octothorpe

== English == === Alternative forms === octothorp === Etymology === Origin disputed. There is no known usage before it was adopted by Bell Labs in the late 1960s or early 1970s, so most sources agree it was coined by someone at Bell Labs, but accounts from Bell Labs personnel conflict on the details. The derivation as a traditional term from octo- (“eight”) +‎ thorpe (“field, hamlet or small village”) lacks any evidence, but there is near universal agreement that the first element refers to the number eight. Eight is derived from the number of ends of the lines. Thorpe could be a reference to Jim Thorpe, as one proponent was a fan of the athlete. However, it probably is just an arbitrarily-picked syllable with no particular meaning. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɒktəʊθɔːp/ (US) IPA(key): /ˈɑːktoʊθɔːɹp/ === Noun === octothorpe (plural octothorpes) (chiefly US, typography) The hash or square symbol #, used mainly in telephony and computing. Synonyms: hash, hashtag, number sign, octothorn, pound sign 1973, US patent application ser. no. 05/422,816 (filed 3 December 1973), issued as patent no. 3,920,926 (18 November 1975), Telephone Data Set Including Visual Display Means, col. 3 The pad 1 provides keys for numerals 0 to 9, while the sextile or asterisk (*) key is decoded to provide a decimal point and the octothorp ( # ) key generates a command to send the contents of the memory unto the telephone line through a send circuit 7, a coupling circuit 8 and the hybrid network 2. ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== # ♯ sextile ==== References ==== Keith Houston (2013), Shady Characters: The Secret Life of Punctuation, Symbols, and Other Typographical Marks‎[3], New York: W. W. Norton & Company, →ISBN, pages 41–57. ==== Further reading ==== Number sign on Wikipedia.Wikipedia