Caret (proofreading)
Inverted V-shaped proof-reader's symbol
The caret (/ˈkærɪt/) is a V-shaped grapheme, usually inverted and sometimes extended, used in proofreading and typography to indicate that additional material needs to be inserted at the point indicated in the text. In some of its forms, it is quite similar in appearance to the inverted-v shaped symbol used as a diacritical mark modifying another character known as a circumflex (as in â).
01Usage
The caret was originally and continues to be used in handwritten form as a proofreading mark to indicate where a punctuation mark, word, or phrase should be inserted into a document. The term comes from the Latin word caret, "it lacks", from carēre, "to lack; to be separated from; to be free from". The caret symbol can be written just below the line of text for a punctuation mark at low line position, such as a comma, or just above the line of text as an inverted caret (somewhat akin to U+02C7 ˇ CARON) for a character at a higher line position, such as an apostrophe, or in either position to indicate insertion of a letter, word or phrase; the material to be inserted may be placed inside the caret, in the margin, or above the line.
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Caret (proofreading)”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.