What do you call the symbol used in e-mail addresses?
What do you call the @ symbol used in e-mail addresses? The funny little a with its tail circling back around it is probably one of the most commonly used symbols today. So it is truly amazing to learn that there is no official, universal name for it. The most accepted term, even in many other languages, is to call it the at sign. But there are dozens of different words used to describe it. A lot of languages use words that associate the shape of the symbol with some type of animal. Here are a few examples of the many exotic terms associated with the @ symbol: • apestaart – Dutch for “monkey’s tail” • snabel – Danish for “elephant’s trunk” • kissanhnta – Finnish for “cat’s tail” • klammeraffe – German for “hanging monkey” • kukac – Hungarian for “worm” • dalphaengi – Korean for “snail” • grisehale – Norwegian for “pig’s tail” • sobachka – Russian for “little dog” Before it became the standard symbol for e-mail, the @ symbol was typically used to indicate the cost or weight of something
