The section symbol (§) is a typographical character used mainly in legal, academic, and reference texts to denote sections within a document or law code. It is often used in legal citations to refer to specific provisions of statutes, contracts, or regulations. The section symbol can be written alone (§) for a single section or doubled (§§) to indicate multiple sections. While primarily associated with legal and formal writing, it also appears in various technical and scholarly contexts.
§
§§
¶
©
®
*
History of Section Symbols
The section symbol originated from the Latin “signum sectionis,” meaning “sign of section.” It evolved from the scribal traditions of medieval Europe, where monks and scholars used elaborate symbols to structure texts. Over time, the symbol was adopted into typographic standards and became widely used in legal, academic, and publishing domains. Today, it remains a staple in referencing structured legal codes and academic texts.
Fun Facts
- The section symbol (§) is also called the “double S” because it visually resembles two intertwined ‘S’ characters.
- In legal documents, it is common to see § 101 as a reference to a specific section of a law.
- Many keyboards do not have a dedicated section symbol key, so it is accessed using shortcuts like Alt + 21 (Windows) or Option + 6 (Mac).
- Some programming languages and markup formats use § for specific syntax rules or encoding.
Related Symbols
Below are some related symbols, along with their meanings:
- Paragraph Symbol (¶) – Represents a paragraph break or section in legal and academic texts.
- Pilcrow (¶) – Often used interchangeably with the paragraph symbol to mark separate sections in documents.
- Copyright Symbol (©) – Indicates copyright protection for written and artistic works.
- Registered Trademark (®) – Used for officially registered trademarks.
- Asterisk (*) – Used for footnotes and references in texts.