pilcrow etymology

Etymology:

The word "pilcrow" comes from the Middle English "pilecrw," which itself is derived from the Old French "pilecorne" (lit. 'crowfoot').

Meaning:

A pilcrow is a typographical mark used in medieval manuscripts and early printed books to indicate a new paragraph. It is typically a small, reversed paragraph mark (¶).

Origin:

The pilcrow originated as a scribal abbreviation for the Latin word "paragraphus," which means "paragraph." The medieval scribe would write a small "p" (for "paragraphus") in the margin, and eventually this "p" became stylized into the reversed paragraph mark we know today as the pilcrow.

Current Usage:

• Pilcrows are still occasionally used in medieval texts and scholarly publications.
• They are also sometimes used in modern typography as an ornamental glyph or for emphasizing paragraphs.

Additional Notes:

• In some languages, such as French and Spanish, the pilcrow is called a "alinéa."
• The pilcrow is also known as a "paragraph mark" or "paragraph sign."

pilcrow relate terms

• paragraph

  Etymology The word paragraph is derived from the Greek words παράγραφος pa

• para

  Etymology The word para originates from the Greek preposition παρά pará which

• Crow

  Etymology The word crow comes from the Middle English word crawe which in turn evol

• craft

  Etymology Old English cræft from Proto Germanic kraptiz meaning strength powe

• rock

  Etymology The word rock originates from the Old English word rocc which meant a la

• magic

  Etymology The word magic is derived from the Greek word magikos which means of the Ma

• utopia

  Etymology Greek ou not topos place Meaning An imagined place with perfec

• curious

  Curious Etymology Middle English curious from Old French curious from Latin cur

• Mediterranean

  Etymology Mediterranean comes from the Latin phrase mare mediterraneum meaning sea i

• protest

  Etymology The word protest comes from the Late Latin word protestari meaning to bea

• imagination

  Etymology Latin imaginatio image conception French imagination Meaning Ima