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ampersand

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: ampèrsand

English

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The "Roman" ampersand on the left is stylised, but the "italic" one on the right is clearly similar to "et".
Handwritten styles

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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A mondegreen of and per se and, ⟨&⟩ being read as “and”. Letters used by themselves were formerly mentioned according to this pattern, as in “O per se O” for the particle O or “I per se I” for the pronoun I.[1] “And per se and” thus meant ⟨&⟩ by itself, as opposed to forms such as &c.

The specific form ampersand is first attested in 1795, originally as a mocking pronunciation spelling, but this name for the symbol is attested since 1777 (as ampuse and), when it is already called common (see quotations).[2]

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈæm.pə(ɹ).sænd/, /ˈæmp.ə(ɹ)ˌzænd/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio (General American):(file)

Noun

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ampersand (plural ampersands)

  1. The symbol "&".
    The ampersand character in many logics acts as an operator connecting two propositions.

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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Translations

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Verb

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ampersand (third-person singular simple present ampersands, present participle ampersanding, simple past and past participle ampersanded)

  1. (transitive, rare) To add an ampersand to.

References

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  1. ^ per se, n.3 and adv.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
  2. ^ ampersand, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Further reading

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Typography

Anagrams

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Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

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    Borrowed from English ampersand. First attested in the 20th century.

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    ampersand m inan

    1. (typography) ampersand

    Declension

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    Further reading

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    • ampersand”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN[1] (in Polish)

    Spanish

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    Etymology

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    Unadapted borrowing from English ampersand.

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈampeɾsand/ [ˈãm.peɾ.sãn̪d̪]
    • IPA(key): /ampeɾˈsand/ [ãm.peɾˈsãn̪d̪]
    • Syllabification: am‧per‧sand

    Noun

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    ampersand m (plural ampersands)

    1. ampersand
      Synonyms: y comercial, et

    Usage notes

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    According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

    Further reading

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    • Seco, Manuel; Andrés, Olimpia; Ramos, Gabino (2023), “ampersand”, in Diccionario del español actual (in Spanish), third digital edition, Fundación BBVA