That's pretty close to what Gauss said they should be called: "If ... +1, -1, and √-1 had been called direct, inverse and lateral units, instead of positive, n

That's pretty close to what Gauss said they should be called: "If ... +1, -1, and √-1 had been called direct, inverse and lateral units, instead of positive, negative, and imaginary (or impossible) units, such an obscurity would have been out of the question" (https://shitohichiumaya.blogspot.com/2016/10/gausss-quote-for-positive-negative-and.html https://shitohichiumaya.blogspot.com/2016/10/gausss-quote-fo...)