Buzz
Historically, the @ symbol was used to represent weight or cost, but it now plays a key role in email addresses. Kryssia Campos / Getty ImagesThe quirky little a with its tail looping around it has become one of the most frequently used symbols today. Interestingly, there is no official, universally accepted name for it. The most widely used term, even across various languages, is the at sign. However, countless other names are used to describe it, many of which link its shape to different animals.
Here are a few examples of the many creative names for the @ symbol:
- apestaart - The Dutch term for "monkey's tail"
- arroba - Spanish for "at"
- snabel - The Danish word for "elephant's trunk"
- kissanhnta - Finnish for "cat's tail"
- klammeraffe - German for "hanging monkey"
- kukac - Hungarian for "worm"
- dalphaengi - Korean for "snail"
- grisehale - Norwegian for "pig's tail"
- sobachka - Russian for "little dog"
Before it became the widely recognized symbol for email, the @ symbol was mainly used to represent the cost or weight of something. For instance, if you were to purchase five oranges at $1.25 each, it might be written as 5 oranges @ $1.25 each. This usage is still prevalent in forms and invoices around the globe.
The exact origin of the @ symbol remains unclear. It was employed by monks transcribing books prior to the invention of the printing press. As every word had to be meticulously written by hand, these monks sought ways to minimize the number of strokes per word. Thus, the word at became a single stroke @ instead of three. Though it may seem insignificant today, it greatly eased the burden of those who spent their lives copying manuscripts!
An alternative origin story suggests that the @ symbol was used as an abbreviation for amphora, the unit of measurement for the large terracotta jars used to store and transport grain, wine, and spices. Giorgio Stabile, an Italian scholar, discovered this use of the @ symbol in a 1536 letter from Francesco Lapi, a Florentine merchant. It seems plausible that a resourceful trader adopted the @ symbol, first used by monks in their manuscripts, as shorthand for amphora. This could also explain the symbol's association with quantities of items.
