Why Ampersand?

The shape of the character “&” predates the word “ampersand” by more than 1,500 years. In the first century, Roman scribes wrote in cursive, so when they wrote the Latin word “et,” which means “and,” they linked the e and the t. Over time, the combined letters came to signify the word “and” in English as well. Certain versions of the ampersand, like that in the font Caslon, clearly reveal the origin of the shape. The word “ampersand” came many years later when “&” was actually part of the English alphabet. In the early 19th century, school children reciting their ABCs concluded the alphabet with the “&.” It would have been confusing to say “X, Y, Z, and.” Rather, the students said, “and per se and.” “Per se” means “by itself,” so the students were essentially saying, “X, Y, Z, and, by itself, and.” Over time, “and per se and” was slurred together into the word we use today: ampersand. (The Denver Weekly Herald, 4.2012)