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From: aa318@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (John Coughlin)
Subject: Re: The origin of "$", the dollar sign?
Message-ID: <D4GEMA.BHz@freenet.carleton.ca>
Sender: aa318@freenet3.carleton.ca (John Coughlin)
Reply-To: aa318@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (John Coughlin)
Organization: The National Capital FreeNet
References: <3ih3hr$3c5@uwm.edu> <jon-2102951058550001@hfmac323.uio.no> <azog.5.000BFE6F@gti.gti.net> <D4Ex56.2up@freenet.carleton.ca>
Date: Thu, 23 Feb 1995 12:56:33 GMT
Lines: 20

In a previous posting, Alan D Corre (corre@alpha1.csd.uwm.edu) writes:
> In article <D4Ex56.2up@freenet.carleton.ca> aa318@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (John Coughlin) writes:
>  
>>I missed the discussion of the Rx prescription symbol.  I am sure it is not
>>from the English "recipe".  It is an abbreviation of the Latin "radix". 
> 
> I didn't say it was from the English "recipe". "Recipe" in Latin means
> "Take!". Orders to pharmacists from doctors were in Latin (even in my
> youth!) and began "Take one ounce of whatever and two drams of something
> else..." And the pharmacist would compound it with his pestle and mortar.
> The crossed R replaced the full word "recipe". The *English* word recipe is
> taken from this, instructions to make a cake or whatever by *taking* flour,
> yeast...etc. Radix does not make good sense in this context.
> 
This does not explain the origin of the "x" at the bottom of the Rx symbol.
--
Flesh:  John Coughlin                       ___     __o
Net:    jcoughlin@acm.org                 ___     _`\<,
        aa318@freenet.carleton.ca          ___   (_)/(_)
Status: Mi hidrodeslizador esta' lleno de anguillas.
