virgule

noun /ˈvɜː.ɡjuːl/

1. A medieval punctuation mark similar to the slash ⟨/⟩ or pipe ⟨|⟩ and used as a scratch comma and caesura mark.

   historical, obsolete

   Other Chaucerian manuscripts had the virgule (or virgil or oblique: /) at the middle of lines.

2. A slash, ⟨/⟩ or ⟨／⟩.

   dated

3. A slash, ⟨/⟩ or ⟨／⟩. — Used to mark line breaks within quotes.

   dated

4. A pipe, ⟨|⟩.

   dated

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Middle French virgule, from Latin virgula (“twig; scratch comma”), from virga (“rod, branch”) + -ulus (diminutive suffix). Doublet of virgula.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry virgule (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← virgatedvirial →

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