I really like this as an alt etymology. If it got popularized to save characters in telegrams, it could have been the “electric and”. Another way it could be f

I really like this as an alt etymology. If it got popularized to save characters in telegrams, it could have been the “electric and”. Another way it could be from Ampere is that his son was a philologist and could have conceivably promoted the idea of an ampersand.