[PW] Re: telephone question

[Edward Franchuk]

Somebody posted Ralph Carlsen's recollection of how the word _octothorpe_ 
came into being. Caveat emptor. From Michael Quinion's World Wide Words 
site:

"Though Mr Carlsen’s is anecdotally rich and circumstantial, it has to be 
regarded by etymologists with some caution because it isn’t backed up by 
contemporary evidence. In fact, the first appearance of the word in print 
isn’t until 1974 and that makes clear that the word was not widely known 
even then within the Bell telephone system."

MW10 gives the first printed appearance of the word as 1971, BTW, but that's 
still rather late for a word that is said to have been circulting since the 
early 60s. MW10 also omits the final _e_.

Edward Franchuk            \\\\=^..^=////

Collège militaire royal du Canada/Royal Military College of Canada
Campus St-Jean Campus

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