paragraphos

Paragraphos refers to the paragraph sign used to mark the beginning of a new paragraph. The most recognizable form is the pilcrow (¶), though the term can describe various styles of paragraph markers in different scripts.

Originating in medieval manuscripts, paragraph signs emerged as decorative marks indicating a new paragraph or section of text. They evolved from simple flourishes into standardized pilcrows in the early modern printing era. The name pilcrow derives from French and Latin roots, while paragraph sign is a descriptive label used in editing and typography.

Today, paragraph signs are rarely used in ordinary printed English text, where indentation or line breaks typically indicate a new paragraph. In editing and proofreading, pilcrows may be shown as non-printing characters to reveal formatting. In some contexts, publishers still employ a pilcrow as a stylistic ornament or as a scholarly symbol when describing historical typography.

Unicode assigns the pilcrow as U+00B6; there are variants and related symbols in other fonts. In many word processors, the paragraph mark can be shown or hidden through formatting controls. In non-Latin typography, analogous symbols serve similar functions, reflecting the long history of paragraph delineation in written text.

See also: pilcrow, paragraph sign, non-printing characters, indentation, typography history.