The hash or number symbol (#) is properly known, in typographical circles, as an octothorpe – so named because of its eight points. It was a little-used character until it was appropriated by Twitter, which gave birth to the now ubiquitous hash tag. Somehow “octothorpe tag” doesn’t have the same ring of illicit fun as “hash tag”!
Octothorpe
The hash or number symbol (#) is properly known, in typographical circles, as an octothorpe – so named because of its eight points. It was a little-used character until it was appropriated by Twitter, which gave birth to the now ubiquitous hash tag. Somehow “octothorpe tag” doesn’t have the same ring of illicit fun as …