The word “ampersand” came many years later when “&” was actually part of the English alphabet. In the early 1800s, school children reciting their ABCs concluded the alphabet with the &. It would have been confusing to say “X, Y, Z, and.” Rather, the students said, “and per se and.” “Per se” means “by itself,” so the students were essentially saying, “X, Y, Z, and by itself and.” Over time, “and per se and” was slurred together into the word we use today: ampersand. When a word comes about from a mistaken pronunciation, it’s called a mondegreen.
Caslon font (notice the et.)
HERE'S the short article (you've read half of it already) about the ampersand and a bazillion links to associated articles in dictionary.com.
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6 comments:
If a word that comes from a mistaken pronunciation is called a mondegreen, is a word that comes from a mistaken political concept called a mondeblue or mondered?
Hmm....I vaguely remember it being the 27th alphabet but didn't know that history behind it.
&c looks cute but it isn't any easier to type than etc because it still takes three keystrokes.
this is interesting
thanks for the info Mike
I like the Caslon font and the et
Bilbo - Nope, it's just called a f*****g lie.
Amanda - I thought the same thing about the not so work saving &c.
Dianne - Don't forget to follow all the links. Talk to you again in 2014.
I'm glad no one pointed out that I ironically misspelled dictionary.
Very interesting :P
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