U+204A "⁊" Tironian Sign Et Unicode Character
Unicode Version 17.0
⁊
U+204A "⁊" Tironian Sign Et is a typographic symbol that historically served as a shorthand abbreviation for the Latin word "et," meaning "and." Originating from the Tironian notes, an ancient Roman system of shorthand attributed to Marcus Tullius Tiro, this character was widely used in medieval manuscripts across Europe, particularly in Ireland and Scotland, where it remains a common symbol in Gaelic script and signage to this day. Unlike the modern ampersand (&), which evolved from a ligature of "e" and "t," the Tironian et is a distinct, simpler mark that resembles a reversed or flattened numeral seven, and it is still supported in digital typography for historical and linguistic applications.
General Properties
| Code Point | U+204A |
| Version Added | 3.0 |
| Name | Tironian Sign Et |
| Block | General Punctuation |
| General Category | Other Punctuation |
| Canonical Combining Class | Not Reordered |
| Bidirectional Class | Other Neutral |
Encodings
| HTML Decimal Encoding | ⁊ |
| HTML Hex Encoding | ⁊ |
| UTF-8 Encoding | 0xE2 0x81 0x8A |
| UTF-16 Encoding | 0x204A |
| UTF-32 Encoding | 0x0000204A |
| C/C++/Java Escape | \u204a |
Unicode Properties
| NFC Quick Check | Yes |
| NFD Quick Check | Yes |
| NFKC Quick Check | Yes |
| NFKD Quick Check | Yes |
| Numeric Type | None |
| Numeric Value | NaN |
| Line Break | Alphabetic |
| Script | Common |
| Script Extensions | Common |
| Indic Syllabic Category | Other |
| Pattern Syntax | Yes |
| Vertical Orientation | Rotated |
| Grapheme Base | Yes |
| Grapheme Cluster Break | Other |
| Word Break | Other |
| Sentence Break | Other |