Re: typographical name for the # symbol

["Thomas Michanek" <thomas.michanek@xxxxxxxxx>]

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From: "Roger Jones" <Roger.Jones@rjpc.demon.co.uk>
> I am seeking the proper typographical name for the # symbol. I've seen it 
> called:
> * crosshatch
> * hash
> * number
> * pound
> * sharp
> * octothorpe.
> 
> None of these seems entirely convincing as a typographical term (cf. 
> ampersand), the last in the list being a telephone-industry invention of 
> relatively recent years.

All of the above are more or less commonly used names for the '#' sign,
but from a typographical standpoint, the name "sharp" is incorrect, as this
is a musical symbol that have a different appearance (glyph, if you like).
Names like "number" and "pound" reflects the *context* or *usage*,
not the appearance. "crosshatch" refers to the appearance. I'm not sure
where the name "hash" comes from.

The story of "octothorpe" can be found at:
http://www.quinion.com/words/weirdwords/ww-oct1.htm
even though Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style (1992),
claims that "octothorp" comes from cartography, meaning "eight fields":
http://www.brodynewmedia.com/Octo.html
Apparently, '#' is a cartographic symbol for village, and "thorpe[e]" is
actually Old English or Old Norse for hamlet, village or farm.
According to http://nwalsh.com/comp.fonts/FAQ/cf_32.htm
this comes from a much older Indo-European word meaning something like
"beam" or "timber". Interestingly enough, in Sweden the '#' is a cartographic
symbol for "timber yard"! (and "torp" is Swedish for croft or cottage).

Given the above, I'd say that "octothorpe" seems like a nice name :-)

Finally, a very good source of information is
http://lists.village.virginia.edu/lists_archive/Humanist/v12/0447.html


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Thomas Michanek, FrameMaker/UNIX/MIF expert
Technical Writer, IAR Systems, Uppsala, Sweden
mailto:Thomas.Michanek@telia.com
http://w1.184.telia.com/~u18407300/
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