Posted on 09/04/2011 6:26:53 PM PDT by Daffynition
Johnson & Johnson, Barnes & Noble, Dolce & Gabbana: the ampersand today is used primarily in business names, but that small character was once the 27th part of the alphabet. Where did it come from though? The origin of its name is almost as bizarre as the name itself.
The shape of the character (&) predates the word ampersand by more than 1,500 years. In the first century, Roman scribes wrote in cursive, so when they wrote the Latin word et which means “and” they linked the e and t. Over time the combined letters came to signify the word “and” in English as well. Certain versions of the ampersand, like that in the font Caslon, clearly reveal the origin of the shape.
The word “ampersand” came many years later when “&” was actually part of the English alphabet. In the early 1800s, school children reciting their ABCs concluded the alphabet with the &. It would have been confusing to say “X, Y, Z, and.” Rather, the students said, “and per se and.” “Per se” means “by itself,” so the students were essentially saying, “X, Y, Z, and by itself and.” Over time, “and per se and” was slurred together into the word we use today: ampersand. When a word comes about from a mistaken pronunciation, it’s called a mondegreen. Find out why here.
(The ampersand is also used in an unusual configuration where it appears as “&c” and means etc. The ampersand does double work as the e and t.)
Interesting. I can’t quite be sure, but somehow I still remember, back from second grade, writing out the alphabet in drills, and the ampersand was tacked on the end.
Great post - thanks.
(It was actually dropped after having been accused of ampersandating a letter. ;)
I R so smart .. when I saw the headline, my ‘brain’ said ‘ampersand!’ But it is so hard to write, I’m glad they took it out of the alphabet.
Interesting factoid.
This really made my day. Fun AND interesting. I also love ampersands!
Very interesting.
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