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From: davidk@OS7.ifs (David Kristola)
Subject: Re: the term "pound sign" (was: help: char
Date: 1996/10/21
Message-ID: <54h21b$asn@butch.lmsc.lockheed.com>#1/1
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distribution: world
references: <dewar.845692408@merv>
organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
reply-to: davidk@OS7.ifs
newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Date: 1996-10-21T00:00:00+00:00
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In article 845692408@merv, dewar@merv.cs.nyu.edu (Robert Dewar) writes:
>Wes said
>
>"I predict that if someone with a better newsreader than I :-) were to put
>this question on alt.english.usage the result would be
>a hundred dubious scraps of anecdotal evidence, two hundred useless
>opinions, and at least ten conclusive quotes from hundred-year-old
>dictionaries."
>
>Well I would settle for just one conclusive quote. I have lots of
>reference materials including several ancient dictionaries, but I have
>not yet tracked down anything conclusive.
>


Well, this is off-topic, inconclusive, and worsens the SNR, but...

I found a skewed "pound" symbol in an old dictionary, in the symbols
section, under the "Correction of the Press" section (page 1868):

"A space, or more space between words, letters, or lines"

This is from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary published in 1886.


david kristola