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Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watnot!watmath!mks!wheels
From: wheels@mks.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sources.d
Subject: Re: smail pronounciation (or in this case '#')
Message-ID: <231@mks.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 18-Mar-87 10:07:59 EST
Article-I.D.: mks.231
Posted: Wed Mar 18 10:07:59 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 20-Mar-87 06:22:32 EST
References: <246@roosta.btnix.uucp> <3620002@hplsdla.HP.COM>
Organization: Mortice Kern Systems, Waterloo, Ont.
Lines: 19
Summary: derivation of ampersand


I know it doesn't belong here, but everyone else is doing it...

I have one of those desk calendars with a separate page for each day.
On each page is the origin of a word (so I too can become literate).
This is the origin given for ampersand:

In early English schools, the symbol '&' was accepted as an equal to
the other letters of the alphabet. It had no name, however. In speech,
it was simply expanded to the word 'and'. Hence, when reciting the
alphabet, students would say "ex, why, zed, and, per se, and".
Those last four syllables are now ampersand.

[I'm sure you literate US folks will recognise the word 'zed' as the
Canadian and English version of the 26th letter of the alphabet.
However, toys like Speak'n'Spell are no help here.]
-- 
Gerry Wheeler                  {seismo,decvax,ihnp4}!watmath!mks!wheels
Mortice Kern Systems Inc.