character "@".
ASCII code 64. Common names: at sign, at,
strudel. Rare: each, vortex, whorl,
INTERCAL: whirlpool,
cyclone, snail, ape, cat, rose, cabbage, amphora.
ITU-T:
commercial at.
It is ironic that @ has become a trendy mark of Internet
awareness since it is a very old symbol, derived from the
latin preposition "ad" (at).
Giorgio Stabile, a professor of history in Rome, has traced
the symbol back to the Italian Renaissance in a Roman
mercantile document signed by Francesco Lapi on 1536-05-04.
In Dutch it is called "apestaartje" (little ape-tail), in
German "affenschwanz" (ape tail). The French name is
"arobase". In Spain and Portugal it denotes a weight of about
25 pounds, the weight and the symbol are called "arroba".
Italians call it "chiocciola" (snail).
(2003-04-28)