octothorpe
UK/ˈɒktəʊθɔːp//ˈɑːktoʊθɔːɹp/
octothorpe noun: the hash or square symbol #, used mainly in telephony and computing.
Noun
octothorpe (plural octothorpes)
- The hash or square symbol #, used mainly in telephony and computing.
- The pad 1 provides keys for numerals 0 to 9, while the sextile or asterisk (*) key is decoded to provide a decimal point and the octothorp ( # ) key generates a command to send the contents of the memory unto the telephone line through a send circuit 7, a coupling circuit 8 and the hybrid network 2.1973, US patent application ser. no. 05/422,816 (filed 3 December 1973), issued as patent no. 3,920,926 (18 November 1975), Telephone Data Set Including Visual Display Means, col. 3
- A select group of Sears customers were given a "how to" manual on ordering goods by Touch-Tone. The octothorpe (#) and asterisk (*) buttons are used to separate information and to indicate end of transmission. This is the first system in Canada in which the general public has direct access to a...1973 December, H. R. W. Morrison (Bell Canada-Computer Communications Group), “"Tomorrow" is here”, in Computers and Automation, volume 22, number 12, page 34
- Synonyms:
- hash, hashtag, number sign, octothorn, pound sign
Examples of octothorpe in a sentence
- The octothorpe (#) and asterisk (*) buttons are used to separate information and to indicate end of transmission.1973 December, H. R. W. Morrison (Bell Canada-Computer Communications Group), “"Tomorrow" is here”, in Computers and Automation, volume 22...
- Strings are enclosed in double quotation marks, numbers are not enclosed in anything, and dates and Boolean values are enclosed between octothorpe (#) characters.2004, Andrew Douglas Pitonyak, Openoffice.org Macros Explained, Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin: Hentzenwerke Publishing, →ISBN, page 139:
Synonyms of octothorpe
Forms of octothorpe
| plural | octothorpes |
|---|---|
| alternative form | octothorp |
Origin of octothorpe
Origin disputed. There is no known usage before it was adopted by Bell Labs in the late 1960s or early 1970s, so most sources agree it was coined by someone at Bell Labs, but accounts from Bell Labs personnel conflict on the details. The derivation as a traditional term from octo- (“eight”) + thorpe (“field, hamlet or small village”) lacks any evidence, but there is near universal agreement that the first element refers to the number eight. Eight is derived from the number of ends of the lines. Thorpe could be a reference to Jim Thorpe, as one proponent was a fan of the athlete. However, it probably is just an arbitrarily-picked syllable with no particular meaning.
Questions about octothorpe
- What does octothorpe mean?
- Octothorpe means the hash or square symbol #, used mainly in telephony and computing.
- How do you use octothorpe in a sentence?
- The octothorpe (#) and asterisk (*) buttons are used to separate information and to indicate end of transmission.
- What part of speech is octothorpe?
- Octothorpe is a noun.
- How do you pronounce octothorpe?
- Octothorpe is pronounced /ˈɒktəʊθɔːp/ (UK).
- What is the plural of octothorpe?
- The plural of octothorpe is octothorpes.
Words near octothorpe in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: octothorpe (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-octothorpe.ogg.
Cite this entry: “octothorpe.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/octothorpe. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.