decimal point

decimal point

English

Noun

decimal point (plural decimal points)

1. (typography) A period/full stop ⟨.⟩ or middot ⟨·⟩ used to set off the decimal or fractional part of a number.
2. (typography, inexact) Any decimal mark, inclusive of commas, separatrices, etc.
3. (arithmetic, proscribed) A decimal place.

Usage notes

The term "decimal point" properly refers only to those signs marking the boundary between integer and decimal numbers with a point. For convenience, it is also used to speak of marks serving a similar function in other cultures. The use of "decimal point" to mean "one of the digits in the fractional part of a decimal" is, however, typically taken to be mistaken.

Synonyms

• separatrix (obsolete)

Hypernyms

• radix point
• decimal mark

Translations

Note: In some countries, especially those in continental Europe, the symbol used is a comma, and so the word used in the languages spoken in these countries is often the same as or derived from the word for comma.

the point used in English mathematics

Chinese: Mandarin: 小數點 (zh), 小数点 (zh) (xiǎoshùdiǎn) Czech: desetinná tečka f Finnish: desimaalipiste French: point (fr) m, point décimal m German: Punkt (de) m, Dezimalpunkt (de) m Greek: τελεία (el) f (teleía) Hungarian: tizedespont (hu) Irish: pointe deachúlach m

Italian: punto (it) Japanese: 小数点 (ja) (しょうすうてん, shōsūten) Korean: 소수점 (ko) (sosujeom) (小數點 (ko)) Portuguese: ponto (pt) m Romanian: punct zecimal n, virgulă zecimală f Russian: десяти́чная то́чка f (desjatíčnaja tóčka) Spanish: punto decimal (es) m, coma decimal f Swedish: decimalpunkt (sv) c Tagalog: tuldok-sampuan, sampuing tuldok

the decimal mark symbol, characteristic to the native tongue

Czech: desetinná čárka f Finnish: desimaalipilkku French: virgule (fr) f German: Komma (de) n, Dezimalkomma n Greek: υποδιαστολή (el) f (ypodiastolí)

Hungarian: tizedesvessző Italian: virgola (it) f Portuguese: vírgula (pt) f Russian: запята́я (ru) f (zapjatája), десяти́чная запята́я f (desjatíčnaja zapjatája) Swedish: decimalkomma (sv)

decimal place — see decimal place