octothorpe
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈɑk.təˌθɔrp/
- US
- posted by octothorpe at 5:06 AM on November 8, 2011
Examples
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posted by octothorpe at 5:45 AM on June 29
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What Jokeefe and Octothorpe said.
Blog text (7) -
Posted by octothorpe at 9:25 AM on May 19, 2009.
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Posted by octothorpe at 12:56 PM on October 21, 2006.
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Posted by octothorpe at 7:18 PM on June 28. 1 favorite.
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Posted by octothorpe at 7:16 PM on March 8, 2011. 2 favorites.
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Posted by octothorpe at 5:34 PM on June 28. 5 favorites.
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Posted by octothorpe at 12:23 PM on May 22, 2 favorites.
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On social media, you can find posts that feature an octothorpe to categorize them using hashtags.
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The octothorpe is often used in programming to indicate a comment in the code.
Synonyms
8
3.5
The symbol '#' placed before a word to mark a topic on social media
2
2.7
A symbol # used to mark numbers or make tags on social media
1
2.8
The sign '#' used before words to make hashtags and on phone keypads
Surface Forms
Morphology
octothorpe = octo + thorpe
A mid-20th-century jocular coinage: although 'octo-' suggests 'eight', the nonce element 'thorpe' has no productive meaning here, so learners cannot reliably derive 'hash sign' from the parts.
Etymology
Octothorpe is a playful name made from octo- 'eight' and a jokey ending -thorpe. A helpful way to remember it is to think of the # symbol having eight ends where the lines cross, and the octo- part is the same 'eight' in octagon and octopus. The word was invented for the telephone key, so octothorpe simply names the familiar '#' sign.