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backslash

[bak-slash]
noun
  1. a short oblique stroke (\), a backward slash, used in some computer operating systems to mark the division between a directory and a subdirectory or its folders, as in designating a path.
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Origin of backslash

First recorded in 1975–80; back1 + slash1
Can be confusedbackslash forward slash virgule
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for backslash

backslash

noun
  1. a slash which slopes to the left \
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for backslash

n.

1982, new punctuation symbol introduced for computer purposes, from back (adj.) + slash (n.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper