punctus versus

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin pūnctus versus (literally “facing mark”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌpʌŋktəs ˈvɜːsəs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌpʌŋktəs ˈvɚsəs/

Noun

punctus versus

1. (palaeography) A medieval punctuation mark marking the end of a sentence (approximately ;)
   • 1993, Malcolm Beckwith Parkes, Pause and Effect‎^[1], Influences on The Application of Punctuation, page 74:

     […] moreover by turning the punctus after fiant into a punctus versus, he has repointed the two verses as a single sententia.

   • 2011 July 22, Tadao Kudouchi, edited by Akio Oizumi and Jacek Fisiak, English Historical Linguistics and Philology in Japan‎^[2], De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 172:

     Thus the basic punctuation marks used in English manuscripts of the eleventh-thirteenth centuries are: the simple point, the punctus elevatus, the punctus versus, and the punctus interrogativus.

   • 2015 December 23, Mary P. Richards, editor, Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: Basic Readings‎^[3], Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 387:

     […] the punctus versus is used at the close of the sentence and after words introducing direct speech […]

See also

• punctus
• punctus circumflexus
• punctus elevatus
• punctus flexus
• punctus interrogativus