What are the earliest sources for the use of the " symbol before the final letter, to denote an acronym?
This symbol (geresh) can be found in all Jewish languages, including Hebrew, Yiddish, Ladino...and English.
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1I think the symbol's placement was a necessity of in-line typesetting. (Compare caret ^ replacing non-linear power notation.) Earlier notations were dots or strokes over the letters, e.g. in Ramban's seal.– AdámJan 1, 2014 at 19:14
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judaism.stackexchange.com/a/10157/603– MenachemJan 1, 2014 at 19:37
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However, I can't find it now, but @avi once posted a picture of an early manuscript of Rashi where the quotation mark was used to indicate the Divrei Hamatchil.– MenachemJan 1, 2014 at 19:51
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1It's not actually a " (quotation mark); it's a gershayim ״. Similarly, a single one is a geresh ׳, not an apostrophe.– YpnypnJan 1, 2014 at 20:52
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1This isn't just a question about the Hebrew language. We use the apostrophes in transliteration (English contexts) too.– SAHSep 5, 2014 at 16:18
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