It’s funny, isn't it? We use them every single day, these little marks and shapes that pepper our writing and our digital conversations. Yet, ask most people what they’re actually called, and you’ll likely get a shrug, a guess, or perhaps a confident, but incorrect, answer. I’ve certainly been there, staring at a list of punctuation and symbols, feeling a pang of confusion. What is that squiggly line called, anyway?
Let’s dive in, shall we? Think of this as a friendly chat over a cuppa, demystifying some of those characters that often leave us scratching our heads.
That wavy line, the one that often sits above the number '1' on your keyboard? That’s a tilde (~). It’s got a bit of a history, often used in Spanish for things like the 'ñ', but in English, it pops up in various contexts, sometimes indicating approximation or a range.
Then there’s the short dash (-). This one can be a bit of a chameleon. In general writing, it’s often called a hyphen, used to join words (like 'well-being') or split them at the end of a line. When it’s used in mathematics to show subtraction, or as a slightly longer dash in text, it’s more commonly referred to as a minus sign or simply a dash.
And that underscore (_)? It’s often called an underscore, and it’s pretty straightforward, especially in computing where it’s used in filenames and code. Sometimes, though, it can look a lot like a hyphen, leading to that initial confusion.
Moving on to the arithmetic twins: the plus sign (+) and the equals sign (=). These are pretty universally recognised, whether you're adding numbers or stating a fact.
Now, for the brackets. The familiar pair that hug our text ( ) are generally known as parentheses. To be more specific, especially when distinguishing them from other types, we might call them round brackets. Then we have the more angular ones, the square brackets [ ], often used for editorial insertions or in mathematical notation. And for those curly, almost whimsical ones { }, they’re called curly brackets or sometimes braces.
When you see those angled marks, < and >, they’re typically referred to as less than and greater than signs, especially in mathematical or programming contexts. They’re also sometimes called angle brackets.
The forward-sloping line / is a slash, or more precisely, a forward slash to differentiate it from its backward-leaning cousin, the backslash ().
That straight vertical line |? That’s a vertical line, often called a pipe in computing and data contexts.
Two dots stacked vertically : form a colon, used to introduce lists or explanations. One dot followed by a comma ; is a semicolon, a handy punctuation mark for joining closely related independent clauses.
And those marks that frame dialogue or indicate possession? The double ones " are double quotation marks or speech marks, and the single ones ' are single quotation marks or apostrophes (when used for possession or contractions).
That little swirl @, a staple of email addresses, is commonly called the at sign. And the hashtag symbol #? That’s the hash or pound sign (though in the US, 'pound sign' often refers to the number symbol). In social media, it’s famously known as a hashtag.
Finally, the asterisk *? That’s an asterisk, often used for footnotes, to indicate omissions, or for emphasis.
It’s a whole little world of symbols out there, each with its own name and purpose. While some are instantly recognisable, others can be a bit more elusive. But understanding their names helps us communicate more precisely, and perhaps, just appreciate the subtle nuances of the language we use every day.
