pilcrow
/ˈpɪl.kɹəʊ//ˈpɪl.kɹoʊ/
pilcrow noun: a symbol designating the beginning of a new paragraph.
Noun
pilcrow (plural pilcrows)
- A symbol designating the beginning of a new paragraph.
- The pilcrow was a simple punctuation symbol used by medieval scribes to indicate the start and end of a paragraph.2021, Claire Cock-Starkey, Hyphens & Hashtags, Bodleian Library, page 167
- A symbol designating a paragraph break.
Synonyms of pilcrow
- paragraph character
- paragraph mark
- paragraph marker
- paragraph sign
- paragraph symbol
Forms of pilcrow
| plural | pilcrows |
|---|
Origin of pilcrow
Probably an alteration of Middle English pylcrafte, modification of Late Latin paragraphus, itself from the Ancient Greek παράγραφος (parágraphos).
Words formed from pilcrow
Words that rhyme with pilcrow
Questions about pilcrow
- What does pilcrow mean?
- Pilcrow means a symbol designating the beginning of a new paragraph.
- What part of speech is pilcrow?
- Pilcrow is a noun.
- How do you pronounce pilcrow?
- Pilcrow is pronounced /ˈpɪl.kɹəʊ/ (UK).
- What is the plural of pilcrow?
- The plural of pilcrow is pilcrows.
Words near pilcrow in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pilcrow (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pilcrow.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-pilcrow.wav.
Cite this entry: “pilcrow.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pilcrow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.