Just a single dot? A brief history of the middle dot

Abstract

In French, various typographical symbols are used to create abbreviated inclusive forms. Among these, the mid-dot is probably the most iconic, and its use has become widespread since the mid-2010s. Its origins are unclear: where does it actually come from? And its use also raises certain questions, notably whether to use one dot (étudiant·es) or two dots (étudiant·e·s). This column does not provide a clear answer to these questions, but shows that the middle dot, but it is possible to show that the mid-dot – as well as other abbreviative symbols – has a much longer history. Although its exact origin remains to be determined, it can be traced back at least to the late 1990s. As for the number of symbols, usage varies considerably between one, two and three symbols.

Keywords

• inclusive writing
• middle dot
• hyphen
• doublets