I saw this on Instagram and love it – bring ampersand back to the alphabet!

The ampersand (&) originates as a ligature, combining the Latin letters “e” and “t” to represent “et,” meaning “and,” a practice dating back to ancient Roman shorthand seen in Pompeii graffiti before the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The oldest known et ligature appears as graffiti on a wall from the remains of Pompeii, documented in German graphic designer Jan Tschichold’s comprehensive 1953 study of the ampersand’s evolution. ( Shadycharacters | Rizzolibookstore)

By the 19th century, the ampersand was considered the 27th letter of the English alphabet, taught to British schoolchildren who recited it as “and per se and,” owing to its stand-alone nature (Latin per se means “by itself”). The phrase “and per se and” was routinely slurred to “ampersand,” and the term had entered common English usage by 1837. ( The History of ‘Ampersand’)

Though originally a ligature, the ampersand functions as a logogram today due to its widespread use as a single symbol representing the word “and” in English and other languages. Its design varies significantly across fonts but remains rooted in the Latin “et,” with some typefaces still clearly revealing the original e and t letter forms within the symbol’s curves.

Summary provided by Claude Sonnet 4 Research