ampersand

/ˈæm.pə(ɹ).sænd/

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).

Why this word is great

AMPERSAND — [Noun] The symbol '&', representing the conjunction 'and'. From a mondegreen of 'and per se and', a phrase used to denote the symbol & by itself, with 'per se' meaning 'by itself' in Latin. Unlike "plus" (which calculates) or "and" (which merely connects), the ampersand is a visual pact, a ligature of elegance and efficiency. It is the curled tail of a cat asleep in a bookstore window, the tangled initials carved into an oak by lovers who have since forgotten each other, the silent bridge between partners in a law firm’s name—a relic that persists because some connections are too intimate for mere letters. A reminder that brevity can be beautiful, and that even conjunctions have their monuments.

noun

The symbol "&".“The ampersand character in many logics acts as an operator connecting two propositions.”

verb

To add an ampersand to.