Dictionary.net

"=", ASCII character 61.Common names: ITU-T: equals; gets; takes. Rare:quadrathorpe; INTERCAL: half-mesh.Equals is used in many languages as the assignment operatorthough earlier languages used ":=" ("becomes equal to") toavoid upsetting mathematicians with statements such as "x =x+1". It is also used in compounds such as "=", "==","/=", "!=" for various comparison operators and in C's "+=","*=" etc. which mimic the primitive operations oftwo-address code.