Slashes are widely used to represent alternatives, such as “his/her/they” and “or/and.” The slash (/) is a common punctuation symbol known as a forward slash, stroke, or oblique. In professional writing, use the slash with caution. The slash character is now used to express exclusive or inclusive division and fractions and as a date separator.
In the 18th century, the mark was commonly referred to as the “oblique.” Although printers and publishing experts frequently referred to the Character as an “oblique stroke,” the variant “oblique stroke” was increasingly abbreviated to “stroke,” which became the widespread British moniker for it. It was also known as the “shilling mark” or “solidus” in the 19th and early 20th centuries due to its employment as the monetary sign for the shilling.
How to Find Slash / in Computer Keyboard
On a computer keyboard, you can type a slash by pressing the question mark/slash key to the left of the SHIFT key.
How to Use Slash / in Writing
To Link Alternatives
In many languages, the slash is employed as a shorter substitute for the conjunction “or,” usually with the connotation of exclusivity, as in – Confirmed/Tentative/Not Confirmed.
In computer science
The slash is used in Unix file paths and URLs to separate directory or file names.
e.g., https://whenhowandwhat.com/minus-sign/
Note: It is frequently referred to as a “forward slash” to distinguish it from the backslash, which is the path divider on MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows. Because the slash was used as the command-line option indicator in the early days of MS-DOS before directories were enabled, Windows utilizes the backslash rather than the normal slash.
In Mathematics
Slash (/) can be used in arithmetic in the following ways:
fractions (e.g., 1/2),
Divisions (e.g., 45/150)
The quotient of a set (e.g., G/N G= Normal group N= Normal Subgroup)
Combining Character (e.g., not equal ≠)
To Present Routes
The slash is also used to mark the phases of a route.
e.g., While driving from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, you can stop at Mormon Rocks/ Route 66/Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch/ Calico Ghost Town.
To write Dates or Fractions.
In written English, slashes are used to divide numbers, such as fractions and dates. For example, “I completed about 2/3 of my assignment,” or “My birthday is 06/06/1976.”
Utilize in Abbreviations
Slashes can be used in abbreviations, such as A/C (Air conditioner) D/C (Dryer) (Direct current).
What is the Difference Between Backslash \ and forward slash / ?
The backslash (\) is a non-punctuation mark largely used in computing. In less formal writing, the forward-slash (/) might be used in place of “or.” Dates, fractions, abbreviations, and URLs are also written in it.
References
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/slash
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/american_english/slash_1
