VIRGULE - Definition

Pronunciation:		'vurgyool
WordNet Dictionary

	Definition:	[n] a punctuation mark (/) used to separate related items of information

	Synonyms:	diagonal, separatrix, slash, solidus, stroke

	See Also:	punctuation, punctuation mark

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

	Definition:	\Vir"gule\, n. [F. virgule, fr. L. virgula, dim. of virga. See {Verge} a rod.] A comma. [R.] In the MSS. of Chaucer, the line is always broken by a c[ae]sura in the middle, which is pointed by a virgule. --Hallam.

Computing Dictionary

	Definition:	Rare, and ambiguous: slash or comma. "Virgule" (or rather, Latin "virgula", meaning "little rod" or, vividly enough, "little penis") was the name of a punctuation character shaped like a small slash and used in the Latin writing system much like a modern comma -- hence the ambiguity of this term in modern English. Compare French "virgule" and Italian "virgola", meaning "comma" (not "slash"); Italian "doppia virgola" and "virgoletta", both meaning "double quote".