A SYMBOL THAT STARTED AS A LIGATURE OF THE LETTERS “E” AND “T”.
The ampersand (&) traces back to ancient Rome. It began as a handwritten ligature of the Latin word et, meaning “and”.
Scribes connected the “e” and “t” into a single flowing character, a shortcut that stuck.
The name ampersand didn’t appear until the 19th century.
In old English schoolrooms, students reciting the alphabet would end with “X, Y, Z, and per se and”, meaning “and, by itself, ‘and’.” Over time, that last part slurred into ampersand.
Designers love it because it's one of the few characters with real stylistic range.
From elegant swooshes to geometric forms, the ampersand is where type designers get to show off a little.
It might mean “and,” but in the hands of a type designer, it becomes way more than that.
