backslash

[bak-slash]

noun

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.

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

a slash which slopes to the left \

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

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