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On Wed, 9 Aug 1995, Leslie Gasser EXP 8/26/95 wrote:
>> Could any of you tell me what the actual name of the
>> pound sign (#) is? I thought it was octothorp (sp?),
>> but I haven't been able to find it in the dictionary
>> or in any of my reference books.
>The sign you have typed there is not a pound sign. The pound sign looks
>like a fancy handwritten capital "L", and is used as the symbol for British
>currency, and Australian currency before 1966 (sorry it doesn't work
>on my keyboard).
>I know "#" as the "hash" sign.
>James Perkins
The # is also known as the pound sign. The British Sterling Pound sign is the
sign you are describing. But the # is also accurately described as such,
though not to be used to denote British currency.
The octothorp is a name invented by AT&T to describe the # sign on the
telephone keypad. It is starting to catch on, but has not yet made it into
dictionaries.
