The ampersand is a ligature, the combination of the characters in the Latin word “et” which translates to “and.” This ligature is at least 2,000 years old. We show it here in two font versions, but of course, it was handwritten for well over a millennium before the first type face was cut.

    If we combine the ampersand with the letter “c” we get ligature/letter combination for the abbreviation “etc.” Etc. is the abbreviation for the word “etceteras,” which means “And others; and other things; and others of like character; and other of the like kind; and the rest; and so on; and so forth.” (From Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition.)

    A handwritten example from an 1648 Virginia Land Patent.

    A handwritten example from an 1839 letter from Virginia.