The various uses of the present symbol derive from several sources. The medieval virgule (Latin virgula) was an oblique or vertical line that served as a comma, period, and caesura mark and is still used in literary contexts to mark line breaks in verse. (This mark separately developed as the comma ⟨,⟩ and caesura mark ⟨‖⟩ and some senses of the vertical bar ⟨|⟩.) The shilling mark (Latin solidus) was variously written s. or as the long s ſ. This eventually developed into a single unpunctuated slash; its use to separate shillings from pence was sometimes generalized to any currency division. Most mathematical senses derived from the earlier horizontal fraction bar (as in 12, usually attributed to Arabic mathematician al-Hassar), rewritten with a slash by the 18th century to permit fractions to be written on a single line. As a separator and conjunction, it represents an oblique form of the dash ⟨–⟩ or hyphen ⟨-⟩. Its use to mark supposed actions derives from command formatting in online chat forums, while its use to comment on preceding text derives from its use in some programming languages to form closing tags. Its present British name stroke derives from its use in telegraphy; its present American name slash gained wide currency from its use in computing.

(orthography) typographic substitute for the dental click ⟨ǀ⟩.


Στην γλωσσολογία ο τόνος είναι ένα διακριτικό σημείο.
Stin glossología o tónos eínai éna diakritikó simeío.
In linguistics the tonos is a diacritical mark.

(orthography) The Greek tonos (τόνος) diacritical mark.

The appendix describing the Greek alphabet


͵β

(orthography, numerals) The Greek lower numeral sign diacritical mark, which is used for identifying Greek numbers greater than 999.


(orthography) Typographic substitute for the lateral click ⟨ǁ⟩.


ˉ

(poetry) Used to mark a long/stressed syllable in a metrical foot or verse: e.g. ⟨˘ˉ⟩ iamb, ⟨ˉ˘⟩ trochee, ⟨ˉˉ⟩ spondee. Also placed over vowel letters: see ⟨◌̄⟩.


For example, the fifth stroke in 我.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 斜 (“slant”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the second stroke in 狐.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 彎 (“curved”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the third stroke in 大.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke 捺 (“right-falling”).


For example, the third stroke in 丸.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke 點 (“dot”).


For example, the first stroke in 月.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 豎 (“vertical”) + 撇 (“left-falling”).


For example, the third stroke in 亡 and the fourth stroke in 四.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 豎 (“vertical”) + 彎 (“curved”).


For example, the fifth stroke in 投.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 折 (“bent”) + 彎 (“curved”).


For example, the first stroke in 乏.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke 撇 (“left-falling”).


For example, the first stroke in 疋 and the third stroke in 卖.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the sixth stroke in 廸.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 折 (“bent”) + 折 (“bent”) + 撇 (“left-falling”).


For example, the first stroke in 飞 and the second stroke in 九.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 折 (“bent”) + 彎 (“curved”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the first stroke in 水.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 豎 (“vertical”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the fourth stroke in 中.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke 豎 (“vertical”).


For example, the third stroke in 民.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 豎 (“vertical”) + 提 (“rising”).


For example, the sixth stroke in 肅.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 豎 (“vertical”) + 彎 (“curved”) + 折 (“bent”).


For example, the second stroke in 计 and the second stroke in 鳩.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 折 (“bent”) + 提 (“rising”).


For example, the first stroke in 阝 and the sixth stroke in 邮.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 撇 (“left-falling”) + 彎 (“curved”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the third stroke in 乞.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 斜 (“slant”) + 彎 (“curved”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the second stroke in 心.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 扁 (“flat”) + 斜 (“slant”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the first stroke in 卍.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 折 (“bent”) + 折 (“bent”).


For example, the sixth stroke in 㔔. It is one single stroke, unlike 口 (a similar radical) which is 3 strokes.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke 圈 (“circle”).


For example, the fourth stroke in 凸.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 折 (“bent”) + 折 (“bent”) + 折 (“bent”).


For example, the third stroke in 公 and the fourth stroke in 弘.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 撇 (“left-falling”) + 折 (“bent”).


For example, the first stroke in 又, fourth stroke in 今, second stroke in 夕, 𠂊 and 水.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 撇 (“left-falling”).


For example, the third stroke in 弓 and the second stroke in 马.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 豎 (“vertical”) + 折 (“bent”) + 彎 (“curved”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the seventh stroke in 乱 and the third stroke in 己.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 豎 (“vertical”) + 彎 (“curved”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the first stroke in 乄.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 撇 (“left-falling”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the first stroke in 大 and the first stroke in 七.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke 橫 (“horizontal”).


For example, the first stroke in 卐 and the fourth and fifth strokes in 亞.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 豎 (“vertical”) + 折 (“bent”) + 折 (“bent”).


For example, the first stroke in 巡 and the first stroke in 女.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 撇 (“left-falling”) + 點 (“dot”). Referred to as the 撇點 /撇点 (piědiǎn) stroke.


For example, the second stroke in 山 and the sixth stroke in 県.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 豎 (“vertical”) + 折 (“bent”).


For example, the first stroke in 乃.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 折 (“bent”) + 折 (“bent”) + 折 (“bent”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the second stroke in 四.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 折 (“bent”). Referred to as the 橫折 /横折 (héngzhé) stroke.


For example, the eighth stroke in 廻.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 提 (“rising”) + 捺 (“right-falling”).


For example, the second stroke in 冰.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke 提 (“rising”).


For example, the first stroke in 羽 and the first stroke in 也.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 折 (“bent”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


(poetry) Used to mark a short/unstressed syllable in a metrical foot or verse: e.g. ⟨˘ˉ⟩ iamb, ⟨ˉ˘⟩ trochee, ⟨˘˘⟩ pyrrhic. Also placed over vowel letters: see ⟨◌̆⟩.


(poetry) Alternative form of ˘ (unaccented syllable)


For example, the first stroke in 飞.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 橫 (“horizontal”) + 斜 (“slant”) + 鉤 (“hook”).


For example, the first stroke in 奊.

(Chinese calligraphy) The stroke combination 豎 (“vertical”) + 折 (“bent”) + 撇 (“left-falling”).