Ampersand
noun, verb
noun, verb ·3 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The symbol "&".
"The ampersand character in many logics acts as an operator connecting two propositions."
- 2 a punctuation mark (‘&’) used to represent conjunction (and) wordnet
Verb
- 1 To add an ampersand to. rare, transitive
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"The ampersand character in many logics acts as an operator connecting two propositions."
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).