If and only if (i.e., necessary and sufficient). The terms "just if" or "exactly when" are sometimes used instead. iff is written symbolically as , , , or . iff is also equivalent to together with , where the symbol denotes "implies." Other equivalent terms are " is equivalent to " () and " XNOR ."
J. H. Conway believes that the word originated with P. Halmos and was transmitted through Kelley (1955, p. 232), where it is stated " is equicontinuous at iff there is a neighborhood of whose image under every image of is small."
Halmos has stated, "To the best of my knowledge, I did invent the silly thing, but I wouldn't swear to it in a court of law. So there--give me credit for it anyway" (D. Asimov, pers. comm., Sept. 19, 1997).