hash character

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hash character - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  hash character
  octothorpe
  
     <character> "#", ASCII character 35.
  
     Common names: number sign; pound; pound sign; hash; sharp;
     crunch; hex; INTERCAL: mesh.  Rare: grid; crosshatch;
     octothorpe; flash; ITU-T: square, pig-pen; tictactoe;
     scratchmark; thud; thump; splat.
  
     The pronunciation of "#" as "pound" is common in the US but a
     bad idea; Commonwealth Hackish has its own, rather more
     apposite use of "pound sign" (confusingly, on British
     keyboards the pound graphic happens to replace "#"; thus
     Britishers sometimes call "#" on a US-ASCII keyboard "pound",
     compounding the American error).  The US usage derives from an
     old-fashioned commercial practice of using a "#" suffix to tag
     pound weights on bills of lading.  The character is usually
     pronounced "hash" outside the US.
  
     The name "octothorpe" was made up by a Bell Labs supervisor,
     Don Macpherson.
  
     Octothorpe story (http://sigtel.com/tel_tech_octothorpe.html)
     .
  
     (2003-07-05)