quick, short movements or runs from one place to another; or small amounts of something (like a dash of salt).
From Middle English dashen, possibly from Old Norse daska (to strike). The meaning evolved to describe quick, forceful movements, and later applied to small quantities because of the quick throwing motion used to add them.
The punctuation mark and the quick run both come from the same word—a dash of salt goes in as fast and suddenly as someone making a dash down the street, and Renaissance printers literally called the punctuation mark a 'dash' because it looked sudden.
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