octothorpe · noun — the hash or square symbol #, used mainly in telephony and computing. It carries an Arena rating of 1365, earned across 20 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, octothorpe ranks #400 of 17,201 for Funniest Words, #1,600 of 17,195 for Most Exacting Words, #2,597 of 17,205 for The Improbable, #4,020 of 17,170 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
octothorpe is pronounced /ˈɒktəʊθɔːp/.
Why “octothorpe” is a great word
The hash or square symbol #, used mainly in telephony and computing. Likely coined at Bell Labs in the late 1960s or early 1970s, its name is a disputed hybrid: 'octo-' for the eight points on its perimeter, and '-thorpe,' an enigmatic appendage of uncertain origin, possibly an arbitrary syllable or a reference to athlete Jim Thorpe. Unlike 'hashtag,' which tethers the glyph to social media chatter, or 'pound sign,' which burdens it with weight or musical notation, octothorpe is the symbol's bare, technical identity. It is the crisp click at the end of a telephone extension, the silent sentinel before a programmer's comment, the clean lattice of a tic-tac-toe grid—the quiet geometry underlying a noisy world.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Origin disputed. There is no known usage before it was adopted by Bell Labs in the late 1960s or early 1970s, so most sources agree it was coined by someone at Bell Labs, but accounts from Bell Labs personnel conflict on the details. The derivation as a traditional term from octo- (“eight”) + thorpe (“field, hamlet or small village”) lacks any evidence, but there is near universal agreement that the first element refers to the number eight. Eight is derived from the number of ends of the lines. Thorpe could be a reference to Jim Thorpe, as one proponent was a fan of the athlete. However, it probably is just an arbitrarily-picked syllable with no particular meaning.
noun
- The hash or square symbol #, used mainly in telephony and computing.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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