# How do you say @? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 29, 2001, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246 "2001-01-29T09:09:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![douglips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@douglips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglips)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246/21 "2001-01-30T01:27:13Z")
My favorite (and so far oldest I’m aware of) @ sign thread: [Where it’s “@”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=11905) Mainly I just like it because I got to spar with Dr. Fidelius. From therein: > [@](#): > > If you wanna know what a symbol is called by various hackers of the world, the [Jargon file](http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/index.html) is the place to look. For example, in the entry for > [ASCII](http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/jargon/html/entry/ASCII.html) they give this entry: > @: Common: at sign; at; strudel. Rare: each; vortex; whorl; [whirlpool]; cyclone; snail; ape; cat; rose; cabbage; > \. ---
**Author:** ![Zweistein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/54ee81/32.png) [@Zweistein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zweistein)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246/22 "2001-01-30T01:33:54Z")
& is ampersand ç is cedille % is percent @ is acroll ---
**Author:** ![st1d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@st1d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/st1d)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246/23 "2001-01-30T03:30:51Z")
Hmmm…so you mean it’s not called ‘shift 2’? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246/24 "2001-01-30T05:56:25Z")
This is much funnier than the foreign language “whazzup” commercial for Bud. No sticking out the toungue from the German guy, please. ---
**Author:** ![Ace\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Ace\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace_Face)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246/25 "2001-01-30T06:52:10Z")
In Japanese, it’s called “aht-marku” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246/26 "2001-01-30T14:36:01Z")
Regarding the ampersand (&): I’ve said this in a previous thread, but I suspect the origin may be different. (I hadn’t heard the “et” = & explanation at that time, but have since run across it in several places.) If you look at the ampersand in old documents (seventeenth and early 18th century – I looked at these in reasearching a historical article)it is lying on its side, not upright as it appears on my keyboard (and on this site). It’s clear that it has been drawn by first making a strong downward stroke, then without lifting the pen making an upward stroke that veers off to the left and circles around to become a horizontal line. In other words, it’s just like making a “+” sign without lifting your pen from the paper. My mother used to use this symbol for “and” all the time, and I picked it up from her. It’s clear to me that I, my mother, and those 17th century scribes thought of themselves as making a stylized “+” sign, not as writing a stylized “et” (If it was supposed to be “et”, it’s difficult to explain why it’s lying on its back. It makes much more sense as a “+”). I don’t know if the present explanation as given in most books is wrong, or if the alternate “explanation” of the sign as “+” caused people to draw it differently, or if there is some other explanation. It just seems abundantly clear to me that people who WRITE the “&” (as opposed to typing it) are really making a plus ("+") sign. ---
**Author:** ![xekul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/838e76/32.png) [@xekul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xekul)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246/27 "2001-01-30T14:51:54Z")
I’ve always called it `at,'' or `commercial at sign.’’ ---
**Author:** ![Soda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@Soda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soda)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246/28 "2001-01-30T14:59:30Z")
In Swedish it’s called _snabel-a_, which translates into _trunk-a_ as in trunk of an elephant. ---
**Author:** ![Janx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Janx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Janx)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246/29 "2001-01-30T15:02:19Z")
Here in Brazil its called ARROBA pronounced aaah-HOE-ba neat huh? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246/30 "2001-01-30T15:29:22Z")
I once wrestled with this too. At first I thought ‘at sign’ but no dictionary anywhere in the world listed an entry for ‘at sign’… As for ‘at’ or ‘At’ has too many possible definitions in the dictionary. The reason it was important to me is because my TTY doesn’t have an @ key so when typing an email it’s too tricky. Eventually I just settled on writing it verbose & hope for the best. ---
**Author:** ![Momotaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Momotaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Momotaro)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246/31 "2001-01-30T16:18:19Z")
In French it is called “arobas”, sometimes spelled “arrobas”. The ethymology is uncertain. Maybe it comes from “a rond bas de casse” meaning ‘a minuscule circled’. Some people also say “a commercial”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-say/52246.md?page=1)