# Why does logical-AND take operator precedence (evaluated first) over logical-OR?

Does logical-AND have precedence over logical-OR because of a reason or was it an arbitrary choice made sometime in the distant past?

(Perhaps it could have been the other way around: OR-terms evaluated first, then AND'ed together?)

I've Googled and can't seem to find an answer; most mathematical and computer language references state the precedence rankings of various operations but not the origins.

NOTE: I don't believe this question has anything to do with notation, but rather the order that operations are performed.

• I don't believe this question has anything to do with notation, but rather the order that operations are performed. I don't think this is right. It's purely a notational thing. It's a rule about how to interpret the order of operations given the notation. – Ben Crowell May 10 '15 at 14:04
• This WP article en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_connective#Order_of_precedence says that the precedence you refer to isn't standardized. – Ben Crowell May 10 '15 at 14:04

"And" is often seen as the multiplication in Boole's algebra, sometime written $\times$ and "Or" is seen as the addition (and sometime written $+$, though $+$ is more often used for xor than for or), which is why they commonly inherit the precedance of their namesakes.
• +1 it goes back to Boole. Of course Boole did not use a star $*$ for and, he used the normal notations for multiplication. Say $xy+z$ meaning "($x$ and $y$) or $z$". – Gerald Edgar May 7 '15 at 15:55