Editing Gradian (section)

== History and name==
The unit originated in [[France]] in connection with the [[French Revolution]] as the {{lang|fr|grade}}, along with the [[metric system]], hence it is occasionally referred to as a ''metric degree''. Due to confusion with the existing term ''grad(e)'' in some northern European countries (meaning a standard degree, {{sfrac|1|360}} of a turn), the name ''gon'' was later adopted, first in those regions, and later as the international standard.{{which|date=December 2024}} In France, it was also called {{lang|fr|grade nouveau}}. In [[German language|German]], the unit was formerly also called {{lang|de|Neugrad}} (new degree) (whereas the standard degree was referred to as {{lang|de|Altgrad}} (old degree)), likewise {{lang|da|nygrad}} in [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]] and [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] (also ''gradian''), and {{lang|is|nýgráða}} in [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]].

Although attempts at a general introduction were made, the unit was only adopted in some countries, and for specialised areas such as [[surveying]],<ref  name="Kahmen and Faig 2012"/><ref name="Zimmerman" /><ref name="Schofield"/> [[mining]]<ref name="Sroka"/> and [[geology]].<ref name="Gunzburger et al. 2004"/><ref name="Schmidt and Kühn 2007"/> Today, the degree, {{sfrac|1|360}} of a [[Turn (geometry)|turn]], or the mathematically more convenient [[radian]], {{sfrac|1|2{{pi}}}} of a turn (used in the [[SI]] system of units) is generally used instead.

In the {{nowrap|1970s{{hsp}}{{ndash}}}}1990s, most [[scientific calculator]]s offered the gon (gradian), as well as radians and degrees, for their [[trigonometric functions]].<ref>{{citation|title=Electricity: Fundamental Concepts and Applications|first=Timothy J.|last=Maloney|publisher=Delmar Publishers|year=1992|isbn=9780827346758|page=[https://archive.org/details/electricityfunda0000malo/page/453 453]|quote=On most scientific calculators, this [the unit for angles] is set by the DRG key|url=https://archive.org/details/electricityfunda0000malo/page/453}}</ref> In the 2010s, some scientific calculators<!-- from Texas Instruments and at least one from Hewlett-Packard --> lack support for gradians.<ref>{{citation|title=Mathematics for Primary and Early Years: Developing Subject Knowledge|first=Heather|last=Cooke|publisher=SAGE|year=2007|isbn=9781847876287|page=53|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C3t4B3stB0UC&pg=PA53|quote=Scientific calculators commonly have two modes for working with angles – degrees and radians}}</ref>

===Symbol===
{{infobox symbol
|name= Gon
|mark = ◌&#x1D4D;   
|unicode={{unichar|1D4D|modifier letter small g|nlink=modifier letter}}
|see also={{unichar|00B0|nlink=Degree sign}}
}}
The international standard symbol for this unit is "gon" (see [[ISO 31-1]], Annex B).{{needs update|reason=ISO 31-1 has been superseded twice, so this information may be obsolete.|date=December 2024}} Other symbols used in the past include "gr", "grd", and "g", the last sometimes written as a superscript, similarly to a degree sign: 50<sup>g</sup> = 45°.
A [[metric prefix]] is sometimes used, as in "dgon", "cgon", "mgon", denoting respectively 0.1&nbsp;gon, 0.01&nbsp;gon, 0.001&nbsp;gon.
Centesimal arc-minutes and centesimal arc-seconds were also denoted with superscripts <sup>c</sup> and <sup>cc</sup>, respectively.

{{SI multiples
| unit=gon
| symbol=gon
}}