Where did the @ symbol in e-mails come from?

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That little “a” with a circle curling around it that is found in email addresses is most commonly referred to as the “at” symbol. The symbol consisting of a lowercase letter “a” along with a circle is often found in email addresses, and it is typically used as a marker for “at”. Surprisingly, however, there is no official, universal name for this symbol. There are dozens of strange terms used to describe the @ symbol. Yet it’s surprising that this mark doesn’t have an official, universal name. There are dozens of strange terms used to describe the @ symbol. Before it became the standard symbol for electronic mail, the @ symbol was used to represent the cost or weight of something. For example, if you purchased 6 apples, you might write it as 6 apples @ $1.10 each. This symbol was used to indicate the price or quantity of an item before it became the standard symbol for email. For example, you buy 6 apples. It can be written as: six apples, at $1.10 each, which means each apple costs 1.10 dollars. With the introduction of email, the @ symbol became popular. This symbol separates a person’s online username from their mail server address; for example, joe@uselessknowledge.com. Its widespread use on the Internet made it necessary to include this symbol on keyboards in countries that had never seen or used it before. As a result, there is actually no official name for this symbol. With the use of email, the @ symbol became increasingly common. The symbol @ or “at” separates the online user’s name from the address of their email server. For example: joe@uselessknowledge.com. The widespread use of this symbol on the Internet has led many people who had never seen or used it before to **add this symbol key to their computer keyboards, as a result of which the symbol does not have an official name. The actual origin of the @ symbol remains an enigma. The exact origin of the @ symbol is still a mystery. History tells us that the @ symbol originated from the tired hands of medieval monks. During the Middle Ages, before the invention of printing presses, each letter in a word had to be painstakingly handwritten for every copy of a published book. The monks who carried out these time-consuming and tedious copying tasks sought ways to reduce the number of strokes required to write common words. Although the word “at” is already quite short, it was used frequently in texts and documents; therefore, medieval monks thought it would be quicker and easier to shorten it even further. As a result, they connected the “t” to the “a” to form a circle, thereby eliminating two strokes. History tells us that the @ symbol originated from the tired hands of medieval monks. In the Middle Ages, the printing press had not yet been invented; to publish a book, every letter of every word had to be painstakingly carved by hand. The monks who were engaged in this time-consuming and arduous task of writing and illustrating began to look for ways to reduce the number of strokes in each commonly used character. Although the word “at” is short to write, it appears frequently in texts and files. Medieval monks thought that if it could be simplified further, it would be faster and easier to write. As a result, the monks drew a circle around “a”, thereby eliminating the two strokes of the letter “t”. Reposted from Hai Ci Happy English, for sharing among Hai friends