The Character with a Secret History: How a Roman Scribble Became the Ampersand
The ampersand (&) is more than a simple stand-in for “and”; it’s a linguistic fossil with a secret history. This ubiquitous symbol began as a quick ligature by Roman scribes trying to write the Latin word *et* and later spent time as the 27th letter of the alphabet. From a scribe’s shortcut to a typographer’s darling, the ampersand’s journey is a fascinating look at how language evolves.
