Here Are 8 Popular Symbols And Their Origin

at symbol

Even before men could talk, they used symbols and pictorial representation to convey their ideas and go about the day-to-day business. The roots of modern-day symbols date back to the Roman and Greek empires, some of which we use even today. Below are the eight most popular symbols and their evolution stories.

The Peace Sign

The New York Times
The peace sign is a combination of semaphore signals of the letters “N“ and ”D,“ which stand for“Nuclear Disarmament.”

The Heart Symbol

Instagram | @sweet_sakuraa
According to some myths, the heart shape comes from ivy leaves which were usually associated with fertility. However, many others say that the biologically incorrect heart symbol comes from the shape of silphium, a giant fennel used by Greeks and Romans as birth control. 

The Ampersand (“&”)

 

Bright Side
Bright Side
The ampersand is the result of the conjunction of two letters in “et” (Latin origin, meaning “and” in English).

The “Power On” Symbol

TechBlogOut
The Power On symbol is the merge of the binary code one and zero, which represent “on” and “off” respectively.

The Question Mark (“?”)

Instagram | @lukegreysmith
The punctuation marks were merely a system of dots back in the early Middle Ages, but as the language progressed, the need to expand its complexity arose. For example, to communicate a question in written form and the tone associated with a question. A dot with a lightning bolt shape was chosen for the purpose, and over time it evolved into the question mark form of today.

The Bluetooth Symbol

Bright Side
This symbol is extracted by the combination of two Danish runes, akin to the letters “H” and “B.” H and B are the initials of Harald Blåtand, who was the King of Denmark back in the 10th century and is revered for uniting Danish tribes. He had a nickname: Bluetooth, given to him for his love of blueberries!

The At-Symbol (“@”)

 

iStock | erllre
The @ symbol was first used to represent “at the price of” for merchants, but that didn’t last for long. In the 1970s, a computer engineer Ray Tomlinson, who is the creator of today’s email system, needed a unique symbol for the addresses, and after some thought chose the “At” symbol!

The Apple Logo

CNN
While some people like to believe the bitten apple represents the story of the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden; this is not widely accepted. Another theory suggests that Apple was selected since Steve Jobs liked them and thought they made sense. The bite mark is only there to give it scale and differentiate it from looking like a cherry.
Do you know about some other symbol that comes with a unique history? Comment below! 

1 Comment

  1. Colin Reply

    The apple was designed for mac and the bite represents the byte bit in computers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *