Octothorpe

Table of contents

1 English 1.1 Alternate forms 1.2 Etymology 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Synonyms

English

Alternate forms

octothorp

Etymology

Coined by a Bell Labs supervisor, Don Macpherson in the early 1960's [1],[2],[3]; octo for the eight points, and thorpe after Olympic medalist Jim Thorpe.

Other unsubstantiated stories include:

1. Thought to look like a group of eight fields surrounding a village (Norwegian thorpe) [and ostensibly used in cartography]; or
2. Named for octal + James Edward Oglethorpe [4]); or
3. The Pasadena Star-News reported October 20, 1981, p. A-3, "According to the folks at Bell Laboratories in New Jersey, a rumor started in the 1960's or earlier ... that this symbol is called an octothorpe. One story has it that the rumor was started ... by one Charles B. Octothorpe." In another Star-News article on November 3, 1982, p. B-4, the word is written without the final e and refers to John B. Octothorp.

Noun

octothorpe

1. (rare) A name for the # symbol.

Synonyms

• hash (computing; telephony, British)
• number sign
• pound sign (telephony, US)
• square (telephony, British)