it, the city- state organized the Theban Band from groups of idealized lovers, which made them extremely fierce and dedicated warriors. Eventually however, the army was completely decimated by Kind Philip II, but was later honored by his son Alexander the Great.
346676
The symbol ≡ is a mathematical symbol that means "equivalent to" acording to one source, and "is defined as" in another source, and may also mean "congruence."  \n\nExample:  x ≡ y means x is defined to be another name for y\n\nIn other words, it's a logical relationship, rather than the  result of an operation.  For example:  2 + 3 = 5  \nIn that example, the equal sign means equal to, or the result of adding 2 and 3.
901430
Da*n guys! give her a break. he's EIGHT years old. He's not going to know the / sign yet. she was asking for the old fashioned division symbol. jeez...\n\nAnyway,\n   scroll through all the menu's and look for symbols...it should be in there. it'll take a lil more time having to do that but oh well. Or you could teach him the /...he'll need that for HS anyway.
931671
it's just a symbol to indicate\na right angle-hit the site below\nfor more details of angles etc\n\nhttp://www.coolmath.com/\n\ni hope that this helps
682425
you use the number for the symbol, in this case the arrows.\nwhen I wrote it out in here, it ended up displaying as the arrow, so I can't show you, but I found a link that does:\nhttp://www.webmasterworld.com/forum83/8790.htm\n\nif you don't like that method, a less smart method, but still usable, would be to use <pre> tags. for example, \n<pre><div></div></pre> would display <div></div> as text.
907308
Actually the X is a combination of the Greek letter Chr and then what stood for ist.  So the X with a line intersecting the vertical center was an old Greek way of spelling Christ.  That symbol can be found on some altars.  The early Christians used it as a way to talk about Christ without risking their lives.  It is something that has come down through the years.  I learned this in one of my history classes and when I had to learn the Greek alphabet.
403105
A statue of the Hindu Goddess Kali. She, for me, represents the feminine aspect of the Divine. Two pieces of art work with eagles. Eagle is one of my more important Totem animals. A turtle shell. Turtle represents the sort of Native American medicine I work with. A stone with a natural hole in it. Like the statue, this represents the feminine aspect of the Universe, and that's important to me. And a pentacle. Which represents, for me, certain aspects of European metaphysics that are important to me because of the Universal truth I found there. ~ Peace & Blessings ~ BTW ... I'm not religious. ;-)
777469
It is one upright and one inverted. It represents the duality in nature.\n\nEdit: Two Pentagrams, one upright and one inverted, represent the duality of nature, dark and light, ever in flux. As a magical Yin-Yang this Pentagram can be empowered to support any magical purpose.\nhttp://www.horoscopestore.com/double-pentagram-pentagram-necklace-pendant-jewelry-pr11.html
1124386
No...not really... I think we can learn something from the symbolism in the Bible even if we don't take it literally.\n\nThe fact that Eve was taken from Adam's rib was an important symbol.  She was taken from his side... it symbolizes that she's an equal, as opposed to his feet or his head, which would show that she's above or below him.\n\nMost people don't read it that way... but the story really indicates that God meant men and women to be equals.
465935
THE CADUCEUS SYMBOL\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus
723136
<3\n\nIt's an arrow pointing to the left, followed by the number 3.  Enjoy!
822759
rainbow flag = gay pride flag\ninverted pink triangle = gay men (invented by Hitler)\ninverted black triangle = gay women (invented by Hitler)\ninverted burgandy triangle = transgendered people (invented by Hitler)\n2 male symbols linked = gay men\n2 female symbols linked = gay women\ncombination of male/female symbols = transgendered\nlambda = charged energy of the gay movement\nblack and blue horizontal lines with red heart in top left corner (flag) = gay leather pride\nlabrys = feminism\nred ribbon = aids\nbear footprint = hairy (usually large) gay men called "bears"\n\nhope that helps!
18365
It is actually in Roman names. \nAnd 'us' stands for a male name. 'A' stands for a female name. \nJulius is a male name. Julia is a female name.\nOctavius and Octavia.\n\nBut this is not just for names, this works for normal words as well. Puella is a girl. Lupus is a wolf.
932232
Hello,\n\nThe symbols in relationship to the numbers change each time. \nThe symbol you choose is the correct one  for all answers. No matter the number you choose there is one correct symbol for all answers.
545630
it is a little seen road sign warning that the letter a is up ahead. don't let the people who follow me convince you that it has something to do with delimiting a username from it's relevant e-mail domain. this is bunk. some internet guy (probably Al Gore) hijacked the symbol when he invented the Internets. now we don't know when the letter a is approaching and the world is less safe for it.\n\nand especially don't let them talk you into thinking it means at. why the hell would you shorten at to @ ?? takes less time to write type a "t" then to draw a circle connecting to that "a" - it's all democratic lies.
25549
There is no meaning.  However, both symbols originate from political cartoons by Howard Nest that appeared in Harper's Weekly in the 1870s (1870 for the Democrats, 1874 for the Republicans).  For some reason, the symbols stuck.