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The shape of the character (&) predates the word ampersand by more than 1,500 years. In the first century,
Roman scribes wrote in cursive, so when they wrote the Latin word et which means “and” they linked the e and t.
Over time, the combined letters came to signify the word “and” in English as well. The word ampersand came
many years later when “&” was part of the English alphabet. In the early 1800s, school children reciting their ABCs
concluded the alphabet by saying, "and per se and" which is how the symbol came to be called ampersand.
2 & Color Trends 2020 3
