virgule
See also: virgulé
English
WOTD – 18 January 2009
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French virgule, from Latin virgula (“twig; scratch comma”), from virga (“rod, branch”) + -ulus (“forming diminutives”). Doublet of virgula.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈvəː.ɡjuːl/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈvɝ.ɡjul/
Audio (US) (file)
Noun
virgule (plural virgules)
- (typography, obsolete or historical) A medieval punctuation mark similar to the slash ⟨/⟩ or pipe ⟨|⟩ and used as a scratch comma and caesura mark.
- 1990, John McDermott, Punctuation for Now, page 20:
- Other Chaucerian manuscripts had the virgule (or virgil or oblique: /) at the middle of lines.
-
- (typography, dated) A slash, ⟨/⟩ or ⟨／⟩, particularly (literature) in its use to mark line breaks within quotes.
- (typography, dated) A pipe, ⟨|⟩, particularly (poetry) in its use to mark metrical feet.
Synonyms
- (all): virgula (rare), virgil (UK, obsolete)
- (scratch comma): See comma
- (caesura mark): See caesura
- (oblique line): See slash
- (vertical line): See pipe
Related terms
- virgula, virgil
Translations
typographic character
|
Czech
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin virgula, diminutive of virga (“rod, branch”).
Noun
virgule f
- divining rod
French
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Latin virgula, diminutive of virga (“rod, branch”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /viʁ.ɡyl/
Audio (France) (file) Audio (Paris) (file) - Homophones: virgules, virgulent
Noun
virgule f (plural virgules)
- comma (punctuation mark)
- (mathematics) decimal point (see usage notes)
- En Europe continentale, la virgule permet de noter la partie décimale; pi vaut environ 3,1415. ― In continental Europe, the comma is used to denote the decimal part; pi is about 3.1415.
Usage notes
- In France, unlike in English-speaking countries, a comma is used to separate the whole and decimal parts of a decimal, while a space (gap) is used to mark off thousands. So "100,000.9" ("one-hundred thousand point 9") is written in French as "100 000,9".
Derived terms
Derived terms
- à la virgule près
- point-virgule
- virgule fixe
- virgule flottante
Descendants
- → Romanian: virgulă
- → Turkish: virgül
Verb
virgule
- first-person singular present indicative of virguler
Verb
virgule
- third-person singular present indicative of virguler
Verb
virgule
- first-person singular present subjunctive of virguler
Verb
virgule
- third-person singular present subjunctive of virguler
Verb
virgule
- second-person singular imperative of virguler
Further reading
- “virgule”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Friulian
Noun
virgule f (plural virgulis)
- comma
Norman
Alternative forms
- virdgule
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin virgula, diminutive of virga (“rod, branch”).
Noun
virgule f (plural virgules)
- (Jersey) comma
Derived terms
- point virgule (“semicolon”)
Romanian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈvir.ɡu.le]
Noun
virgule f pl
- plural of virgulă