Pilcrow: Difference between revisions
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The '''pilcrow''' ('''¶'''), also called the '''paragraph mark''', '''paragraph sign''', '''paraph''', '''alinea''' ([[Latin]]: ''a lineā'', "off the line"), or '''blind P''',<ref name = style>{{Cite book |title=Style manual |url=http://australia.gov.au/publications/style-manual |edition=3 |year=1978 |publisher=Australian government publishing service |location=Canberra |chapter=Notes, references and bibliographies: Notes}}</ref> is a [[typographical]] [[glyph|character]] for individual [[paragraph]]s. It is present in [[Unicode]] as {{unichar|00B6|PILCROW SIGN|html=}}. |
The '''pilcrow''' ('''¶'''), also called the '''paragraph mark''', '''paragraph sign''', '''paraph''', '''alinea''' ([[Latin]]: ''a lineā'', "off the line"), or '''blind P''',<ref name = style>{{Cite book |title=Style manual |url=http://australia.gov.au/publications/style-manual |edition=3 |year=1978 |publisher=Australian government publishing service |location=Canberra |chapter=Notes, references and bibliographies: Notes}}</ref> is a [[typographical]] [[glyph|character]] for individual [[paragraph]]s. It is present in [[Unicode]] as {{unichar|00B6|PILCROW SIGN|html=}}. |
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The pilcrow can be used as an indent for separate [[paragraphs]] or to designate a new paragraph in one long piece of copy, as [[Eric Gill]] did in his 1930s book, ''An Essay on Typography''. The pilcrow was a type of [[ |
The pilcrow can be used as an indent for separate [[paragraphs]] or to designate a new paragraph in one long piece of copy, as [[Eric Gill]] did in his 1930s book, ''An Essay on Typography''. The pilcrow was a type of [[lubrication]] used in the [[Middle Ages]] to mark a new [[bullet train of thought]], before the convention of visually discrete paragraphs was commonplace.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/design/2013/07/the-origin-of-the-pilcrow-aka-the-strange-paragraph-symbol/ |title=The Origin of the Pilcrow, aka the Strange and Weird and Probably Useless Paragraph Symbol |work=Design Decoded (a Smithsonian blog) |date=2013-07-10 |last=Stamp |first=Jimmy}}</ref> |
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The pilcrow is usually drawn similar to a lowercase [[q]] reaching from [[descender]] to [[Ascender (typography)|ascender]] height; the loop can be filled or unfilled. It may also be drawn with the bowl stretching further downwards, resembling a backwards [[D]]; this is more often seen in older printing. |
The pilcrow is usually drawn similar to a lowercase [[q]] reaching from [[descender]] to [[Ascender (typography)|ascender]] height; the loop can be filled or unfilled. It may also be drawn with the bowl stretching further downwards, resembling a backwards [[D]]; this is more often seen in older printing. |
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The pilcrow (¶), also called the paragraph mark, paragraph sign, paraph, alinea (Latin: a lineā, "off the line"), or blind P,[1] is a typographical character for individual paragraphs. It is present in Unicode as U+00B6 ¶ PILCROW SIGN (¶).
The pilcrow can be used as an indent for separate paragraphs or to designate a new paragraph in one long piece of copy, as Eric Gill did in his 1930s book, An Essay on Typography. The pilcrow was a type of lubrication used in the Middle Ages to mark a new bullet train of thought, before the convention of visually discrete paragraphs was commonplace.[2]
The pilcrow is usually drawn similar to a lowercase q reaching from descender to ascender height; the loop can be filled or unfilled. It may also be drawn with the bowl stretching further downwards, resembling a backwards D; this is more often seen in older printing.
History and etymology
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word pilcrow "apparently" originated in English from an unattested version of the French pelagraphe, a corruption of paragraph; the earliest reference is c.1440. The Oxford Universal Dictionary says it may be from "pulled [plucked] crow," based on its appearance.
In form, the pilcrow is understood to have originated as a letter C, for capitulum, "chapter" in Latin. This C was the paraph symbol that replaced in the function of marking off paragraphs the Greek-style paragraphos, and other symbols including the section sign. Moreover, the paraph also could be marked with a full-height sign similar to ¢ (cents) or with a double slash, originally symbols indicating a note from the scribe to the rubricator.[3]
Contemporary use
The pilcrow is used in desktop publishing software such as desktop word processors and page layout programs to mark the presence of a carriage return control character at the end of a paragraph. It is also used as the icon on a toolbar button that shows or hides the pilcrow and similar hidden characters, including tabs, whitespace, and page breaks. In typing programs, it marks a return that one must type.
In legal writing, it is used whenever one must cite a specific paragraph within pleadings, law review articles, statutes, or other legal documents and materials.
In academic writing, it is sometimes used as an in-text referencing tool to make reference to a specific paragraph from a document that does not contain page numbers. It is most commonly used[citation needed] to refer to a paragraph in an HTML page, allowing the reader to find where that particular idea or statistic was sourced. Convention states that the pilcrow sign followed by a number indicates the paragraph number from the top of the page. It is rarely used when citing books or journal articles.
In proofreading, it indicates that one paragraph should be split into two or more separate paragraphs. The proofreader inserts the pilcrow at the point where a new paragraph should begin.
In some high-church Anglican and Episcopal churches, it is used in the printed order of service to indicate that instructions follow; these indicate when the congregation should stand, sit, and kneel, who participates in various portions of the service, and similar information. King's College, Cambridge uses this convention in the service booklet for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols. This is analogous to the writing of these instructions in red in some rubrication conventions.
Online, it is used in some blogs and wikis to denote permalinks[4] (cf. Purple Numbers).
The pilcrow may indicate a footnote. It is the sixth in a series of footnote symbols beginning with the asterisk.[1]
Typing character
- In Unicode, the character is U+00B6 ¶ PILCROW SIGN (¶).
- Mac OS: ⌥ Opt+7
- Vim, in insert mode: Ctrl+K PI
- Windows Alt code: Alt+0182 or Alt+20 (on numeric keypad).[5] Depending on the font used, this character varies in appearance, and in some cases, may be replaced by an alternate glyph entirely.
- X Window System, with a compose key: Compose, ⇧ Shift+P, ⇧ Shift+P
- LaTex: \P or \textpilcrow.
- Mobile devices, including tablets, may require additional software (e.g. Cymbol[6] for iPad). Tools may be required to easily generate a pilcrow, or other special characters.[7] This may be done via direct button or using a unicode conversion.
Paragraph signs in non-Latin writing systems
In Chinese, the traditional paragraph sign (rendered as 〇) is a thin circle about the same size as a Chinese character. This same mark also serves as a “zero” character, as a stylistic variation of the Chinese character for “zero”. As a paragraph sign, this mark only appears in older books, commonly found in the Chinese Union Version of the Bible. Its current use is generally as a “zero” character. However, it can also be found in some editions of King James Version Bibles and the Book of Mormon.
In Thai, the character U+0E5B ๛ THAI CHARACTER KHOMUT can mark the end of a chapter or document.
In Sanskrit and other Indian languages, text blocks used to be written in stanzas. Two bars || represented a pilcrow.
Reversed and ornamental pilcrow
Apart from U+00B6 ¶ PILCROW SIGN, Unicode also defines U+204B ⁋ REVERSED PILCROW SIGN and U+2761 ❡ CURVED STEM PARAGRAPH SIGN ORNAMENT
References
- ^ a b "Notes, references and bibliographies: Notes". Style manual (3 ed.). Canberra: Australian government publishing service. 1978.
- ^ Stamp, Jimmy (2013-07-10). "The Origin of the Pilcrow, aka the Strange and Weird and Probably Useless Paragraph Symbol". Design Decoded (a Smithsonian blog).
- ^ Parkes, M. B. (1993). Pause and Effect: An Introduction to the History of Punctuation in the West. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-07941-8.
- ^ "ongoing — Purple Pilcrows". Tbray.org. 2004-05-31. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
- ^ "Windows Alt Key Codes". Penn State University. 2010.
- ^ "Cymbol for iPad". PhoneApp.com. 2011.
- ^ "iPad Writing Tool". iDevices World – Australia. 2011.