What is an octothorpe

What is an octothorpe and where did it come from?

The word octothorpe sounds strange and unusual, but actually is the official name for a symbol that appears on keyboards, cell phones, and telephones in many places. So what exactly is an octothorpe and where did this word come from?

The octothorpe is the # sign commonly found on a number of devices. It is commonly called a hash mark or the pound sign. Sometimes it is used to designate weight.

Orgin of the octothorpe - The most well known explanation for this word is that in the late 1960s, Bell telephone was working on touch tone dialing technology and there was a need for additional keys on the touch pad. The reasoning was that at some point phones would interact with computers such as automated prompts, voicemails, and so forth. The asterisk * and the octothorpe # were these two additional keys. Even though octo- means eight, most images of the octothorpe only have six distinct points.

Rumor is that the name was originally just a joke between Bell Telephone employees, but over time this became the official name for the # sign, mainly among computer and telecommunication employees and developers. One rumor claims that one man alone is responsible for coming up with the term octothorpe to describe the # sign. It is important to note that the term generally stands for the actual symbol found on keyboards and keypads and not the key itself.

Where is the octothorpe - For all U.S. devices and some devices found in various other countries, you can find the octothorpe on computer and qwerty keyboards above the number 3 key. On computer keyboards it is often accessed by holding down shift while pressing 3.

On many cell phones and telephones the octothorpe is found to the right of the 0 button at the bottom of the keypad.

Other uses of the term - A quick internet search reveals that there is at least one band named Octothorpe, a book or two by the same name, and appears to be sometimes used as a user name handle in various online communities. There are also many artistic variations on the image of the octothorpe itself.

You may have just learned a new word by reading this and now you can get looks of confusion from your friends when you tell them that you dial 'octothorpe' whenever prompted by automated phone systems to press the pound sign. Maybe you'll even impress them with your obscure knowledge of the pound sign on their phones and keyboards.