& :: Miscellaneous Symbols

@ at (n: @t or @?)

Commercial "at" from Latin "ad," at. In most early constructions, the @ can be read as each: 2#@30¢ = two pounds, each 30 cents.

The divider of an email address, separating the name of the addressee from the domain where the addressee receives mail: "name@hostname.example".

& ampersand (n: '&m p@r ,s&nd)

A symbol for the word "and" consisting of the two letters e and t in an elaborate ligature, from the Latin word "et," one form of Latin "and."

* asterisk (n: '&s t@r Isk)

A star-like symbol used to indicate that there is more material, not essential to the meaning of the sentence it marks, elsewhere on a page. From Greek, "Aster," star.

• bullet (n: 'b@l Et)

A large dot used to mark an item on a list or as a separator of items on a line. The bullet character (• •) is larger than a period (.) or raised period dot (· ·). On US Macintosh keyboards, bullet is Option-8.

[ ] bracket (n: 'br@ kEt)

The square parenthesis marks [ and ] usually used for editorial interjections to show that the information contained is not the original author's words.

¶ paragraph (n: p& rV gr&f)

A mark to denote a new paragraph (¶ ¶). Also, pilcrow. On US Macintosh keyboards, paragraph is Option-7.

# pound (n: pAund)

A symbol, also number sign, hash, octothorpe, usually denoting a number.

In HTML, an indicator that a hypertext link points to a specific place on a page, often other than the beginning of the page.

£ pound (n: pAund)

The monetary symbol for the pound sterling (£ £), the currency of the United Kingdom (2005) and for a variety of other currencies. If the symbol has two horizontal lines, it stands for lira, the former Italian currency. On US Macintosh keyboards, pound is Option-3. From Latin, "libra."