# What is this sort of symbol? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2010, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016 "2010-07-26T04:40:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/1 "2010-07-26T04:40:32Z")
There’s a sort of symbol used to separate sections of a text without moving into new chapters. They’re often used in essays. An example of this is seen in this book on poetry, right in the middle of the page: [Poetry Essay Book](http://books.google.com/books?id=3hONWeZgkNIC&lpg=PP1&dq=stealing%20glimpses&pg=PA12#v=onepage&q&f=false) What is this type of symbol called? Where can I find them so I can use them in Word documents? Any help appreciated! ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/2 "2010-07-26T04:43:17Z")
Looks like an underlined asterix. \* In a weird (edit)monospace typewriter(/edit) font. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/3 "2010-07-26T04:46:04Z")
I’ve seen many different types of symbols used to separate sections of essays without explicitly numbering them. But I don’t see any symbols of this sort in Word’s symbol bank, so I wonder if essayists generally just use whatever symbol they like most, or if editors and writers have some sort of special bank of essay-breaking symbols. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/4 "2010-07-26T04:48:12Z")
My SO in the publishing industry offers **dinkus** and \*\*asterism. \*\*I’m not sure either are 100% exactly what you mean though. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/5 "2010-07-26T04:50:45Z")
[Dingbats?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingbat) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/6 "2010-07-26T04:53:09Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > My SO in the publishing industry offers **dinkus** and \*\*asterism. \*\*I’m not sure either are 100% exactly what you mean though. I looked them up on Google, and those actually are the sorts of symbols I’m looking for, but I can’t find how to make them in Word. Maybe I need to important the symbols from somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/7 "2010-07-26T04:54:13Z")
> [@Todderbob](#): > > Looks like an underlined asterix. \* > > In a weird (edit)monospace typewriter(/edit) font. > [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > I’ve seen many different types of symbols used to separate sections of essays without explicitly numbering them. But I don’t see any symbols of this sort in Word’s symbol bank, so I wonder if essayists generally just use whatever symbol they like most, or if editors and writers have some sort of special bank of essay-breaking symbols. Note that the OP is after a name for this _type_ of symbol (ie a small graphical element used to decorate a space break), not of the exact symbol in their example. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/8 "2010-07-26T04:54:52Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > [Dingbats?](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dingbat) Yeah, thanks. I don’t know anything about typesetting, publishing, etc. Edit: Askance is right that I am looking for a general category of suitable space break symbols, though the one in that specific book is rather pretty. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/9 "2010-07-26T04:57:23Z")
> [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > > [@Askance](#): > > > > My SO in the publishing industry offers **dinkus** and \*\*asterism. \*\*I’m not sure either are 100% exactly what you mean though. > > I looked them up on Google, and those actually are the sorts of symbols I’m looking for, but I can’t find how to make them in Word. Maybe I need to important the symbols from somewhere? According to Wikipedia the [asterism is Unicode 2042](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism_%28typography%29), so any decent word processor should have it. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/10 "2010-07-26T04:59:40Z")
… also I’ve seen rows of [lozenges](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lozenge) used in this context. The [reference mark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_typographic_symbols#.E2.80.BB) might also do. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/11 "2010-07-26T05:02:38Z")
> [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > I looked them up on Google, and those actually are the sorts of symbols I’m looking for, but I can’t find how to make them in Word. Maybe I need to important the symbols from somewhere? No, Word provides them. Just go to the “fonts” bar and choose “[webdings](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webdings)” or “[wingdings](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingdings)” and you’ll find them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/12 "2010-07-26T05:16:31Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > > [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > > > > [@Askance](#): > > > > > > My SO in the publishing industry offers **dinkus** and \*\*asterism. \*\*I’m not sure either are 100% exactly what you mean though. > > > > I looked them up on Google, and those actually are the sorts of symbols I’m looking for, but I can’t find how to make them in Word. Maybe I need to important the symbols from somewhere? > > According to Wikipedia the [asterism is Unicode 2042](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterism_%28typography%29), so any decent word processor should have it. Unfortunately, I only get an underline in Word. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/13 "2010-07-26T05:19:00Z")
Bravely refraining from re-emphasizing _decent_ word processor, I’ll just say yes, but the font in use need to have it too, and if it were anywhere it would be in a dingbats-style font as **Colibri** mentions. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/14 "2010-07-26T05:21:31Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Bravely refraining from re-emphasizing _decent_ word processor, I’ll just say yes, but the font in use need to have it too, and if it were anywhere it would be in a dingbats-style font as **Colibri** mentions. Just curious, what do you consider a decent word processor? Understand that I’m completely clueless on this sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/15 "2010-07-26T05:42:05Z")
I’m just being a clever dick about MS products, nevermind! I use Open office but I can’t find the Asterism in there either. Several fonts have the lozenge ◊ though, including Thorndate AMD. My SO says that extreme punctuation like that tends to only come in special fonts such as arabesque ornaments, bodoni ornaments, or botanicalMT. ---
**Author:** ![DHMO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@DHMO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DHMO)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/16 "2010-07-26T05:55:44Z")
It also depends on which fonts you have _installed_ on your computer. On Win-Tel machines, ```auto Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Character Map ``` will list all fonts currently installed. It also makes Copy&Paste easier, and will give the Unicode and ALT-[Numpad] (if available) keystrokes to insert any character into your Word document. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/17 "2010-07-26T07:20:19Z")
To answer the OP’s question, that type of ornamental symbol could be properly called a filigree or a flourish. Some might argue that a filigree is generally more elaborate in detail but the dictionary definitions fit. I’d probably go with [flourish](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flourish). Noun definition 2b: > [@M-W](#): > > an ornamental stroke in writing or printing ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/18 "2010-07-26T07:38:31Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > To answer the OP’s question, that type of ornamental symbol could be properly called a filigree or a flourish. Some might argue that a filigree is generally more elaborate in detail but the dictionary definitions fit. I’d probably go with [flourish](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/flourish). > > Noun definition 2b: > > > [@M-W](#): > > > > an ornamental stroke in writing or printing Is there not, then, any special term for a symbol used to separate paragraphs into sections within an essay? ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/19 "2010-07-26T07:49:04Z")
> [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > Is there not, then, any special term for a symbol used to separate paragraphs into sections within an essay? [Paragraph Separator](http://www.google.com/search?q=%22paragraph+separator%22)? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2010, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016/20 "2010-07-26T07:54:45Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > > [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](#): > > > > Is there not, then, any special term for a symbol used to separate paragraphs into sections within an essay? > > [Paragraph Separator](http://www.google.com/search?q=%22paragraph+separator%22)? Fair enough. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-sort-of-symbol/548016.md?page=2)