Align character * in a string

Question

css

As you can see, * is located "pressed to the top" in the line. For example 2*2.

How can you gracefully and unpretentiously make * in the middle of a line vertically in the same font so that it works in lists, paragraphs, etc.?

Answer 1

The question seems to be about a specific symbol, but just in case -
∗ Math asterisk will not work? (U+2217: ∗)

Answer 2

The vertical-align css property will help you. Example:

2<span style='vertical-align:-20%'>*</span>2 = 4

Answer 3

Elegant and unpretentious - no way. It's not a multiplication symbol.
If possible, use × instead

Answer 4

line-height:0.1em;
vertical-align:middle;

Answer 5

Fortran developers used the symbol * for multiplication only because on computers of the 60s it was not possible to display the real multiplication sign on the screen. and because of such nonsense we are still suffering - we can display the sign, but it is still not on the keyboards.