Ampersand

• Ampersand means ‘and’. It is derived from the Latin ‘et’ meaning ‘and’.
• The word Ampersand is a corruption of the Latin phrase: ‘et, per se, et’, which means ‘and, by itself, and’.

The Symbol: &

• &: it combines the letters E and T (et).
• This became commonplace in handwritten Latin script during the first century CE.
• The letters E and T (‘et’ meaning ‘and’) were often joined together (known as a ligature), as if they were one letter.

In the English Alphabet

• ‘&’ is often considered to be the 27th letter of the English alphabet (although it is actually two letters combined).

See also

• Et cetera: etc. or &c. ‘Et’ means ‘and’ and ‘cetera’ means ‘the rest’.
  • Meaning: ‘..and the rest of these things’.