virgule

[ vur-gyool ]

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.

Origin of virgule

First recorded in 1830–40; from French virgule “comma, little rod,” from Latin virgula;see virgulate

Also called diagonal, separatrix, shilling mark, slant, slash, solidus ;
especially British, stroke .

Words that may be confused with virgule

backslash, forward slash, virgule

Words Nearby virgule

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use virgule in a sentence

He created the curved virgule heel as a signature, to differentiate his work post-Dior.
Shoes Fit For A Museum: Roger Vivier’s Virigule Show Opens at Palais De Tokyo | Sarah Moroz | October 2, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
He may be known for the virgule, but the feeling of his new exhibition more closely resembles an exclamation mark.
Shoes Fit For A Museum: Roger Vivier’s Virigule Show Opens at Palais De Tokyo | Sarah Moroz | October 2, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
His beard was trimmed to a moustache and virgule (now called imperial) and he carried a sword at his side and a cane in his hand.
Catherine de' Medici | Honore de Balzac
virgule, vėr′gūl, n. a little rod: a mark of punctuation, a comma.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) | Various
He wore the tuft of beard called a virgule (a comma) and a moustache.
The Works of Honor de Balzac | Honor de Balzac

It was impracticable to reproduce the original punctuation, which mainly consisted of the virgule or slash.
The Disguising at Hertford | John Lydgate

British Dictionary definitions for virgule

virgule

/ (ˈvɜːɡjuːl) /

noun

printing another name for solidus

Origin of 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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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