Word of the Week
Ampersand (am-per-sand): A symbol or character that depicts the word AND. It comes from the Latin word et meaning "and."
Salve!
I've always enjoyed a good "&" symbol, and for the longest time, I didn't even know it had a name other than "and." As neat as the symbol itself is, how neat is the actual word for it?! Ampersand.
As you should know well enough by now, I love reading. . .which means I also love writing and language and so on. Wednesday, September 8th is National Ampersand Day! A fun day to celebrate a symbol that's been long overlooked. Let's start the celebration with some fun facts.
The ampersand was was created by joining together the letters E and T.
It's over 2,000 years old, dating back to 63 B.C.
It was officially accepted as a symbol that could substitute the word and in 1899.
& will always be considered a symbol, but the word ampersand is obviously a word.
The ampersand was once the final letter in the alphabet. Yes, it followed Z. It's unclear who removed it or when it was removed.
It's a very common symbol used in passwords that require special characters. The ampersand ranks ninth for the most frequently used special character in passwords.
Chaz DeSimone founded National Ampersand Day in 2015, attributing ampersands as art in his work "AmperArt." Because of him, we have a special day to celebrate the beauty of this symbol, and he has encouraged us to be artistic with it!
So, let's celebrate the symbol & follow Chaz's lead. This week, I want you to make your own version of AmperArt! You can see what I came up with by gathering just a few things from inside and outside my house. Get creative! Use any materials you have around you.
Until next time. . .
Gram