ampersand en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
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. “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).
Meanings
-
The symbol "&".
At length, having tried all the hiſtorians from great A, to amperſand, he perceives there is no eſcaping from the puzzle, but by ſelecting his own facts, forming his own concluſions, and putting a little truſt in his own reaſon and judgment.
1795, [Samuel Jackson] Pratt, “Letter XXI. To the same [i.e., the Honourable Mrs. B.].”, in Gleanings through Wales, Holland and Westphalia, with Views of Peace and War at Home and Abroad. […], volume I, London: […] T[homas] N[orton] Longman, and L[eonard] B[enton] Seeley, […], →OCLC, page 311:So you're brilliant, gorgeous, and / Ampersand after ampersand / You think I just don't understand
2004, “I Don't Believe You”, performed by The Magnetic Fields:The ampersand character in many logics acts as an operator connecting two propositions.
The Letter commonly called Ipse and and ampuse and viz &. is a corruption of a per se and: spoken very quick; they used formerly it seems to put a single Greek α, for a contraction of and, & so this was a per se and.
[1777 August–September, Hester Lynch Thrale, edited by Katharine C[anby] Balderston, Thraliana: The Diary of Mrs. Hester Lynch Thrale (Later Mrs. Piozzi) 1776–1809, volume I (1776–1784), Oxford, Oxfordshire: At the Clarendon Press, published 1942, →OCLC, page 145:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| ampersands | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| amperzand | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Descendants
אַמְפֶּרְסַנְדּ · ampersand · ampersand · ამპერსანდი · ampèrsand · ampersand · ampasendi · ऐंपरसैंड · амперсанд · амперсанд · ampersand · & · ampersan · アンパサンド · ampersand · амперса́нд · ampersand · ampersand
Synonyms
Translations (75)
lv & zīme (the symbol &) · no kringle (the symbol &) · et ja-märk (the symbol &) · pl ampersand (the symbol &) · el συμπλεκτικό σύμβολο (the symbol &) · fr esperluète (the symbol &) · ja アンパサンド (the symbol &) · ia e commercial (the symbol &) · ja アンド (the symbol &) · ka ამპერსანდი (the symbol &) · he אָמְפֵּרְסָנְד (the symbol &) · sq simbol (the symbol &) · tr ve imi (the symbol &) · fr perluète (the symbol &) · pl znak & (the symbol &) · de Kaufmanns-Und (the symbol &) · ca i comercial (the symbol &) · fr esperluette (the symbol &) · is og-lykkja (the symbol &) · is hlíðskipulykkja (the symbol &) · es et (the symbol &) · sh амперсенд (the symbol &) · ru амперса́нд (the symbol &) · no ampersand (the symbol &) · lt ženklas & (the symbol &) · mt u kummerċjali (the symbol &) · is táknið & (the symbol &) · it ampersand (the symbol &) · sh labava veza (the symbol &) · fi et-merkki (the symbol &) · ro semnul & (the symbol &) · nrf ampèrsand (the symbol &) · ca et (the symbol &) · hu és jel (the symbol &) · pl etka (the symbol &) · sh združenje (the symbol &) · hi ऐंपरसैंड (the symbol &) · sw ampasendi (the symbol &) · eu & ikurra (the symbol &) · es y comercial (the symbol &) · yi עט־צײכן (the symbol &) · sh ampersend (the symbol &) · de Et-Zeichen (the symbol &) · pl handlowe "i" (the symbol &) · sv ampersand (the symbol &) · pt e comercial (the symbol &) · da og-tegn (the symbol &) · cmn 和號 /和号 (the symbol &) · mk амперсанд (the symbol &) · id tanda dan (the symbol &) · sh žig (the symbol &) · nl en-teken (the symbol &) · pt sinal tironiano (the symbol &) · ka ეთ-ნიშანი (the symbol &) · it e commerciale (the symbol &) · bg амперсанд (the symbol &) · sv och-tecken (the symbol &) · ka კომერციული ეთი (the symbol &) · ru знак конъю́нкции (the symbol &) · fr et commercial (the symbol &) · cs ampersand (the symbol &) · nl ampersand (the symbol &) · eo kaj-signo (the symbol &) · sh pečatni znak (the symbol &) · id ampersan (the symbol &) · tr ampersand (the symbol &) · vi ký hiệu "và" (the symbol &) · is tengilykkja (the symbol &) · es ampersand (the symbol &) · nrf et (the symbol &) · cy ampersand (the symbol &) · hu et jel (the symbol &) · sl vezaj (the symbol &) · fi ja-merkki (the symbol &) · ar وَاو اَللَّاتِينِيَّة (the symbol &)