Simone Lawson
The weird s in the US Constitution is actually the long s, which was the original form of the letter in written English, coming from Latin and then through the Germanic alphabet. The long s is still used in some German typefaces. The reason for the use of the long s in the US Constitution may be to differentiate between s and f. To type the section symbol (§), place your cursor where you want the symbol to appear, click Insert, and then click Symbol.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Section sign |
| Other names | Section symbol, section mark, double-s, silcrow, paragraph symbol |
| Usage | Referencing individually numbered sections of a document, especially legal documents |
| Unicode code point | U+00A7 § SECTION SIGN |
| Plural | §§ (read as "sections") |
| Origin | Ligature formed by the combination of two S glyphs (from the Latin and Germanic alphabets) |
| Appearance in the US Constitution | The long "s" was used in the original form of the US Constitution, as in "⨜" |
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What You'll Learn
The weird s is called the long s
The "weird s" is called the long s, which is an archaic form of the lowercase letter s, also known as the medial s or initial s. It is found mostly in works from the late 8th to early 19th centuries. The long s is derived from old Roman cursive, which was used in Rome for informal writing from the first century AD to about the third century. In this script, the letter s was written as a vertical downstroke with a small curve at the end and a diagonal upstroke at the top, resembling a modern checkmark with an extra line.
Over time, the way the long s was used changed. By the eleventh or twelfth century, it was used when the letter appeared at the beginning or in the middle of a word, and the short or round s was used at the end of a word or after a long s in the middle of a word. For example, the word "sound" would have been written as "ſound", and "processes" would have been "proceſses." The long s was also used in double-s sequences, such as "ſinfulneſs" for "sinfulness" and "poſſeſs" for "possess."
The shift away from using the long s in English took about a century, from the mid-18th century to the early 19th century. It began when people stopped using it in "roundhand," a neat, clear cursive handwriting style favored by businesses for official documents. The long s continued to be used in printing during this time, but it gradually disappeared due to changes in printing technology and typography. By the early nineteenth century, its use had nearly disappeared from English print, except for a few holdouts like the integral symbol in calculus.
The long s is often confused with the minuscule letter f, as they look similar. However, a close comparison of the two letters shows that they differ slightly. In printed type, the cross-bar of the lowercase f goes all the way through, while the cross-bar on the long s is only on the left side of the letter's stem (the vertical line forming the body of the letter). In cursive handwriting, the bottom curve of the long s goes to the left, while in the f, it goes to the right or is non-existent.
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It originated from the Latin language
The "weird s" in the US Constitution is known as the long s. It originated from the Latin language and was passed on to English through the Germanic alphabet. The long s was the original form of the letter for written English. The long s was used for the letter anywhere in a word except at the end. For example, the word "surprise" would be written as "ſurpriſe". If a word included ss, a double long s was used unless the letters were at the end of a word; in that case, it was finished with a regular s, as in "posſeſs" (possess). In Norwegian or Danish, an sſ was used if a word included ss, unless the letters were at the end of a word.
The shift away from using the long s in English took almost a century, from the mid-18th century to the early 19th. It began when people started abandoning the long s in "roundhand," the neat, clear cursive handwriting favored by businesses for keeping accounts and writing official documents. The exception was the double s at the end of a word. The long s slowly faded from handwriting and was nearly eliminated from English print by the early 19th century. One theory for the shift is that the round s was chosen over the long s to differentiate s from f.
The long s is still used in some German typefaces. It also survived in the integral symbol in calculus and the symbol for a shilling. The section sign (§), also known as the section symbol, section mark, double-s, or silcrow, is a typographical character for referencing individually numbered sections of a document. It is believed to have originated as a ligature formed by the combination of two S glyphs.
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It was used in the original US Constitution in 1787
The "weird s" in the US Constitution is called a long s, or ſ. The long s was used in English from the first century until the mid-18th century to the early 19th century, when it fell out of use. The long s was derived from an early form of the letter used by the Romans when writing in cursive. When a standardised script was developed for Europe in the 8th century, the long s was retained.
The long s was used at the beginning and in the middle of words, but not at the end. The rules about when to use the long s versus the short s changed over time and depended on the writer's style. By the 17th and 18th centuries, there didn't seem to be clear rules about when to use it. Some writers would use the long s once in a double-s word (e.g. Congreſs), while others would use it both times (e.g. poſſeſs).
The long s was often confused with the letter f, which led to its gradual replacement with the short s. In addition, the development of new typefaces and type design, such as the introduction of the sans-serif font, also contributed to the decline of the long s. As technology advanced, printers wanted to simplify their typesets and keep only one form of s in their kits.
The use of the long s in the US Constitution in 1787 was not due to a lack of knowledge about spelling or grammar. The Founding Fathers knew how to spell and were following the conventions of the time. The long s was still in use in English at that time, although it would soon fall out of fashion around 1780.
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It was used in German typefaces
The long "s" in the US Constitution was the original form of the letter for written English, derived from Latin and the Germanic alphabet. The long "s" is still used in some German typefaces. When both letters were in use, the long "s" was used for the letter anywhere except at the end of a word.
The long "s" was used in German typefaces like Fraktur, which remained popular in Germany and Eastern Europe longer than elsewhere. Fraktur is derived from the Latin fractus, meaning "broken". It is a Blackletter typeface, or a "broken font" in German, where the bends of the letters are angular or "broken", with abrupt changes in stroke direction that make the letters look harsh. Fraktur usually includes the Eszett, vowels with umlauts, and the long "s". The first Fraktur typeface was designed in 1513 by Hans Schönsperger in Augsburg.
The Antiqua-Fraktur dispute, which began in the 19th century, was a controversy over which typeface should be used in Germany. The Nazis eventually settled the debate in 1941 by banning Fraktur typefaces and switching to international scripts such as Antiqua. However, after Nazi Germany fell in 1945, Fraktur was unbanned, although it failed to regain widespread popularity.
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It was eliminated due to the standardisation of spelling
The long "s", or ⟨ſ⟩, was eliminated due to the standardisation of spelling. It was the original form of the lowercase letter "s" in written English, derived from the Latin and Germanic alphabets. The long "s" was used for the letter anywhere in a word except at the end. So, "ſinfulneſs" was written instead of "sinfulness", and "ſucceſs" instead of "success".
The introduction of print technology led to the standardisation of spelling, gradually reducing regional spelling differences. Printers at the time were like mechanical typewriters, with each letter cast onto a die that would be pressed onto paper. As a result, it was easier to produce one cast for the letter "s" than two. By the early nineteenth century, the use of the long "s" had almost disappeared from English print, except for a few instances such as the integral symbol in calculus and the symbol for a shilling.
The long "s" is often confused with the minuscule "f", and sometimes even had an f-like nub in various roman typefaces and in blackletter. The short "s" was usually used in combination with "f", as in the word "satisfaction", to differentiate it from "ſatisfaction". The long "s" was also not used before or after an "f", as in the word "offset".
The use of the long "s" was not consistent and was dependent on the language, the typeface, and the time period. For example, in German typography, the rules are more complicated, with short "s" appearing at the end of each component within a compound word. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the long "s" was used before "k" and "b", as in "aſk" and "huſband", but by the late 18th century, the short "s" was used instead.
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Frequently asked questions
The "weird s" in the US Constitution is the long "s", which looks like "⨜".
The long "s" was the original form of the letter for written English, coming from Latin and then through the Germanic alphabet.
To type the long "s" on Microsoft Windows, click the Start button. Then, click Programs, followed by Accessories, then System Tools, and finally Character Map. In the Character Map screen, choose a font and find the long "s". Double-click it and then hit the Copy button.
