It has other related technical meanings, such as the use of long-lasting paper in bookbinding, and has been used for its symbolic value of the infinite in modern mysticism and literature.

[4] The English mathematician John Wallis is credited with introducing the infinity symbol with its mathematical meaning in 1655, in his De sectionibus conicis.

[9] Instead of a Roman numeral, it may alternatively be derived from a variant of ω, the lower-case form of omega, the last letter in the Greek alphabet.

[9] Perhaps in some cases because of typographic limitations, other symbols resembling the infinity sign have been used for the same meaning.

[7] One paper by Leonhard Euler was typeset with an open letterform more closely resembling a reflected and sideways S than a lemniscate (something like S),[10] and even "O–O" has been used as a stand-in for the infinity symbol itself.

[12] When quantifying actual infinity, infinite entities taken as objects per se, other notations are typically used.

[16] In modern mysticism, the infinity symbol has become identified with a variation of the ouroboros, an ancient image of a snake eating its own tail that has also come to symbolize the infinite, and the ouroboros is sometimes drawn in figure-eight form to reflect this identification—rather than in its more traditional circular form.

[18] In the works of Vladimir Nabokov, including The Gift and Pale Fire, the figure-eight shape is used symbolically to refer to the Möbius strip and the infinite, as is the case in these books' descriptions of the shapes of bicycle tire tracks and of the outlines of half-remembered people.

Nabokov's poem after which he entitled Pale Fire explicitly refers to "the miracle of the lemniscate".

[21] The well-known shape and meaning of the infinity symbol have made it a common typographic element of graphic design.

[22] Different theories have been put forward for the meaning of the symbol on this flag, including the hope for an infinite future for Métis culture and its mix of European and First Nations traditions,[23][24] but also evoking the geometric shapes of Métic dances,[25], Celtic knots,[26] or Plains First Nations Sign Language.

[28] The Bakelite company took up this symbol in its corporate logo to refer to the wide range of varied applications of the synthetic material they produced.

[29] Versions of this symbol have been used in other trademarks, corporate logos, and emblems including those of Fujitsu,[30] Cell Press,[31] and the 2022 FIFA World Cup.