[Ads-l] Antedating of "Ampersand"

[Shapiro, Fred]

ampersand (OED 1837)

1795 'Mr. Pratt' _Gleanings through Wales, Holland and Westphalia_ (pt. 1) 306 (Eighteenth Century Collections Online Text Creation Partnership)  At length, having tried all the historians from great _A_, to _ampersand_, he perceives there is no escaping from the puzzle, but by selecting his own facts, forming his own conclusions, and putting a little trust in his own reason and judgment.

Fred Shapiro

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org