The @ symbol

[TheParser]

I have just read some (useless?) information that I wanted to share with my fellow language fans. (Is this the correct forum?)

English speakers refer to the @ symbol as the "at mark" or "commercial at."

What about other speakers?

According to the March, 2015, print issue of Reader's Digest:

Dutch people call it a monkey's tail.
Israeli people people call it a strudel.
Russian people call it the little dog.
Italian people call it the small snail.
Bosnian people call it the crazy A.

 

[suikerbossie]

In Italy the @ or "a commerciale"is called chiocciola, or chiocciolina, i.e. small snail.

Because it looks like a little snail, of course!!;-)

So when dictating your email address to someone, you say (if your name is Mario Rossi): mario punto rossi chiocciola gmail punto com !!

 

[emsr2d2]

So many people know this symbol that when giving out an email address, we just say "Mark dot Williams at gmail dot com". If we have to be more specific (in a computer context), we tend to call it "an/the at sign". I've never heard or used "at mark" or "commercial at".

 

[MikeNewYork]

It was called the "business/commercial at" a long time ago when it was on cash registers. A grocer for example would enter a number of items followed by @ and the cost per item: 12 apples @ 13 cents each.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I agree with ems. I most often hear the "at sign" these days.

 

[Tdol]

I've never heard or used "at mark" or "commercial at".

I've only come across those terms in discussions like these- it was a symbol that was largely unknown or just recognised before IT adopted it, since when it has just been at. It may have been known by those names to specialists in itemised bills in the 1950s or something, but I would say that very few English speakers refer to it today by these names.

 

[emsr2d2]

It was used in the Civil Service on file notes for years before IT adopted it. When I worked at an airport, I frequently wrote things like "[Passenger name] arrived @ LHR TN2 @ 1615hrs", which means "[Passenger name] arrived at London Heathrow Airport, Terminal 2, at 4.15pm". As you can see, it simply replaced "at", as it still does.

 

[salvador.dal1950]

It is also called "arroba" in Spanish.

 

[charliedeut]

It is also called "arroba" in Spanish.

An "arroba" was a measure of weight in Spain, which ran out of use long ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_sign (and its Spanish version for those who may understand it): http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arroba_(símbolo).

 

[Tdol]

It was used in the Civil Service on file notes for years before IT adopted it. When I worked at an airport, I frequently wrote things like "[Passenger name] arrived @ LHR TN2 @ 1615hrs", which means "[Passenger name] arrived at London Heathrow Airport, Terminal 2, at 4.15pm". As you can see, it simply replaced "at", as it still does.

Interesting- the only place I had seen it before email was on the occasional bill.

 

[Rover_KE]

You may occasionally see it called an asperand.

The at sign(@),which is shorthand for the word "at,"has become widely identified around the world due to its use in Internet e-mail addresses and Twitter names.Officially known as an "asperand," the at sign separates the recipient's name from the domain name in e-mail;

(The Free Dictionary)

 

[Bloomsbury International]

Most native English speakers just call it "at"

 

[Giant]

No need to mention that "@" sign comprises an email address and in this case you are right to call it as "At Mark". But in our billing activities it is also taken as "at the rate of" e.g. 100KM @10km/h.
In fact, many phrases/words are now use in their short form (I mean symbols) and this is one of such scenario.

 

[emsr2d2]

In a sentence like "I would like to buy 24 xxx @ £25 each", we would still call it the "at sign" and read it as "at".