Sometimes I work hard to find a topic I want to blog about, and at other times the topic shouts at me from two or three different places until I sit down and write it out.
This post was the latter, and you must know I had so much fun learning about and viewing the ampersand that it officially replaced the capital “G” as my favorite letter of the alphabet.
What?
You say the ampersand is NOT a letter of the alphabet?
Fine. You’re right.
But guess what? It used to be.
Here are 20 interesting things I recently learned about ampersands.
1. The symbol or shape of the character “&” predates the word “ampersand” and came into being over 1500 years ago.
2. 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.
3. The & symbol dates to 45 A.D., appearing on papyrus handwritten in the Roman cursive style.
4. In 79 A.D. – a representation of “et” was scribbled in Pompeian graffiti.
5. 775 A.D. The “et” ligature became part of the Roman alphabet and was more commonly depicted as a single character
6. The word ampersand is a corruption of the phrase “and (&) per se and”, meaning “and (the symbol &) intrinsically (is the word) and”.
7. Classically, when any letter of the English alphabet could be used as a word by itself, such as “a” and “I”, it was commonly preceded by per se.
8. In the early 1800s, school children reciting their ABCs concluded the alphabet with the “&”. Since it was awkward to say, “X,Y,Z, and,” students said, “and per se and.” Per se means “by itself,” so the students were basically saying, “X,Y,Z, and by itself and.”
9. By 1837, the “&” sign had entered common English usage as the 27th character of the alphabet.
10. It didn’t take long before the “and per se and” officially appeared in English dictionaries as ampersand.
11. The Scottish people called the word for the symbol “&” epershand, derived from the “et per se and” using the original Latin “et” to refer to the symbol when spoken, instead of the English, “and”.
12. Roman Marcus Tullius Cicero’s secretary, Marcus Tullius Tiro, is often falsely credited with the typographical ligature though the symbol for “et” he created in his stenographic shorthand system more closely resembles a modern day number 7.
13. Another false etymology for the symbol “&” is attributed to the 18th-19th century French mathematician and physicist Andre-Marie Ampere. Some believe Ampere used the symbol in his writings and since it was new to those reading his works, they started calling it “Amere’s and”.
14. In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg included the ampersand on his first printing press.
15. In 1899 The “Concise Manual on Typography” calls the ampersand “a sign interchangeable with the conjunction and.”
16. Everyday handwriting simplifies the ampersand with a backwards numeral 3 superimposed by a vertical line or as a backwards 3 with a line (or dot) above or below it.
17. Ampersands can be properly used to represent “and” in phrases and names, but not in the structure of a sentence as a substitute for the word “and”.
18. Ampersands are commonly used in titles and business names (Johnson & Johnson, Barnes & Noble, Dolce & Gabbana)
19. Although uncommon, the ampersand is also used in a configuration where it appears as “&c”, meaning etc. The ampersand does double work as the e and t.
20. An ampersand (&) is a logogram that is commonly used to represent the word and in the English language.
What’s your sign,…ummm symbol? baby?
Not that I want to jump on any bandwagons, but for a font lover like me, it is difficult to resist the ampersand.
I came across 300&65 Ampersands, a Tumblr blog that posted one ampersand every day for a year. If you love the ebb and flow of the ampersand, it’s a feast for the eyes.
But maybe ampersands aren’t your thing. Maybe you favor the @ symbol or the exclamation point, or uggh the capital or lowercase “r” (my least favorite letter shape in the entire alphabet).
So, what’s your favorite letter or symbol? And why? Maybe you have a few you love, maybe not. Either way, I’d love to hear.
Sources
- Image Source: 19th Century English Primer
- Ampersand definition by The Linux Information Project (LINFO)
- The History of the Ampersand and Showcase
- How ampersand came from a misunderstanding
- Why I Love Ampersands & You Should too
- Wikipedia, Ampere
- Wikipedia, Ampersand
- Wikipedia, Tironian Notes
- Wikipedia, Marcus Tullius Tiro
- Wikipedia, Typographic ligature
About the Author: Heather Sanders is a work at home mom who homeschools her three children. If you’d like to learn how to pursue your passions and earn an income while staying home with your kids, subscribe today.