& - The Ampersand in the Haggadah
Post date: Mar 1, 2018 10:22:42 PM
Who are you ampersand? Where did you come from? And why do I find you in so many Haggadot?
The ampersand is the "and" sign - & - which is nowadays almost exclusively found in brand names and titles e.g. MARKS & SPENCER and LAW & ORDER. This symbol is actually the cursive combination of the letters "e" and "t". It is shorthand for the Latin word "et" (meaning "and" in English) and was already in use in Pompei in the 1st century. Graffiti on a Pompeic wall using the symbol has been preserved.
The story why it is called an ampersand is intriguing. The ampersand was originally part of the English language. It was the 27th letter and its place was after the z. In the 1800s, school children chanting out the alphabet would include it but because chanting "x, y, z, and" would sound strange, it was important to indicate that the "and" stood on its own. In order to do so, the phrase "per se" (meaning "on its own") was added. So they would chant "x, y, z, and per se and". Over time, "and per se and" blurred into "ampersand" which is its name today. (By the way, the process of a name coming out of a mispronunciation is called a "mondegreen".)
So the Latin & is actually pronounced "et" which means "and" in English. Its presence in the English alphabet was the last remnant of the alphabet change initiated in Britain to replace the Runic alphabet of "futhark" to Latin characters. It is also the only character that has withstood the test of time and is still with us today, be it only as a formal character for "and".
Now how, may you ask, is all this connected to the Haggadah? Well, in the 19th century, the ampersand was often used in the strange configuration of "&c." In this case, its Latin pronunciation ("et") was intended so that "&c." was short for "etc." Quite a few English Haggadot used this abbreviation which, I must admit, stumped me originally. But by now I am used to meeting the ampersand in my Haggadot. Here a few examples of its use in Haggadot:
The "&c." has disappeared from the English language and no modern English text will use it any longer but it is nice that it is still preserved in these old Haggadot, like a glimpse at the walls of Pompei.
Sources:
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/298067/what-character-was-removed-from-the-alphabet
http://www.dictionary.com/e/ampersand/
http://www.dictionary.com/e/letters-alphabet/