Although you might think of the ampersand (&), the asterisk (*), and thePound sign (#)Like typographic symbols found on your computer or phone keyboard, each of these symbols has its own history that dates back even before computers existed. Learn about the origins and meanings of these symbols, as well as tips on how to use them.
01
from 10
Ampersand & (Y)
The typographical symbol used to denote the word and (&) is the Latin symbol foretthat means ______________Y. The name is believed to be derived from the phrase ampersandand per se and.
On a keyboard with a standard English layout, it is accessed with the ampersand (&) sign.capa+7. In many fonts, the ampersand looks like an italic S or curvy plus sign, but in other fonts you can almost make out the word Et in the ampersand design.
The ampersand is a form ofis tiedbecause it combines two characters in one.
02
from 10
Apostrophe ' (prima, simple comillas)
The apostrophe (') is a punctuation mark that indicates the omission of one or more letters. The phraseI would not do itbecomes a contractionI would not do itwhere the apostrophe indicates the lack of o. InGovernment, a short form ofGovernment, the apostrophe indicates that several letters are missing.
The apostrophe is used for some plural forms and possessive pronouns: 5er (plural) or Jills (possessive pronoun)
The glyph used for the apostrophe can vary depending on the type of document. In typed or plain (plain) text, the apostrophe is usually a single straight mark (') upright (or slightly slanted). On a standard QWERTY keyboard, the key for this bookmark is between the semicolon and ENTER.
In properly placed material, a curl orApostrophe setis the correct glyph (') to use. This is the same character that is used as a right or closed quote when using single quotes. It varies by font, but generally looks like a comma, except it's above the baseline.
On a Mac, use Shift+Option+] for a curved apostrophe. Use for WindowsALT 0146(holdAlt keyand enter the numbers on the numeric keypad). In HTML, encode the character as & #0146; for '.
The same key that is used to type an apostrophe (the only straight mark) is used for arowing. This is a mathematical symbol used to indicate a division into parts, mainly feet or minutes.
The straight apostrophe is often used for single quotes in unsolicited material (such as emails or web pages). The joint apostrophe is also one half of a pair of characters used for single quotes. There is a left single quote and a right single quote.
03
from 10
Asterisk * (star, times)
An asterisk is a star-like symbol (*) used in literature, mathematics, computer science, and many other fields. The asterisk can indicate a placeholder, repetitions, notations, multiplications (times), and footnotes.
On the English standard layout keyboard, the asterisk is used to access it.capa+8. On a telephone keypad it is commonly known asPopa.
In some fonts, the asterisk is in superscript or smaller than other symbols. It can appear as three crossed lines, two diagonals and one horizontal, or two diagonals and one vertical, or a variation.
04
from 10
At the @ sign (respectively)
The at sign (@) means any (or each), at, or any at, as in "Three magazines for five dollars" (3 magazines would cost $5 each, or $15 total). The at sign is also now a required part of all email addresses on the Internet. The character is a combination (ligature) of a and e.
In French, an at sign means petit escargot - little snail. On the standard English keyboard is the at signcapa+2.
05
from 10
Guión - – — (guión, guión en, guión em)
It's not a script; dash is a short line used as a punctuation mark, often represented by one or more dashes.
The shortest hyphen, the hyphen
Ascriptis a short punctuation mark used to join words (for example, well-read or expert) and to separate syllables in a single word or characters in a phone number (123-555-0123).
The dash is the non-caps key between 0 and +/= on a standard keyboard. Dashes are typically shorter and thicker than hyphens, though they can vary by font, and the difference can be hard to tell depending on the font. - - -
the short dash
The hyphen is slightly longer than a hyphen.Towardto the width of the lower casenortein the font it is set to. Dashes (–) are used primarily to indicate duration or range, as in 9:00–5:00 or 112–600 or 15–31. March. Informally, a hyphen often represents a proper hyphen.
Create scripts withoption script(Mac) etcALT 0150(Windows) - press and holdAlt keyand type0150on the numeric keypad. Create HTML scripts with – (ampersand without space, number sign 0150 semicolon). Or use the Unicode number unit of & #8211; (there is no place).
the long line
The em dash is often written as a pair of hyphens and is slightly longer than an en dash:Towardto the width of the lower caseMETROin the font it is set to. Similar to a bracketed sentence (like this one), the hyphen separates clauses in a sentence or can be used to provide a break for emphasis.
Create em dashes with Shift-Option-Hyphen (Mac) or ALT 0151 (Windows): Hold down ALT and type 0151 on the numeric keypad. Create them scripts inHTMLwith & #0151; (ampersand without space, number sign 0151 semicolon). Or use the Unicode number unit of & #8212; (there is no place).
06
from 10
dollar sign $
The dollar sign is a symbol that looks like a capital S with one or two vertical lines inside. It represents the currency in the US and some other countries and is also used in computer programming.
Many sources say that Oliver Pollack is in charge of the United States.ps(dollar) symbol. It seems his version of the abbreviation for pesos was a bit hard to crack, and when the US needed a symbol to represent our money, the $ won the bid. Pollack doesn't always get the credit. Other possible origins include the derivation of the mint mark on Spanish pieces of eight, or from a symbol for vermilion, or from a symbol on a Roman coin. The $ symbol is also used as currency in some countries other than the United States.
One line or two? Usually written with a vertical bar ($), it is sometimes seen with two parallel bars. Another currency symbol, the cipher, uses two lines and closely resembles the dollar sign. In some fonts, the line is written as an en dash at the top and bottom of the S, rather than a solid line through the character, as seen in the $ symbol for Courier New.
The $ symbol represents more than money. It is also used in a variety of programming languages to represent strings, newlines, special characters, etc. On a standard keyboard, access the $ symbol by typing Shift+4.
On a standard English keyboard, the dollar sign is Shift+4.
07
from 10
exclamation! and exclamation point inverted
The exclamation mark (!) is a punctuation mark used in English and other languages to indicate an exclamation such as extreme happiness, screaming, or surprise. For example: wow! Incredible! Brilliant! Stop jumping on the bed right now!
Use exclamation points sparingly in text. Multiple brands like "Good Grief!!!!!" they are not for standard use.
The character used as an exclamation was originally spelled IO, a Latin word meaning exclamation or expression of joy.
There are two widely accepted theories about the origin of the exclamation point:
- The writers saved space by placing the I over the O, and the O eventually became a full period.
- It was originally written as an O with a slash, but the O eventually disappeared and the remaining slash became the current exclamation point.
Various slang terms for the symbol include Bang, Pling, Smash, Soldier, Control, and Screamer.
The exclamation mark is also used in some mathematical and computer programming languages.
He ! it's on a standard keyboardcapa+1.
The reverse exclamation (¡) is a punctuation mark used in some languages such as Spanish. Exclamations are used to frame an exclamatory statement, with the reversed or inverted exclamation at the beginning and the normal exclamation at the end! .I saw the movie last night. What a shock!
There is Alt/ASCII code: ALT 173 or ALT 0161.
08
from 10
Pound sign # (round sign, hash)
The # symbol is known as the number sign or pound sign (not to be confused with the pound symbol denoting currency) or hash in various countries.
On a telephone keypad, it is known as the pound (US) key or hash key in most English-speaking countries.
If # comes before a number, it is aNumberas in #1 (number 1). If it follows a number, it's aLibra(unit of weight) as in 3# (three pounds) (mostly US)
Other names for the # are Hex and Octothorp. # can be used in computer programming, mathematics, web pages (for example, as shorthand for a blog's permalink or to indicate a special tag such asHashtags en Twitter), chess and drafting. The three pound symbols (###) often indicate "the end" in press releases or typed manuscripts.
On standard US keyboards, the # key is Shift+3. It may be in other places in other countries. Mac:Possibility+3. Ventana:alternative+35
Although the musical notation for sharps (♯) looks similar, it is not the same as the number sign. The pound sign usually consists of 2 (usually) horizontal bars and 2 oblique bars. Whereas the cross consists of 2 vertical lines and 2 sloping lines so that it appears to be leaning to the left while the number sign is more upright or sloping to the right.
09
from 10
Quotes " (Double hyphen, double quotes)
Quotation marks are usually a pair of symbols used at the beginning and end of word-for-word quoted text, dialogue (for example, in a book), and around the titles of some short works. The specific style of quotation marks varies by language or country. The character described here is the double quote or the double hyphen.
On a standard keyboard, the symbol " (capa+') is often referred to as double quotes. This is also a double hyphen used to indicate inches and seconds (see also hyphen). In typography, these straight double quotes are often called dummy quotes when used as quotation marks.
Properly composed material turns into silly quotescurly quotesor quotes from typographers. Converting to smart quotes uses two separate characters: double left (open) quotes " and right double (closed) quotes ". They slant or curve (in opposite directions), whereas the regular quote or double hyphen usually goes up and down.
Use on a MacOption+[ Ycapa+Option+[ for left and right double quotes. use for windowsALT 0147YALT 0148for left and right double quotes (curved quotes).
10
from 10
Slash / (slash) \ (slash)
Technically, the punctuation marks known as the slash are slightly different and are used differently. In today's language, however, they are used as synonyms. Various forms of this slash punctuation mark are used as separators, word substitutes, for mathematical expressions, and in web addresses (URLs or Uniform Resource Locators).
There is the forward slash or forward slash (/) on a standard keyboard layout (usually a key shares the question mark?). You can also use ALT+47 for the same character. It is also called hyphen, virgula or diagonal.
The solidus (⁄) generally leans a little more forward than the slash. It is also known as the fraction bar or inline fraction bar or division bar due to its use in mathematical expressions. In some fonts you can find characters like:
- Solidus or Fullwidth Solidus (slash) /
- solid short ̷
- Langer Solidus ̸
- split bar ∕
In most cases, it is acceptable to use the forward slash on the keyboard.
- 11/4/58 (one date)
- 150 mi./sec (miles per second)
- he/she (or)
- 1/4 (a quarter)
- https://www.lifewire.com/sam-costello-1998859 (web address)
The reverse bar or backslash is an inverted solidus. The trailing solidus (\) is most commonly used as a path separator in Windows as in C:\Programs\Adobe\InDesign and as a character in some programming languages such as Perl. The inverted solidus is also known as the inverted division sign, although this usage is rare.
On a standard US keyboard, \ shares a key with | (pipe/pipe - Shift+\) to the end of the row of QWERTY keys. You can also use ALT+92 for the same character.
FAQs
What is an interesting fact about keyboards? ›
The Qwerty keyboard that we use today is attributed to Christoper Latham Sholes. This American inventor first showed off the keyboard on July 1, 1874. Sholes organised the original layout alphabetically. However, this first layout allowed for typing common letter combinations too quickly and led to jammed keys.
What is F1 f2 f3 f4 f5 f6 f7 f8 f9 f10 f11 F12? ›The function keys or F-keys on a computer keyboard, labeled F1 through F12, are keys that have a special function defined by the operating system, or by a currently running program. They may be combined with the Alt or Ctrl keys.
What are the 7 special keys in keyboard? ›- Ctrl-S - save.
- Ctrl-O - open.
- Ctrl-N - new.
- Ctrl-C - copy.
- Ctrl-V - paste.
- Ctrl-X - cut.
- Ctrl-Z - undo.
- Ctrl-A - select all.
- VIKING WOMEN USED KEYS AS A STATUS SYMBOL. ...
- PEOPLE LOVE TO COLLECT LOCKS AND KEYS. ...
- NEW LOCK DESIGNS CAME ABOUT IN RESPONSE TO LOCK PICKING. ...
- CODES FOR UNLOCKING FORT KNOX CHANGE DAILY. ...
- BIRDS CAN PICK LOCKS. ...
- ANCIENT LOCKS DATE BACK 4,000 YEARS.
QWERTY Keyboards
Designed in the likeness of old-fashioned typewriters, QWERTY is the most common keyboard layout. Generations of typists have come to know the QWERTY keyboard, and most students learn to type with this kind of keyboard layout.
- The F1 key.
- The F2 key.
- The F3 key.
- The F4 key.
- The F5 key.
- The F6 key.
- The F7 key.
- The F8 key.
A function key refers to one of the twelve keys present on the top row of a common PC keyboard. Labeled from F1–F12, these function keys are responsible for performing shortcut tasks like printing or saving files. Different operating systems, for example Windows and Mac OS, have separate uses for function keys.
What does F9 FN do? ›With a single-color keyboard backlight keyboards, FN+F9 mutes the audio. With a multiple backlight colors (RGB) keyboard, FN+F9 adjusts the repeat rate mode.
Which key is rarely used in keyboard? ›In a few programs, pressing Scroll Lock changes the behavior of the arrow keys and the Page Up and Page Down keys; pressing these keys causes the document to scroll without changing the position of the cursor or selection. Your keyboard might have a light indicating whether Scroll Lock is on. This key is rarely used.
Which is the longest key on keyboard? ›Spacebar is the longest key on the keyboard.
What are the 104 keys in keyboard? ›
Alternatively called the Windows keyboard, the 104 keyboard is a keyboard found with most new computers today that incorporates three additional Microsoft Windows keys. Below is a picture of the Saitek Gamers' keyboard, a 104-key keyboard, with indicators describing each of the keyboard's major features.
How many symbols does a keyboard have? ›Because languages other than English commonly use accents, a combination of key strokes is needed to display them using the QWERTY keyboard. ASCII includes 31 characters. These are the characters found in most keyboards (full-sized or portable) throughout the world.
How many symbols are there on a keyboard? ›How many symbols are on a keyboard? There are 40 symbols (e.g., @, #, $, and others) on 28 keys on an English QWERTY keyboard, which are considered neither letters nor numbers. Because certain keys have two symbols, there is a numerical discrepancy.
What is this symbol called on keyboard *? ›The first key was seen 6000 years ago the same time locks were discovered too. This was in ancient Babylon, Egypt. It was made of wood and the key looked like a brush. It was heavy and not very durable therefore not the best material it could have been made from.
What was the first key? ›The earliest known key (and its corresponding lock) was found in the ruins of Nineveh, the ancient capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. This simple key was simply a wooden prodder that could be inserted through a small hole in a door. It worked by lifting a bar of wood placed across the inside of the door.
Do keys have teeth? ›Common types of keys include: 1. Double-Sided & Four-Sided Key - These types of keys have either two or four sets of teeth on them and are most commonly used for home locks. We recommend the four-sided key, as it is more durable and the extra teeth make the lock more difficult to pick.
What are 75% keyboards called? ›You can think of the 75% layout as a compact TKL keyboard, with 4 fewer keys, shedding 2 nav keys and the pause/lock keys, the arrow cluster is now right next to the right CTRL key. The 75% is a 16u in width, saving 2.25u compared to the TKL's 18.25u.
Why is QWERTY not abcd? ›The 'qwerty' keyboard was designed for use on typewriters so that frequently used letters were spread apart, avoiding clashing or jamming of the most used 'hammers'.
What's the fastest keyboard? ›The Apex Pro TKL is the world's fastest keyboard with OmniPoint 2.0...
What are 5 facts about the piano? ›
- The Piano is Classified as a String and Percussion Instrument. ...
- The First Piano Was Made in Italy in 1709. ...
- Pianos Used to Have Ivory Keys. ...
- Each String in the Piano Holds Lots of Tension. ...
- Not All Pianos Have the Same Number of Keys. ...
- The Keys of the Pianos Weren't Always the Same.
The QWERTY layout was devised and created in the early 1870s by Christopher Latham Sholes, a newspaper editor and printer who lived in Kenosha, Wisconsin. In October 1867, Sholes filed a patent application for his early writing machine he developed with the assistance of his friends Carlos Glidden and Samuel W. Soulé.
What is main importance of keyboard? ›A keyboard is for putting information including letters, words and numbers into your computer. You press the individual buttons on the keyboard when you type. The number keys across the top of the keyboard are also found on the right of the keyboard.
What are three features of a keyboard? ›- Typing (alphanumeric) keys. These keys include the same letter, number, punctuation, and symbol keys found on a traditional typewriter.
- Control keys. These keys are used alone or in combination with other keys to perform certain actions. ...
- Function keys. ...
- Navigation keys. ...
- Numeric keypad.
An 88-key piano has seven octaves plus three lower notes (B, B flat and A) below the bottom C. It has 52 white keys and 36 black keys (sharps and flats), with each octave made up of seven white keys and five black keys.
What is the oldest instrument? ›The oldest musical instrument in the world (60,000 years) The oldest musical instrument in the world, a 60,000-year-old Neanderthal flute is a treasure of global significance. It was discovered in Divje babe cave near Cerkno and has been declared by experts to have been made by Neanderthals.
Why are there 7 piano notes? ›More than a thousand years ago the letters of the Roman alphabet were adopted to refer to these, and since there were only seven the letters ran A, B, C, D, E, F, G.
Does QWERTY mean anything? ›And QWERTY isn't an acronym or neologism. The name is simply the first six characters in the top far left row of letters. A Milwaukee newspaper editor and printer named Christopher Sholes invented the QWERTY layout. He sold the design to Remington in 1874, the year the format debuted on typewriters.
What are the 3 types of keyboards? ›Changing the Layout of the Keys
For languages using the Latin alphabet, there are three main key layouts: QWERTY, QWERTZ, and AZERTY. Several countries have created their own variations based on these keyboards.
Most keyboards come with 66, 72, or 88 keys. For a beginner, 66 keys are sufficient for learning to play, and you can play most music on a 72-key instrument. For anyone interested in playing classical piano, however, a full 88 keys are recommended, especially if you plan on one day playing a traditional piano.
What are the 5 uses of keyboard? ›
- key board is used for typing message for communication.
- keyboard is used for recepticle for anger and frustration techniques.
- key board is used for Seating, most notably for those of the feline persuasion.
- keyboard is used for entering text.
- keyboard is used to operate some devices.
Keyboard switches are perhaps the most important parts of a keyboard because they determine the sound and feel of the keyboard while typing (in addition to the feel of the keycaps).
Which is the longest key on the keyboard? ›Spacebar is the longest key on the keyboard.