Vocabulary: punctuation

1. a length of time

   The store was closed for a short period.

2. the punctuation mark .

   Put a period at the end of the sentence.

3. a monthly discharge of blood from the uterus (menstruation)

   She was cramping because her period had just started.

• the omission from speech or writing of a word or words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues; a set of dots indicating such an omission

  The sentence ends with an ellipsis.

• a line written or printed below a word or symbol, especially the character '_'

  Use an underscore between the words in the file name.

• the punctuation mark ? used at the end of a question

  Don't forget the question mark at the end.

The "Oxford comma" (serial comma) is the comma before "and" in a list (red, white, and blue). Its use is debated but recommended in academic writing.

• the punctuation mark , used to separate items in a list, clauses in a sentence, or to indicate a slight pause

  Use a comma to separate items in a list.

American style uses " " (double); British often uses ' ' (single). Other languages use different symbols (« » in French, „ " in German).

• a punctuation mark (" or ') used to indicate a quotation

  Put the words in quotation marks.

The mark is used in contractions and possessives: don't, Sarah's.

• the punctuation mark ' used for omission or possession

  Do not put an apostrophe in a simple plural.

1. a cut made with a sweeping stroke

   There was a slash across the painting.

2. the punctuation mark / used to separate alternatives or to write fractions

   Use a slash between yes/no.

Introduced by Bob Bemer in 1961 for ASCII. Windows uses it as a path separator (C:\Users\); Unix uses the forward slash. In programming, \ is the escape character.

• the symbol \, used in computing as an escape character or path separator

  Use a backslash to escape special characters in the string.

In Unix shells, the pipe character | chains command output to input. Also called "vertical bar" in typography.

• the symbol |, used in computing to chain commands or as a logical OR operator

  Use a pipe to send the output of one command to another.

Also called "curly bracket". Used in programming to delimit code blocks (C, Java, JavaScript) and in mathematics for set notation {1, 2, 3}.

• the symbol { or }, used in pairs to enclose items in programming, mathematics, and writing

  Wrap the function body in curly braces.

1. either of a pair of marks ( ) [ ] { } used in writing to enclose words or figures

   The author's name is in brackets.

2. a category of similar people or things, especially defined by income or age

   He moved into a higher tax bracket.

3. a right-angled support attached to a wall to hold up a shelf

   They mounted the shelf on two metal brackets.

Plural: parentheses.

1. a word, phrase, or clause inserted as an explanation or afterthought

   The sentence continued in parenthesis for another line.

2. (usually plural) one of a pair of round brackets ( ) used to set off such an insertion

   Put the date in parentheses.

Also called "grave accent" (when used as a diacritical mark, e.g. in French: a, e, u). In programming, backticks delimit template literals in JavaScript and inline code in Markdown.

• the symbol `, a left-leaning single quotation mark used in computing and as a diacritical mark

  Wrap the variable name in backticks.

Origin likely from a handwritten abbreviation of Spanish "peso". In programming, $ is a variable prefix in PHP, Perl, and shell scripts.

• the symbol $, placed before a number to indicate an amount in dollars or other currencies

  The dollar sign goes before the number, not after.

The symbol # has many names: "hash" (computing/social media), "number sign" (US), "pound sign" (US telephony). In social media, #topic is a "hashtag".

• the symbol #, used to denote a number, a hashtag, or a musical sharp

  Type a number sign before the keyword to create a hashtag.

Also called "at symbol". Essential in email addresses (user@domain). Origin debated: possibly from a medieval scribal abbreviation of Latin "ad" (at/to).

• the symbol @, used in email addresses and social media handles to identify users or locations

  Type the at sign before the domain name in an email address.

Homophone of "carrot". In programming, ^ is the bitwise XOR operator in C-family languages. In regex, ^ matches the start of a line.

• the symbol ^, used in proofreading to show where something should be inserted, or in computing/mathematics as an operator

  Place a caret where the missing word should go.

• a symbol (*) used to mark printed or written text, typically as a reference to an annotation or to stand for omitted matter

  He had placed an asterisk next to the name.

"Exclamation mark/point" (!) - punctuation showing strong feeling.

• a sudden cry or remark expressing strong emotion

  "Ouch!" was her only exclamation.

• the punctuation mark ( ! ) used after an exclamation or interjection

  Don't overuse exclamation marks in formal writing.

From a slurred reading of "and per se and" ("and by itself [means] and"). Common in company names (Johnson & Johnson) and informal writing.

• the symbol & meaning "and"

  The firm was called Smith & Associates.

Stronger than a comma but weaker than a period. Joins two independent clauses that are closely related.

• the punctuation mark ( ; ) used to separate two independent clauses or items in a complex list

  She loves reading; he prefers watching films.

• the punctuation mark ( : ) used to introduce a list, quotation, or explanation

  Use a colon to introduce a list.

From Spanish, itself from Latin titulus (title/label). Used as a diacritical mark in Spanish (n with tilde), in Portuguese (nasalization), and as the ~ symbol in programming and mathematics.

• the symbol ~, used as a diacritical mark over a letter (especially n) or as a mathematical/computing operator

  In Spanish, the tilde over the n in "senor" changes the pronunciation to "senyor".