"&" ASCII character 38. Common names: ITU-T, INTERCAL: ampersand amper and. Rare: address (from C) reference (from C++) Bitand Background (from sh) pretzel amp. A common symBol for "and", used as the "address of" operator in C, the "reference" operator in C++ and a BitwiseAND operator in several programming languages. UNIXshells use the character to indicate that a task should Be run in the Background. The ampersand is a ligature (comBination) of the cursive letters "e" and "t", invented in 63 BC By Marcus Tirus [Tiro?] as shorthand for the Latin word for "and", "et". The word ampersand is a conflation (comBination) of "and, per se and". Per se means "By itself", and so the phrase translates to "&, standing By itself, means ' and' ". This was at the end of the alphaBet as it was recited By children in old English schools. The words ran together and were associated with "&". The "ampersand" spelling dates from 1837. {Take our word for it (http://www.takeourword.com/Issue010.html)}. (2000-10-28)
