backslash
Plural: backslashes
Noun
- The punctuation mark \.
- Used erroneously in reference to, or in reading out, the ordinary slash, that is, the punctuation mark /.
Verb
- To escape (a metacharacter) by prepending a backslash that serves as an escape character, thereby forming an escape sequence.
Origin / Etymology
From back + slash, because it is a slash “leaning back” against the direction of writing (in writing lines from left to right), in contrast to the more common (forward) slash / (“solidus, oblique, diagonal”). The actual direction of (hand-)writing these marks can be reversed, when writing from left to right, top to baseline: the backslash forwards, the (forward) slash backwards. The naming can be explained as an anthropomorphism, assuming a bar (|) standing on the baseline, facing in the direction of writing, toppling backwards or forwards, respectively. The (new) Unicode name of \ is REVERSE SOLIDUS.
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 20
backslash: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordbackslash: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
backslash: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 22
backslash: valid Words With Friends Word