Origin of the @ Symbol #4

The @ symbol is referred to as the “at” symbol, which is most commonly used in email addresses to show where something is coming from. Like most symbols there are a few theories on the origin, but no one has come to conclusion which is correct. Before a man named Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1440, monks were the ones making handwritten copies of religious text or manuscripts. Writing these texts must have been exhausting and time consuming, so people claim that the monks made the @ symbol to represent “at” for the purpose of a shortcut and slightly less writing. Monks and clergies were mainly the only people who could read and write during this time, which I think makes this theory more believable. Before the @ symbol was used for emailing, around the late1500’s merchants used it to show measurements or cost, so for example it would be 6 apples @ $5.00. Even though this is true no one knows exactly if this use of the @ symbol was the first. Another theory says that the @ symbol originated from the Latin word for at or coming from, which is “ad”. The letters a and d are said to be combined to form this swirly symbol. Regardless of whichever theory is true, they show that the @ symbol dates back far in history and still is used today.