Punctuation Investigation

punctuation investigation

exclamation point

comma

question mark

comma

ex+clam+ate/ +ion

quest+ion

komma

quaerere + ion

ex + clamare

"clause; piece cut off"

"out" + "loud call"

"ask" + noun suffix

Word

period

syncope, hatchet

query, conquer

proclaim, clamor

Word Sum

peri+od

Roots

peri + hodos

Denotations

"around" + "going"

Relatives

Exodus; method

apostrophe

hyphen

ellipsis

apo+strophe

hyph+en

el + lipse/ +is

hyp + hen

en + leipein

apo + strephein

"under" + "one"

"in" + "leave"

"away" + "turn"

semicolon

parenthesis

homonym; similar

eclipse, eleven

catastrophe

semi+colon

par+en+the+sis

semi + kolon

para + en + tithenai

"half" + "part of a verse; limb"

"beside" + "in" + "place"

synthesis; thesaurus

Click on each word for the Etymonline entry.

NOT "intestine"

Click on the plus sign for historical information.

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The period, also known as the full stop, is first recorded during the classical Greek era, around the 3rd century BCE. The playwright Aristophanes first introduced a series of dots to indicate places to pause while reciting. A high dot indicated a completed thought. This "terminal dot" became our modern-day period.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_stop

The question mark may have begun in the 5th century and may have looked more like a colon than our modern-day punctuation mark. By the early 13th century, the mark began to look more as it does today, and it was used exclusively for interrogative sentences. However, the term question mark only began to be commonly used in the 1800s. Prior to that time, it was referred to as a "point of interrogation."

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Question_mark

The exclamation point was once known as a "point of admiration." It is thought that the Latin exclamation "io," or "hooray," was written with the <i> above the <o>, giving birth to our modern-day exclamation point. Regardless of origin, this mark became widely used with the medieval scribes. Nevertheless, early typewriters did not include this punctuation mark, which is now often located above the numeral one on most keyboards.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclamation_mark

The comma came to us as part of Aristophanes' series of dots in the 3rd century BCE. (see history of period). The mark that became the comma was placed at the mid-level of a line of text. It was used to indicate a pause during recitation. For a period of time in the Middle Ages, the purpose of a comma was served by a slash mark. The modern comma mark was first used in the 15th century. The comma is perhaps the most versatile of the punctuation marks, having many uses, including separating items in a list, setting apart an adverbial phrase, and separating the day from the year.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma

First appearing in 1496, the semicolon is thought to be a step above the comma but a step below the colon in terms of a pause taken. Widespread usage begins in the 1600s. The semicolon is used to join independent clauses closely related in thought.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semicolon

Parentheses, also known as brackets, are used to set apart text from its surroundings. The curved parentheses were referred to as lunula by Erasmus because they resembled the moon. We also have angled brackets, slash brackets, square brackets, and curly brackets.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracket#Parentheses

The apostrophe was first used in 1496 and was used more widely in the 16th century in English. It was first used to indicate elision in French, and the practice was soon adopted in English as well. This practice is still found in contractions and other abbreviations. Its use to indicate possession came around a century later.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostrophe

An ellipsis is a series of three periods used to indicate the omission of a word, sentence, or entire portion of a text. Colloquially known as "dot, dot, dot," the plural form is ellipses. This punctuation mark may have been first used in 1588. There are many differences in how it is to be used and represented depending upon the stylebook you use.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis

A hyphen is often confused with the dash which is wider. The hyphen was used in Ancient Greece to join two words that would otherwise be read separately. In the Middle Ages, we began to see the hyphen used for separating words that crossed line breaks. In his Bible, Gutenberg lifted the hyphen up to the mid-line.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyphen