virgule
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
virgule
- /ˈvɜː.ɡjuːl/ UK
- /ˈvɝ.ɡjul/ US
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.
noun virgules
- A medieval punctuation mark similar to the slash ⟨/⟩ or pipe ⟨|⟩ and used as a scratch comma and caesura mark. Other Chaucerian manuscripts had the virgule (or virgil or oblique: /) at the middle of lines.
- A slash, ⟨/⟩ or ⟨／⟩.
- Used to mark line breaks within quotes.
- A pipe, ⟨|⟩.
- Used to mark metrical feet.
