backslash

Meaning

Noun

1. The punctuation mark \.
2. (proscribed, rare) Used erroneously in reference to, or in reading out, the ordinary slash, that is, the punctuation mark /.

Verb

To escape (a metacharacter) by prepending a backslash that serves as an escape character, thereby forming an escape sequence.

Synonyms

character

dash

💨

hyphen

slash

Translations

Backslash

barra invertida

barre oblique inverse

barra inversa

barre oblique inversée

umgekehrter Schrägstrich

antislash

ters eğik çizgi

backslash

barra invertida

barra diagonal inversa

ters bölü

barre

Strich

αντιπλάγια

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbækˌslæʃ/

Etymology

From back + slash, because it is a slash “leaning back” against the direction of writing (in writing lines from left to right), in contrast to the more common (forward) slash / (“solidus, oblique, diagonal”). The actual direction of (hand-)writing these marks can be reversed, when writing from left to right, top to baseline: the backslash forwards, the (forward) slash backwards. The naming can be explained as an anthropomorphism, assuming a bar (|) standing on the baseline, facing in the direction of writing, toppling backwards or forwards, respectively. The (new) Unicode name of \ is REVERSE SOLIDUS.