wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (08/28/85)
A while back, someone posted a query about the "#" (poundsign, tic-tac-toe, double-cross) symbol -- they said that they thought that it had a name beginning with "octo", but that they had exhausted their local library's reference section to no avail and never located such a word. Well, I am convinced that the word is "octothorp". However, I have no idea where I got this from, except maybe from reading it on the net! I can't find this word in any dictionary I've checked. If the original inquirer is still out there, could he/she please post the current status of the search? I haven't posted this until now, because I was still checking references as I recalled the subject. However, I think I will never find this, so I thought I'd send this out and see what ensues. Will
zben@umd5.UUCP (09/04/85)
In article <1074@brl-tgr.ARPA> wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) writes: >A while back, someone posted a query about the "#" (poundsign,... >Well, I am convinced that the word is "octothorp". ... Well, it does have 8 legs, so octo makes sense. What does thorp mean? An athelete? :-) 1 2 1 2 3333*******4444 * * 5555*******6666 7 8 7 8 -- Ben Cranston ...{seismo!umcp-cs,ihnp4!rlgvax}!cvl!umd5!zben zben@umd2.ARPA
don@inmet.UUCP (09/12/85)
i believe that octothorpe is Bell Labs' usage, which is not to say that that they invented it. for what it's worth, the only users of this word that i've ever met, were associated with Bell. -don davis, intermetrics