graphic portrayal of complex numbers (complex number), those of the form x+yi, in which x and y are real numbers (real number) and i is the square root of −1. It was devised by the Swiss mathematician Jean Robert Argand about 1806. A similar representation had been proposed by the Danish surveyor Caspar Wessel in 1797, but this was not generally known until later. One axis represents the pure imaginary numbers (those consisting of the yi portion only); the second represents the real numbers (x-values only). This permits the complex numbers to be plotted as points in the plane defined by the two axes, as shown in the figure-->.