Colon character & \colon (LaTeX2e unofficial reference manual (November 2018))

Next: \*, Up: Math miscellany [Contents][Index]

#### 16.7.1 Colon character `:` & `\colon`

Synopsis, one of:

    :
    \colon

In mathematics, the colon character, `:`, is a relation.

    With side ratios \( 3:4 \) and \( 4:5 \), the triangle is right.

Ordinary LaTeX defines `\colon` to produce the colon character with the spacing appropriate for punctuation, as in set-builder notation `\{x\colon 0\leq x<1\}`.

But the widely-used `amsmath` package defines `\colon` for use in the definition of functions `f\colon D\to C`. So if you want the colon character as a punctuation then use `\mathpunct{:}`.

Unofficial LaTeX2e reference manual