Et per se, et | A brief history of the ampersand
Where did the ampersand come from?
Was there ever a more attractive mark? It’s so pleasing to write, and its name is as curious as its curvature. The symbol itself came into being around the 1st century AD.
The letters e and t were occasionally written together to form this ligature and, depending on the typeface, you can still make out those the letters. As the Old Roman cursive developed into the New Roman cursive and eventually Carolingian minuscule, the use of ligatures came and went, but & had become a classic and stayed strong.
It even used to be considered the 27th letter of the alphabet, which seems wild to me. But therein lies the name: Since reciting the last few letters of the alphabet would have been, “Y, Z, and and” people added “per se” to break them up. (“Per se” means “by itself” in latin.) So the last few letters of the alphabet then became “X, Y, Z, and per se and”.
Get it? Say it real fast on repeat and you will.
When should you use an ampersand in your writing?
As for style choices, that’s up to you—but be deliberate. If you want to go with the ol’ proper official, AP Style has but one rule: use it only when it’s part of a company’s formal name, e.g. Wolfram & Hart.
The Chicago Manual of Style says don’t add a serial comma in front of one. The Modern Language Association calls for it to be spelled out as and. The following are my recommendations, based on convention, use case, and a dash of personal preference and experience.
See what works for you.
Style guidelines for using an ampersand in copy
Use it for abbreviations, like. B&B. Besides anything else, it looks awful clunky to write out and. Don’t add spaces.
Use it for company names, if they use it. Add spaces around words, but don’t add spaces around letters. E.g. Tiffany & Co. vs AT&T.
Don’t use an Oxford comma in front of an ampersand. It generally looks awkward and usually isn’t needed for clarity.
Don’t use it in place of and in long-form copy or body copy, e.g. newspaper articles, website body copy, marketing emails, etc.
Do use it in UX/UI headlines, text links, or subheads, especially in app, to save on character space. E.g. Trust & Safety or Takeaway & Delivery.
For marketing headlines, subject lines, and other placements, consider how it works as a design element as well as how it reads.
Generally, if you’re writing a full sentence—regardless of channel or purpose—it usually scans better to write out and in full.
