Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary is 1224 pages long. The editors in their wisdom devoted one tenth of a line when defining the symbol: @ at;each (4 apples @5 cents = 20 cents) WWW search engines refuse to accept @ as a single search parameter, and turn up no hits for @ sign. The sign is commonly used in Unix programming and in Internet E-mail addresses. In English we refer to it simply as the "at" sign - but in other cultures, has a number of different endearing names. In Italian, it's known as chiocciolina and in french, petite escargot - both meaning little snail. In Germany, is referred to as Klammeraffe - or spider monkey. The Dutch refer to it as api, shortened from apestaart , meaning monkey's tail. Thanks to Axel Siebert for "its word-by-word translation is"clinging monkey" (klammer affe)." In Finland it's a cat's tail or miau, in Norway its called the kanel-bolle , a spiral-shaped cinnamon cake, and in Israel, it's called a shtrudel. In Denmark, is a snabel - an A with a trunk. Finally, the Spanish refer to the sign as an arroba - a unit of about 25 lbs., for which it is the sign. This discussion appeared in Information Week magazine, Issue 568, 2/26/96. They in turn had culled it from various internet discussion groups. 3/8/97 Ulrik informed me that: In Germany @ is also known as a "snabel-a" pretty much like in danish. 12/30/97 Thanks to Cor Snabel in the Netherlands for the following information. An @ in Holland it is called an "apenstaartje". "apen" means monkeys and "staartje" means tail; a "monkeytail". NPR July 31, 2000 The "at" (@) sign -- the letter "A" encircled by a loop -- is everywhere these days -- thanks to the internet and E-mail addresses. But where did the sign originate and what is it actually called? According to Giorgio Stabile, a professor of history in Rome, the "at" symbol or "amphora symbol" is not a new sign at all -- and it predates the 18th century as historians previously believed. Professor Stabile has been hard at work for the past three months studying this ubiquitous symbol -- and has now traced it back to May 4, 1536 in a Roman mercantile document signed by Francesco Lapi. No doubt the race is on to find earlier recordings but for now -- the "at" symbol, drawn as we know it, dates back at least as far as the Italian Renaissance. We also went out to ask folks on the streets of Washington about @. 8/4/00 Steve Kenny Applications Engineer Cormetech, Inc. suggests: I think the best name for the @ symbol is Astatine - after all it's the "At" symbol on the periodic table of the elements. August 29th The definitive discussion of the "@" Sign

If you have any information on this VITAL topic please email me at: rneville@hsc.usc.edu

Additional information from:
The Standard: A Brief History of @
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>> Author Dick Neville, created April 1997, last modified October 10^th, 2001 <<

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