It was originally a Latin scribal abbreviation for "ad" (= at), often occurring in lists of prices. So calling it an at sign makes a lot of sense. But I like the idea of calling it a cinnamon roll or a snail! (The ampersand & also began life as a scribal abbreviation -- for et (Latin for and), and if you make a sort of open rounded E with a long, upswinging bottom stroke and then cross the tail to make the t, you can see how it evolved.) > > From: "Avital Pinnick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: 2003/12/16 Tue AM 06:17:55 EST > To: "Lace-Chat" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [lace-chat] The @ symbol > > Yes, the history is quite accurate, from what I recall on the copyeditors' > list. In Israel we call it a "strudel," which isn't too far from the Swedish > cinnamon roll. > > Avital > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jean Nathan" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Chat" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Monday, December 15, 2003 8:30 PM > Subject: [lace-chat] The @ symbol > > > On our Radio4 on Saturday (couldn't re-listen to it to clarify the detail > until today because they had technical problems) it was reported that a film > is being made about email, and the @ key is now the one most often hit. > Apparently the symbol started life in the middle ages, but it has no > official title. In Holland and South Africa it's referred to as a monkey's > tail, in Russia a little dog, in Sweden a cinnamon roll, and in other places > it has various names including a maggot, a snail and a pickled herring. > > I always referred to it as "the at symbol" when it was used in typing > invoices, eg "10 reams of paper @ two pounds. Total 20 pounds." > > Jean in Poole > > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] >
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