Ampersand

the character made thus, “&” = and. In the old Horn-books, after giving the twenty-six letters, the character & was added, and was called “Ampersand,” a corruption of “and per-se &” (and by itself, and). A B C D … . X Y Z &.

“Any odd shape folks understand

To mean my Protean amperzand.”

Punch (17 April, 1869, p. 153, col. 2).

The martyr Bradford, says Lord Russell, was “A per se A” with them, “to their comfort,” etc.—i.e. stood alone in their defence.

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.