What ⊶ means
⊶ is the original of. Unicode classifies it as a mathematical symbol and files it in the Mathematical Operators block; this site shelves it under Maths.
Its appearance depends on the font and text styling.
How it is encoded
⊶ is a single code point, U+22B6. In HTML that is ⊶, and in CSS \22B6.
Don't confuse it with
4Questions people ask
1Why does ⊶ show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
How to type ⊶
Windows (Word)
Alt+XType 22B6, then Alt+X to get ⊶.
Windows
Win+Rrun charmap for the full table, or use the emoji picker's Ω symbols tab (Win + .).
macOS
Control+Command+SpaceOpen the character viewer and search “original of”.
Linux
Ctrl+Shift+UType 22b6, then Enter or Space.
HTML
⊶CSS
\22B6Codes and encoding1 code points
HTML decimal
⊶
HTML hex
⊶
CSS content
content: "\22B6";
Each escape is closed by the next backslash; a trailing space is needed before a literal hex digit.
URL encoded
%E2%8A%B6
1
On screen
1
Code points
1
JS .length
3
UTF-8 bytes
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.