ampersand
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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.[1] “And per se and” thus meant ⟨&⟩ by itself, as opposed to forms such as &c. The specific form ampersand is first attested in 1796, originally as a mocking pronunciation spelling.
ampersand (plural ampersands)
|
ampersand (third-person singular simple present ampersands, present participle ampersanding, simple past and past participle ampersanded)
Typography