The diagonal slash (/) and the virgule (/) are one and the same typographic symbol, and both represent the English expression “and/or.” The virgule is generally known as a slash in American English, or a stroke or solidus.

What type of punctuation is a virgule?

The slash or virgule is a forward sloping line (/) that serves as a mark of punctuation. Also called an oblique, an oblique stroke, a diagonal, a solidus, a forward slash, and a separatrix.

Is a slash or backslash?

There are two types of slashes: a backslash (\) and a forward slash (/). ... The forward slash, often simply referred to as a slash, is a punctuation mark used in English. The only time it is appropriate to use a comma after a slash is when demonstrating breaks between lines of poetry, songs, or plays.

What does a virgule mean?

virgule in American English

(ˈvɜrˌgjul ) noun. a short diagonal line (/) used between two words to show either is applicable (and/or), in dates or fractions (3/8), to express “per” (feet/second), etc.; slash. Word origin.

What is a virgule or solidus?

A slash or slant or solidus or virgule [ / ] (take your pick of names) is used to indicate a choice between the words it separates. Using the pass/fail option backfired on her; she could've gotten an A. The slash can be translated as or and should not be used where the word or could not be used in its place.

Virgule or Forward Slash

34 related questions found

Is there a space before a slash?

A. If the slash divides two words, there is no space. If it divides two phrases or sentences (or a single word from a phrase), it requires a space before and after.

Does a slash MEAN AND or OR?

Slashes are commonly used to signify alternatives as in “and/or” and “his/her/they.” This can be seen among all types of writing.

Should you put a space between forward slash?

There is no need to include a space on either side of a forward slash. The exceptions are for: official dual place names. lines of poetry in running text – use forward slashes with spaces around them to show the line breaks.

How do you use a virgule?

The most common use of the virgule or slash is as a substitute for the word “or” when it indicates an often mutually-exclusive choice. For example: Male/female, Yes/No, He/She/It.

What is the meaning of forward slash in a sentence?

Word forms: plural forward slashes. countable noun. A forward slash is the sloping line '/' that separates letters, words, or numbers. COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers.

Why do people get backslash wrong?

RE the incorrect usage...

A slash that leans forward, is a forward slash / . But it is written backwards (write one now, top right back to bottom left) hence the reason people call it a backslash (incorrectly). A backslash has the opposite properties, (ie leans back but is written forwards).

What is backslash called?

The backslash \ is a typographical mark used mainly in computing and is the mirror image of the common slash /. It is sometimes called a hack, whack, escape (from C/UNIX), reverse slash, slosh, downwhack, backslant, backwhack, bash, reverse slant, and reversed virgule.

Why do people call a slash a backslash?

So it is clear that the name backslash was introduced to indicate a novel character that was the reversed version of a long established character. The name forward slash therefore subsequently became needed to disambiguate the name for the earlier character.

What does virgule mean in a sentence?

noun. a short oblique stroke (/) between two words indicating that whichever is appropriate may be chosen to complete the sense of the text in which they occur: The defendant and his/her attorney must appear in court.

What is a virgule used for?

A slash or slant or solidus or virgule [ / ] (take your pick of names) is used to indicate a choice between the words it separates.

What does the slash mean in writing?

The slash (/) is also known as: forward slash, stroke, oblique. You should use the slash with care in formal writing. A slash is often used to indicate "or": ... Dear Sir/Madam (Sir or Madam)

What does forward slash between two words mean?

In its truest form, a forward slash is going to indicate a relationship between two things. It could indicate that the two things are closely related (connected) in some way, or it could indicate that there is opposition or conflict between them.

How do you use a slash in a poem?

When quoting poetry

Use a slash to indicate the end of a line of poetry when you quote two or three lines within a paragraph. If the quotation is longer than three lines, indent it, omit the quotation marks, and single space each line of the poem. Put a space before and after the slash.

Should there be a space after three dots?

Spacing. Whether you put spaces between the dots or not is a matter of style. The Chicago Manual of Style calls for spaces between every ellipsis point. The AP Stylebook says to treat the ellipsis as a three-letter word, with spaces on either side of the ellipsis but no spaces between the dots.

Should I put a space before and after a dash?

The dash (–) is used to set off additional material within a sentence, often in order to emphasize it, to set off appositives that contain commas, or to indicate missing words. ... When typing, use two hyphens together without spaces to form a dash. Do not put a space before or after the dash.

Should there be a space after W?

Note that there is a space after “w/o”. “I attended w/ Amy.”

Does means AND or OR?

It means "and or or". "And and or" is generally false in colloquial English since most people who use "or" actually mean "exclusive or" (xor, where something can be either A or B but not both). Therefore "and or or" is correct.

Does forward slash MEAN AND or OR?

The Forward Slash

Its most common use is to mean “or” when presenting two alternatives: Each speaker will give a presentation on a topic of his/her choice. The slash here shows that either word could apply. However, you should avoid doing this too often in formal writing, where “or” is a better choice.