why is 'and' written as '&' ?

Answer 1

Several have correctly pointed out the ORIGIN of this symbol as a stylized "et" (Latin for "and"). This is not so clear in the version we normally see today, a little more obvious in older forms of the sign (see the illustration at the top right of the wikipedia article on "ampersand")

BUT no one has offered any explanation of why we would use this sign of a LATIN word rather than the English "and". On that question, note that there are MANY Latin abbreviations used in English (think especially of these: cf, i.e., e.g., viz, ibid, etc)

The explanation of this more general practice is that these abbreviations are 'holdovers' from a period when European scholarly and scientific writings were all written in Latin. When English scholars, still trained in Latin, began to publish in their native language, they often continued to use a number of convenient Latin abbreviations familiar to them.

From wikipedia:
"Latin was once the universal academic language in Europe. From the eighteenth century authors started using their mother tongue to write books, papers or proceedings. However many Latin abbreviations continued to be used due to their precise simplicity and also Latin's status as a learned language."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_abbreviations

Incidentally, when you see these Latin abbreviations, the proper way to read them is to substitute the ENGLISH word they stand for. Do not try to speak the Latin, and do not just say the letters (such as "i.e." or "e.g"), but treat them the same way as you would "1, 2, 3...." -- as signs for the word in your OWN language. (That includes "etc" -- when you see it, say "and so forth", NOT "et cetera".)

Answer 2

This symbol comes from the french word for and, which is et.

Et was written in a stylized form that reselmbles the modern day &. In fact, some people still prefer to write the stylized et. It can be best described by making an uppercase, curved spine E and joining the middle prong to a lowercase t's crossbar, both letters touching.

Answer 3

hear to a crap load of music. because of the fact the guitar is obviously very simular to a piano, i stumble on listening to many classical products, speradically places something into my head. another factor, I normally initiate out taking part in a riff somewhat sluggish. i'm speaking like 15 to twenty BPM. this grants me a precise sense for what i'm taking part in from the commencing up, with the flexibility to do away with lost notes, or maybe an entire scale. Then collectively as escalading the pace greater issues come to mild. So in my imprecise technique the start to a riff must be a similar or finished oposite from the unique whilst 20 BPM turns into 2 hundred BPM

Answer 4

The symbol is called an ampersand and it comes from the Latin for "and per se and", meaning "and [the symbol which] by itself [is] and". The Scots and Scottish English name for & is epershand, derived from "et per se and" with the same meaning.

Answer 5

it is just a symbol. there are more of this kind..
1)@ - at the rate
2)# - number
3)$ - dollar
4)% - percentage
and so on this is just to save your time while typing or writing.
you also can create your own symbol, in fact people do it to save their time and to improve their productivity

Answer 6

The symbol evolved from a combination of the letters "et" as in "et cetera" and "et tu, Brute." "Et" is the Latin word for "and."

Answer 7

like alpha & beta symbols this too is a latin symbol evolved for 'and' in modern generation

Answer 8

short form to simplicity of using

Answer 9

because people like u r there for asking that type of question

Answer 10

it is a short form of 'and'