Animated Telecom Dictionary
Use this dictionary for an understanding of the most recent telecom terms, definitions and acronyms, look at detailed animations, learn to search telecom databases, and more.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Animated Telecom Dictionary
Numbers: . (punctuation mark) 9-Track Tape
. (punctuation mark)
This punctuation mark is called by several names: 1) period when used at the end of a sentence, 2) decimal point when used in numbers to separate the fractional digits from the integral part digits, 3) dot when used as a separator in contrast to and end of sentence mar, 4) full stop primarily a British name used as a synonym for period.
# (push button dial symbol)
This symbol, used on one of the 12 touch-tone keys, is typically used to indicate that the originator has dialed all of the digits in an originating telephone number. It also has other purposes in special systems. In North America this symbol is called several names: pound sign, number sign, tic-tac-toe, or Octothorpe. In other areas of English language use, this sign was historically used as a symbol for the English pound (unit of weight, not money) or as a substitute for the word number. This symbol also resembles the two vertical parallel lines and the two horizontal parallel lines that one uses when playing the game tic-tac-toe (called Naughts and Crosses in British English). In the telephone industry, there is a widely repeated story that the name for this symbol is historically Octothorpe but we have found no historical evidence to confirm this. Some people claim that the name Octothorpe was promulgated as a joke by a technician named Thorpe! Outside of the English speaking countries, this symbol was not historically used before its appearance on the push...
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