Caret (proofreading)
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 this point in the text.
‸ ⁁ ⎀ | |
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Caret (proofreading) | |
In Unicode | U+2038 ‸ CARET U+2041 ⁁ CARET INSERTION POINT U+2380 ⎀ INSERTION SYMBOL |
Different from | |
Different from | U+005E ^ CIRCUMFLEX ACCENT U+028C ʌ LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED V U+2227 ∧ LOGICAL AND U+03BB λ GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA U+039B Λ GREEK CAPITAL LETTER LAMDA |
Usage
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.[1] The term comes from the Latin caret, "it lacks", from carēre, "to lack; to be separated from; to be free from".[2] The caret symbol is written below the line of text for a line-level punctuation mark, such as a comma, or above the line as an inverted caret (cf. U+02C7 ˇ CARON) for a higher character, such as an apostrophe;[3] the material to be inserted may be placed inside the caret, in the margin, or above the line.
- Carets telling reader to insert a comma, an apostrophe, and quotation marks
- Caret telling a reader to insert a letter
- Caret telling reader to insert a word
- Caret telling reader to change a word
References
- MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7 ed.). New York: Modern Language Association. 2009. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-60329-024-1.
- "Caret". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. 2001. p. 338. ISBN 1-55798-791-2.