Is it a question mark, exclamation point, or dollar sign. Have you ever wondered where they come from?
Every day, we see countless symbols and symbols, but few know where they come from.
Let’s lift the veil of secrecy and go back in history to find out the origin of these 7 symbols that everyone uses every day.
The origin of the question mark is from Latin. In the past, the word “questio” was inserted at the end of a sentence to indicate that it was a question.
To save space, it was shortened to “qo” and then the “o” was placed below the “q”. Over time, the letter “q” was written in the shape of a hook and the “o” became just a dot.
Today, we use the symbol “$” to stand for money, but what it actually means is dollar in English.
So what about the origin? Actually, there is no clear conclusion yet, but people have put forward 3 theories, and it is related to Spain (Spanish colonizers once occupied half of present-day America).
In the Middle Ages, the most common currency was the Spanish real, denoted “PS”. In the end, only the letter “P” remained written over the letter “S”.
The letter “S” is the coat of arms of Spain.
During the colonial period, the Spaniards marked American gold bars with the letter “S”. When the gold arrives in the US, the “S” on the bar is marked with a vertical line, and if the bar is taken out of the US, it will be crossed by another line.
In addition, some people think that it is simply because the United States is abbreviated as US (United States). The letter S and the letter U are interlocked, forming the currency symbol of this country.
This symbol probably comes from the Latin word “exclamatio”, placed at the end of a sentence to denote joy.
Similar to the question mark, to save space, it is abbreviated to “I” and “O” with the “I” placed above the “O”. In the end it becomes “!” used as it is today.
It was first used by John Wallis in 1655, but no one knows where it was inspired.
Some people think it comes from the Greek word omega (ω); others think it is derived from the Roman numeral 1000: “CIƆ” or “CƆ”.
The word “percent” comes from the Latin “percentum”. Then written as “per cento”, “per 100”, “p cento” and “pc-о”. Finally “pc” and then gradually “o/o” before becoming the % symbol as we use it today.
This gesture was first used during the battle between England and France. Then the French threatened to cut off the fingers of the English archers when they won. In response, the British began to raise their fingers in a V (symbol of victory) to indicate their fingers were still intact.
But during World War II, President Winston Churchill used this gesture in many speeches, and turned it into a symbol of peace.