virgule
[ vur-gyool ]
/ ˈvɜr gyul /
|
noun
a short oblique stroke (/) between two words indicating that whichever is appropriate may be chosen to complete the sense of the text in which they occur: The defendant and his/her attorney must appear in court.
a dividing line, as in dates, fractions, a run-in passage of poetry to show verse division, etc.: 3/21/27; “Sweetest love, I do not go/For weariness of thee.” (John Donne)
a short oblique stroke (/) used in computing; a forward slash.
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How To Use The SlashThe slash (/)—sometimes called a slant, a solidus, a stroke, or a virgule—is a commonly employed symbol in the English language. Whatever you want to call this piece of punctuation, its role in English has greatly changed over time. The word slash first entered English in the late 14th century as a verb to describe the cutting movement of a weapon, a word derived from …
Nearby words
virgo, virgo cluster, virgo intacta, virgoan, virgulate, virgule, viricide, virid, viridescent, viridian, viridity
Origin of virgule
Can be confusedbackslash forward slash virgule
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for virgule
British Dictionary definitions for virgule
Word Origin for virgule
C19: from French: comma, from Latin virgula a little rod, from virga rod
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for virgule
virgule
thin sloping line, used as a comma in medieval MSS, 1837, from French virgule, from Latin virgula "punctuation mark," literally "little twig," diminutive of virga "shoot, rod, stick." The word had been borrowed in its Latin form in 1728.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper