Today, we use the @ sign in almost all internet services and social media platforms, especially in e-mail addresses. So where did this sign come from? The @ sign was actually used hundreds of years ago, when there was no internet or computer. Let’s take a closer look at what the @ sign means.
No matter which service provider you buy from today, you should always have a message in your e-mail address. @ sign is found. Likewise, on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. there will be an @ sign next to your name. So it is almost impossible to imagine the internet world without this sign. So where did this sign come from? Was it invented for the Internet or was it used before?
The answer is surprising. because @ sign It is a sign that has been used since the 5th century, when there was no internet, computer or even any tangible technology. Of course, its first use as we know it is a little more recent. Bride What does the @ sign mean? Let’s answer the questions for what purposes it was used throughout history and see the interesting story of this sign, which is indispensable in today’s internet world.
The @ sign was used as an abbreviation:
Actually, there is no clear answer to the question of when the @ sign was first used. Because the Italians are snails, the Dutch are monkey tails, ours is comet a history of this sign we call It dates back to the 5th century Medieval period. However, the ideas that it was used in this period are only theories.
According to this theory, at that time parish monks who had undertaken the manuscript work Latin true meaning name They used the @ sign to abbreviate the word. If you look carefully at the @ sign D like the tail of the letter a You’ll see that it’s wrapped around the letter.
According to another theory, à written in English horse It is thought that this word, which means, is written with the @ sign. à English equivalents of in, to, at, with There are frequently used words such as ‘meat’ because it’s pronounced as the idea that such an abbreviation is used quite logical.
First evidence of the use of the @ sign:
Although the history of the @ sign is full of different theories and stories, we have real proof. According to this proof, the first @ sign It was founded in 1536 by Florentine merchant Francesco Lapi. It was used to indicate the unit ratios of a wine called amphora, which was carried in large clay jars. Francesco Lapi frequently used the @ sign for this purpose in his letters.
The @ sign also appears frequently in commercial records in the same period. E.g; 12 @ $1 means 12 units worth $1 each. The absence of the @ sign on the first typewriters invented in the 1800s creates a loophole at this point. Even a primitive computer used for census purposes in the United States in 1890 did not have the @ sign on its keyboard.
I wonder if the @ sign was used commercially for a long time and then abandoned? If the @ sign is deprecated How it came to this day is not exactly known. Although it is not known how, the @ sign somehow reached the second half of the 20th century and became what we use today by chance.
The use of the @ sign in the Internet world:
While the calendars show the 1970s, the internet and computer world also He was acquainted with the Arpanet network. Arpanet; It was a network system used by the United States government, Cambridge University and BBN Technologies company, which we can call the world’s first internet.
Computer scientist Ray Tomlinson, a BBN employee, had a question in 1971; in the Arpanet network How would people who email each other get to know each other? He came up with the idea of an address that would display together the name of the person who sent the mail and the network he was connected to. However, the problem persisted. How would the contact name and network name be separated?
Knowing that he cannot use common signs such as commas or equals, Ray Tomlinson’s eyes are on the keyboard, It is stuck on the @ sign above the letter P. The @ sign, which was almost never used at that time, would become the separator symbol in email names. He immediately created an address for himself and sent a mail from the first @ sign e-mail address in history. Ray Tomlinson, a retired BBN employee today, says he doesn’t remember what he sent in that first email that day.
Today’s use of the @ sign:
Today, no matter which service provider you get yourself an e-mail address from, your name and the service provider’s website name. there will always be an @ sign. It is unthinkable to have an e-mail address without the @ sign.
The @ sign is not only used as an e-mail address. Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and more at the top of the usernames on many social media platforms is also used. Its intended use is based on the same principle. Showing the personal usage area of the network you are already in.
The @ sign is located in New York, United States. by Museum Of Modern Art It has been added to the museum’s collection because it demonstrates “elegance, economy, intellectual transparency, and a sense of possible future directions embedded in the arts of our time.” When you think about it, one asks from where to where.
Today, one of the indispensable symbols of the internet world, What does the @ sign mean? We answered the question and talked about the purposes for which it was used throughout history. Take a good look at your keyboard, maybe in a few years another unobtrusive sign may become indispensable in our lives.