noun: the sign "&" (standing for the word 'and', as in "U & I")
“&” was actually part of the English alphabet.
In the early 1800s, school children reciting their ABCs concluded
the alphabet with the "&" coming after the letter 'Z'..........
the alphabet was originally 27 characters long because '&' was an actual letter member.
But then Grammar Nazis decided "&" was not worthy of being in the alphabet, so they took it out (the same illogical mindset that decided Pluto was not a planet, but only a large asteroid.)