virgil

nouncommon in dialogue

Synonym of slash ⟨/⟩.

noun

1
archaicSynonym of slash ⟨/⟩.
There be five manner of points and divisions most used among cunning men; the which if they be well used, make the sentence very light and easy to be understood, both to the reader and hearer: and they be these, virgil,—come,—parenthesis,—plain point,—interrogative... it is a slender stroke leaning forward, betokening a little short rest, without any perfectness yet of sentence.
No points were used by the ancient printers, excepting the colon and the period; but, after some time, a short oblique stroke, called a virgil, was introduced, which answered to the modern comma.
Whoever introduced the several points, it seems that a full-point, a point called come, answering to our colon-point, a point called virgil answering to our comma-point, the parenthesis-points and interrogative-point, were used at the close of the fourteenth, or beginning of the fifteenth century.
Other Chaucerian manuscripts had the virgule (or virgil or oblique: /) at the middle of lines.

Etymology

An anglicization of French virgule, from Latin virgula.

Forms

plural: virgils

violin · A small unfretted stringed instrument with four strings tuned…viper · A venomous snake in the family Viperidae.viral · Of or relating to a biological virus.

virgil · Synonym of slash ⟨/⟩.

Virgil · Pūblius Vergilius Marō (70–19 BCE), Roman epic writer from…virgin · A person who has never had sexual intercourse, or…Virgin · Synonym of Virgin Mary (“Mary, mother of Jesus”).

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