3 ms·
Because the alphabet was “a, b, …, x, y, z and &” (pronounced “… why zed and per se and”) and now it’s “a, b, …, x, y and z” (pronounced “… why and zed”).
by kgwgk 4y ago
Because the alphabet was “a, b, …, x, y, z and &” (pronounced “… why zed and per se and”) and now it’s “a, b, …, x, y and z” (pronounced “… why and zed”).
- boffinism 4y agoYou're missing that "& per se &" would still have been called that even if it wasn't the last item in the list. If the order was "...y, & and z" you'd pronounce it "why and per se and and zed".
- kgwgk 4y agoIs there any reason to believe so? Maybe it’s you who is missing what’s going on. https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-origin-of-the-ampersand https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-origin-of-the-ampersand & was named ampersand in the context of rattling off the letters of the alphabet in English: “double-you ex wye izzard/zed, and”. “… And what?” “And, on its own, and” (and, per se, and). With “and” named in English, because this was an English rattling off of the alphabet.
- boffinism 4y ago> Is there any reason to believe so? Yes, specificially this article: http://haggardhawksblog.blogspot.com/2015/03/ampersand.html http://haggardhawksblog.blogspot.com/2015/03/ampersand.html
- kgwgk 4y agoI agree with palotasb about that article: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35611618 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35611618