Consider the following minimal example:

```
\documentclass{article}

\usepackage{glossaries}
\makeglossaries

\newcommand{\NewS}[4]{
    % Q1: How can I use argument #1 without the backslash in the following line?
    \newglossaryentry{symb:#4}{
        name=\ensuremath{#2},
        description={\nopostdesc #3}, 
        sort=sym#4,
    }

    % Q2: Why is the space between the '}' necessary?
    \def#1{\ensuremath{#2} } 
}

\NewS{\power}{P}{the power of something}{power}

\begin{document}
    One can refer to the symbol via \power and \gls{symb:power} and. 
\end{document}

```

The two questions I have are already inserted in the example. In particular I am searching for a way to remove the backlash of the string `\power` which I pass as a first argument to the `newcommand` so that I can write something like:

```
\newglossaryentry{symb:WITHOUT_BACKSLASH(#1)}{

```

And secondly I don't understand why I have to leave a space between the two braces in the `\def` in order to get "P and" in the output and not "Pand" - which is what I get when I remove the space. If I directly write `\ensuremath{P} and` I don't see any problems so I am just curious. 

Thanks for your help!

Regards