# what is it in English?

[mshahsavar]

What is this symbol in English? #

 

[BobK]

The hash sign. In the USA it is sometimes called 'the number sign', but this is confusing for speakers of BE (who use "no" - the more confusing abbreviation of the Latin numero). It may be more confusing, but it's what we're used to; and it would be less confusing if I could make the little o superscript. In the absence of a superscript font, some people use a full-stop (period) to distinguish it from the word 'no'.

Even more confusing for speakers of BE is another AmE expression 'the pound sign'.

b

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

In BrE it's a hash or hash sign. Also known as hashtag on social media. The technical name is the octothorp and it has been the symbol for sharps in music for centuries.

 

[MikeNewYork]

When I contact a commercial entity by phone, it is usually referred to as the "pound" sign.

 

[BobK]

Yes, most confusing for us lot, who have known for ages that the pound sign is £

After my first post, I found this page, which probably says it all.

b

 

[BobK]

...it has been the symbol for sharps in music for centuries.

So I thought too, but I've just found that my font of choice for odd characters, Lucida Sans Unicode, distinguishes between # and ♯ . ;-)

PS...though I suppose they could both be called octothorpes, as they're 8-pronged.

 

[Tdol]

When I contact a commercial entity by phone, it is usually referred to as the "pound" sign.

The webpage linked to below says it was used for pounds weight, but in the UK, we used lb for those pounds. Does lb work in AmE too?

 

[SoothingDave]

The webpage linked to below says it was used for pounds weight, but in the UK, we used lb for those pounds. Does lb work in AmE too?

Yes, and that is the more common abbreviation. You will see "lb" or "lbs" used on packaging. A pound of butter or pasta will be marked "lb."

The "#" for pound is more common with bulk items and handwritten notes dealing with them. Like if I went to the feed store and bought 50# bags of chicken feed.

 

[emsr2d2]

I had never seen # used for "pound" (money or weight) until I joined this forum even though I am a BrE speaker. I had only seen and used "£" and "lb". I call # a "hashtag" and only refer to it when talking about Twitter. It does look like the "sharp" sign in music but as BobK posted, that should look like "♯".

 

[BobK]

'I call # a "hashtag" and only refer to it when talking about Twitter.' Whoa there! Some people get really upset about that (I don't ;-)) as a hashtag is a tag that starts with a hash sign, e.g. #sheepFollowThis!

b

 

[emsr2d2]

'I call # a "hashtag" and only refer to it when talking about Twitter.' Whoa there! Some people get really upset about that (I don't ;-)) as a hashtag is a tag that starts with a hash sign, e.g. #sheepFollowThis!

b

Yes, but when people say "#sheepFollowThis!", they say "Hashtag Sheep Follow This!"

 

[SoothingDave]

Yes, but when people say "#sheepFollowThis!", they say "Hashtag Sheep Follow This!"

That's right. That horse is out of the barn.

 

[BobK]

That's right. That horse is out of the barn.

I suppose this means something like 'That ship has already sailed' - so there's nothing to be done about the illogical usage. But the fact is that many people use it (and that some people get upset about it ;-))

b

 

[emsr2d2]

"Many people use it and some people get upset about it."

Can you imagine how many words and phrases that applies to these days? ;-)

 

[Tdol]

Yes, but when people say "#sheepFollowThis!", they say "Hashtag Sheep Follow This!"

sheeple shurely (Ed)

 

[SoothingDave]

I suppose this means something like 'That ship has already sailed' - so there's nothing to be done about the illogical usage. But the fact is that many people use it (and that some people get upset about it ;-))

b

Yes, I believe the full expression has to do with the futility of closing the barn door after the horse has already gotten out.

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, it's "Closing the barn door after the horse has bolted".