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I'd like to know if anyone knows the meaning and etymology of the word "anoctothorpe". I think it's the # sign but I'm not sure.
"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." –Rudyard Kipling
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Abigail, I would argue that if a cumbersome, obscure word like "anoctothorpe" or "octothorpe" has become supplanted in ordinary usage for decades by a term like "pound sign" or "number sign" or "hash mark" or "square", it is best not to disturb their remains.
Each has died a natural and entirely deserving death and whoever perturbed you by exhuming "anoctothorpe" is doing no-one a service.
Some obsolete words have interesting histories and some bear themselves in repose with grace and dignity.
These words are obscure both in usage and history and they are ungainly to boot.
So let's send these ghastly curmudgeons back to the grave, Abigail. Shall we? :)
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Carpal Tunnel
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The assertion that "octothorpe" was made up by a guy working for Bell Labs named Don MacPherson. http://www.sigtel.com/tel_tech_octothorpe.htmlThis is one of the three source stories cited by Michael Quinion in his column on the subject.
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Carpal Tunnel
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anoctothorpe..
I would have thought that this was pretty obviously a typo of "an octothorpe" -- I trust that this was pointed out by someone in Faldo's second link!?
-ron o.
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formerly known as etaoin...
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Thanks everyone for the help. As to what tsuwm said, I think it's plausible but I have seen "anoctothorpe" around more often; does that make it an accepted alternative spelling (perhaps like "color" vs "colour")? Thank you wofahulicodoc, Father Steve and Faldage for those links, that was really interesting!
"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." –Rudyard Kipling
"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." –Rudyard Kipling
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enthusiast
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> I think it's plausible but I have seen "anoctothorpe" around more often;
Really? You've seen "anoctothorpe" more often than "an octothorpe"? That would be very surprising, given their respective Google hit ratios, as quoted by Faldage above. I had never seen "anoctothorpe" until your initial post, and automatically assumed it to be a simple case of a missing space.
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stranger
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Maybe it is a case of a missing space. I think perhaps more people encounter the wrong spelling; I read from one of the links that it's a circulating email, "useless facts". So it's likely that the original was a typo and people like me assume that it's the right spelling.
"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." –Rudyard Kipling
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