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.)