Definition of "minus sign" []

• Mathematics The symbol -, as in 4 - 2 = 2, that is used to indicate subtraction or a negative quantity. (noun)
• Chemistry The same symbol, used to indicate levorotatory rotation of polarized light. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Darlington used symbols a plus sign for normal wings, a minus sign for shrunken to designate wing morphology, but for our purposes it’s as easy to talk about full-winged and shrunken-winged species."