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.

backslash

noun

1. a slash which slopes to the left \

Word History and Origins

Origin of backslash¹

First recorded in 1975–80; back ¹ + slash ¹