365* New Words a Year [Merriam Webster] (Workman Publishing) 3/11/8: solidus

solidus n : a mark / used typically to denote "or" (as in and/or), "and or" (as in straggler/deserter), or "per" (as in feet/second)

Also called a slash, diagonal, slant, or virgule, describing the / as a solidus traces back to anciant Rome, according to the Did You Know part of the calendar. The Latin word solidus was applied to a certain coin introduced by Constantine the Great, "and in Medieval Latin solidus designated the shilling. Before the introduction of decimal coinage, abbreviations of the shilling ('s,' 'sh,' or 'shil') were used. Eventually the abbreviations were replaced with the simple symbol '/,' which became known as a solidus." Interesting story, but I don't see myself calling this mark anything but a slash or virgule, unless I'm referring specifically to shillings, which I rarely am. Rating 5/10 /s