The marks (like periods, commas, and question marks) used in writing to separate sentences and clarify meaning.
From Latin 'punctuatio,' derived from 'punctus' (point), from 'pungere' (to prick or point). The marks literally 'point out' where pauses should occur when reading.
Punctuation is so powerful that it can completely flip the meaning of a sentence—'Let's eat Grandma' becomes 'Let's eat, Grandma' by adding one comma! Medieval scribes invented most punctuation to help readers understand texts when reading aloud.
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