Curly logical OR

⋎ is a curved form of the logical OR sign, used between statements in mathematical notation. In ordinary logic, OR means at least one statement is true; both may be true too. The usual sign is : use ⋎ when the notation you are following calls for this distinct character.

Text symbol

What ⋎ means

Read it as “or,” including the possibility of both. This operation is called disjunction. If one statement says “it is cold” and another says “it is raining,” joining them with logical OR gives a true statement when either condition holds, including cold, rainy weather. It is false only when neither holds.

That differs from “either one or the other, but not both,” called exclusive OR. The curved shape does not by itself make the OR exclusive.

⋎ and are separate text characters, not simply the same character in different fonts. For ordinary logical OR, is the conventional choice. Preserve ⋎ when reproducing notation that uses it, and follow any special definition the author gives.

Part of collections

Don't confuse it with

∨

Logical Or

The conventional logical OR sign, with straight arms. ⋎ is its curved counterpart, encoded as a separate character.

⋁

N-Ary Logical Or

The large OR operator, used over a collection of statements, often with an index. It is not an enlarged ⋎.

Worth knowing

The programming language ALGOL used ⋎ for “or” in its notation: this curved symbol also has a place in computing history.

Questions people ask

Why does ⋎ look different or appear as a box?

Its appearance comes from the font. The curves may be more or less pronounced; a box can mean the font lacks this character. Try a font with mathematical symbols.