ampersand

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈæmpəsænd/ (UK); /ˈæmpəɹˌsænd/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is an alteration of and per se and,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} meaning “(the character) & by itself (is the word) and”,^[2][4][5][6] a phrase partly in Latin and partly in English.^[4] Latin per se “by itself” was formerly used in naming letters that formed a word on their own, as A per se A.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The name of the sign & (1797 in Etymonline; 1835 in Merriam-Webster; 1837 in Barnhart and the OED).^[4][5][3][7]

Semantic evolution

An earlier colloquial form was ampassy (1706).^[4] In old schoolbooks the sign was printed at the end of the alphabet, so by the 1880s ampersand was also slang for the backside.^[4] The sign itself is based on Latin et “and”, written as a ligature in a Roman shorthand found in graffiti at Pompeii.^[4]

Timeline

• 1706 – ampassy.^[4]
• 1797 – ampersand (Etymonline; 1837 in Barnhart and the OED).^[4][3][7]
• 1880s – slang, the posterior.^[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The character &, standing for the word and.

Related words

• per se
• et cetera

Usage notes

Wiktionary notes that ampersand is the name of the symbol, and that when & appears in a text it is read simply as and.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press