French Word of the Day: Esperluette
It's probably the second most useful language symbol to know.
Why do I need to know Esperluette?
Because it’s the French for a very common symbol in language that isn’t l'arobase*.
What does it mean?
Esperluette– roughly pronounced ess-per-loo-ette – is the French word for ampersand. It’s also sometimes known as “et commercial”.
It describes the & symbol, which is a typographical combination of the letters E and T. The symbol dates back to Roman times - its first known use is on a papyrus from 45CE. In fact, the French for ‘and’ is taken from the Latin - et.
Sadly, contrary to popular belief, ampersand was not named after the French physicist André-Marie Ampère. It is not 'Ampère’s and', no matter how much we may want it to be.
The origins of the French word are harder to pin down. It could a corruption of the Occitan es per lo et (pronounced ess per loo ett) - which, in French becomes “C’est pour le « et »” … or, “it’s for the ‘and’”.
Similarly, it could come from Picardy, as a corruption of perluète - when the symbol & was more commonly included in the alphabet, after the letter Z.
Interestingly, the symbol has evolved over the centuries. But the first recognisably modern form was developed by Claude Garamond - yes, that Garamond, of font fame - in the 15th century for use in printing presses.
Use it like this
Le “et” entre le V et le B est une esperluette - the “and” between the V and the B is an ampersand
* If you've ever given out your email address in French you will known l'arobase (pronounced lar-oh-baz), it's the French for the @ symbol
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Why do I need to know Esperluette?
Because it’s the French for a very common symbol in language that isn’t l'arobase*.
What does it mean?
Esperluette– roughly pronounced ess-per-loo-ette – is the French word for ampersand. It’s also sometimes known as “et commercial”.
It describes the & symbol, which is a typographical combination of the letters E and T. The symbol dates back to Roman times - its first known use is on a papyrus from 45CE. In fact, the French for ‘and’ is taken from the Latin - et.
Sadly, contrary to popular belief, ampersand was not named after the French physicist André-Marie Ampère. It is not 'Ampère’s and', no matter how much we may want it to be.
The origins of the French word are harder to pin down. It could a corruption of the Occitan es per lo et (pronounced ess per loo ett) - which, in French becomes “C’est pour le « et »” … or, “it’s for the ‘and’”.
Similarly, it could come from Picardy, as a corruption of perluète - when the symbol & was more commonly included in the alphabet, after the letter Z.
Interestingly, the symbol has evolved over the centuries. But the first recognisably modern form was developed by Claude Garamond - yes, that Garamond, of font fame - in the 15th century for use in printing presses.
Use it like this
Le “et” entre le V et le B est une esperluette - the “and” between the V and the B is an ampersand
* If you've ever given out your email address in French you will known l'arobase (pronounced lar-oh-baz), it's the French for the @ symbol
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