Re: When to Use Pound Signs

From:

Andrew Bernard

Subject:

Date:

Wed, 06 Jan 2016 21:00:14 +1100

User-agent:

Microsoft-MacOutlook/0.0.0.151217

Well, something I never knew:

From the Oxford English Dictionary II Online:

octothorp, n.

The hash sign (#), as it appears on the buttons of touch-tone telephones and some other keypads.

1996 New Scientist 30 Mar. 54/3 The term ‘octothorp(e)’ (which MWCD10 dates 1971) was invented for ‘#’, allegedly by Bell Labs engineers when touch-tone telephones were introduced in the mid-1960s. ‘Octo-’ means eight, and ‘thorp’ was an Old English word for village: apparently the sign was playfully construed as eight fields surrounding a village.

Andrew

On 6/01/2016, 15:55, "Colin Campbell" <address@hidden on behalf of address@hidden> wrote:

I wonder if the spaces delimited by the lines are thorpes?

Re: When to Use Pound Signs, (continued)

Re: When to Use Pound Signs, J Martin Rushton, 2016/01/05
RE: When to Use Pound Signs, Mark Stephen Mrotek, 2016/01/05
Re: When to Use Pound Signs, J Martin Rushton, 2016/01/05
Re: When to Use Pound Signs, Andrew Bernard, 2016/01/05
Re: When to Use Pound Signs, Colin Campbell, 2016/01/05
Re: When to Use Pound Signs, Colin Campbell, 2016/01/05
Re: When to Use Pound Signs, Nathan Ho, 2016/01/06
Re: When to Use Pound Signs, David Kastrup, 2016/01/06
Re: When to Use Pound Signs, Andrew Bernard, 2016/01/06
Re: When to Use Pound Signs, David Kastrup, 2016/01/06
Re: When to Use Pound Signs, Andrew Bernard <=

Re: When to Use Pound Signs, David Kastrup, 2016/01/05

Re: When to Use Pound Signs, Cynthia Karl, 2016/01/06
- RE: When to Use Pound Signs, Mark Stephen Mrotek, 2016/01/06
Re: When to Use Pound Signs, Tim Reeves, 2016/01/06
- Re: When to Use Pound Signs, Simon Albrecht, 2016/01/06