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What's it called? Keyboard Punctuation Marks

So,  the curly line is above the tab.. the star is on the 8 key.  What are those obscure symbols on your keyboard actually called? Some of the symbols, like the slashes, have various applications (and thus, names) but when referring to the keyboard, this should help you identify the keys and not use the catchall 'whatyamacallit' identifier.

~ is called a tilde.These can be found in some website urls, so knowing the name could be helpful.

< > These are brackets if used in pairs. Often called angle brackets but also can be called chevrons.

^ This is called a caret.  (to show the place where something is to be inserted.)

[ ] These are called square brackets or closed brackets. 

/ This is a forward slash or slash. You will find this one below the question mark.  


{ } Again, a lot of different names but usually curly brackets, curly braces or gullwings.


*  An asterisk is used in many ways: mathematics, technology (your phone, for example), and a wild-card in computer science. It can also be used to identify footnotes. 


Another one with a variety of names but you can call it a vertical bar or a pipe.

&  Most of us know that this is used in place of  the word 'and' but did you know it was called an ampersand?

\   This is a backslash, reverse solidus or a slosh. This is found below the vertical bar on the keyboard.


So now you know.. Happy Leap Day!  ☺



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