backslash

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English

Etymology

back +‎ slash, because it is a slash going back against the direction of writing, in contrast to the common slash / (“slash, solidus, oblique, forward slash”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbækˌslæʃ/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -æʃ

Noun

backslash (plural backslashes)

  1. The punctuation mark \.
  2. (computing, rare, proscribed) Used erroneously in reference to, or in reading out, the ordinary slash, that is, the punctuation mark /.
    • 2001, James T. Bretzke, Bibliography on East Asian Religion and Philosophy, Edwin Mellen Press, →ISBN, page 455:
      […] I was trying to find a web-site for which I had been given the following address: http://www.isop.ucla.edu/pacrim/pubs/korjournal.htm. […] I began to work backwards, removing first the last part of the address following the last backslash (/korjournal.htm).
    • 2010, Lee Vance, The Garden of Betrayal, Random House, published 2011, →ISBN, page 25:
      “So, do what I tell you. Open a browser window and type this in the menu bar: F-T-P colon backslash backslash euronews dot net backslash...”
      I pecked carefully at the keyboard as he dictated a URL that was about fifty characters long, […]
    • 2010, Frank Barnas, Ted White, Broadcast News Writing, Reporting, and Producing, Fifth Edition, Elsevier, →ISBN, page 114:
      Also, avoid submenus that can confuse the audience—if you're giving lengthy Web site addresses full of backslashes, shorten it so only the Web site's home page is given.

Usage notes

  • Sometimes used to indicate the beginning and ending of an area of words being marked for correction.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Coordinate terms

Translations

Verb

backslash (third-person singular simple present backslashes, present participle backslashing, simple past and past participle backslashed)

  1. (computing, transitive) To escape (a metacharacter) by prepending a backslash that serves as an escape character, thereby forming an escape sequence.

See also

Typography

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English backslash.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbɛkslɛʃ/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: back‧slash

Noun

backslash m (plural backslashes or backslashen, diminutive backslashje n)

  1. backslash

Synonyms

Wikious
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