plus–minusn.adj.
/ˌplʌsˈmʌɪnəs/, U.S. /ˈpləsˈmaɪnəs/ A. n.
1. The mathematical symbol ‘±’; = plus-minus sign n. at Compounds. Now rare.
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c1782 W. Ludlam in J. Nichols Lit. Anecd. 18th Cent. (1814) VIII. 414 I am sometimes forced to make types..of which I here send you a specimen... It is called plus-minus ±.
1914 Amer. Hist. Rev. 19 334 To each he assigns the mathematical symbol of plus, minus, or plus-minus.
1936 B. Raup Educ. & Organized Interests in Amer. viii. 176 If the organization seemed clearly to be divided in its outlook and purpose..it was given a combined sign, plus-minus (±).
2. Originally and chiefly North American. A statistic that records the (average) number of points or goals scored by a team set against the (average) number conceded. Also (Ice Hockey): such a statistic for an individual player, relating to the periods of play in which that player has participated. Frequently attributive, esp. in plus-minus ratio.
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1977 Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio) 24 Apr. 5 b/1 Portland had the best plus-minus in the league, scoring 111.7 and giving up 106.2 for a plus 5.5.
1993 Sports Illustr. 5 Apr. 4/1 His plus-minus ratio has always been above average.
2004 Hartford (Connecticut) Courant (Nexis) 21 Apr. g8 Had a team-leading 26 goals in 22 games, 10 in four state tournament games. Also had 17 assists and team-best plus/minus of plus-37.
B. adj. (attributive).
Involving or contrasting both positive and negative characteristics; involving or deriving from both or either of addition and subtraction.
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the world > relative properties > relationship > contrariety or contrast > [adjective] > both negative and positive
negativo-positive1728
positive-negative1878
plus–minus1893
Marmite1994
1893 Amer. Jrnl. Philol. 14 189 The component parts of such compounds do not stand in a plus-minus relation to one another.
1895 Philos. Rev. 4 510 It is of the very nature of the pain-pleasure doctrines..that they stand for plus-minus general conditions.
1933 Science 15 Dec. 542/2 The different adaptational characters of the subspecies are of a quantitative nature, and show a plus-minus character.
1996 R. F. Hixson Pornography & Justices vi. 116 There is at best a plus-minus aspect to the Burger Court's passionate reasoning during the 1972 term.
Compounds
plus-minus sign n. the mathematical symbol ‘±’.
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1933 Index to Math. Gaz. 97 Nichols W. L. Literary Anecdotes..(Plus-minus sign).
1939 R. B. McKerrow Prolegomena for Oxf. Shakespeare iii. 80 (note) For the plus-minus sign see p. 81.
1992 M. A. Rothman Science Gap 45 The range of error is represented numerically by a plus-minus sign, for example: 75.2 cm ± 0.5 cm.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.c1782