<P> Traditionally , when reciting the alphabet in English - speaking schools , any letter that could also be used as a word in itself ( `` A '' , `` I '' , and , at one point , `` O '' ) was repeated with the Latin expression per se ( `` by itself '' ) . This habit was useful in spelling where a word or syllable was repeated after spelling ; e.g. `` d , o , g -- dog '' would be clear but simply saying `` a -- a '' would be confusing without the clarifying `` per se '' added . It was also common practice to add the `` & '' sign at the end of the alphabet as if it were the 27th letter , pronounced as the Latin et or later in English as and . As a result , the recitation of the alphabet would end in `` X , Y , Z , and per se and '' . This last phrase was routinely slurred to `` ampersand '' and the term had entered common English usage by 1837 . However , in contrast to the 26 letters , the ampersand does not represent a speech sound -- although other characters that were dropped from the English alphabet did , such as the Old English thorn , wynn , and eth . </P>
<P> Traditionally , when reciting the alphabet in English - speaking schools , any letter that could also be used as a word in itself ( `` A '' , `` I '' , and , at one point , `` O '' ) was repeated with the Latin expression per se ( `` by itself '' ) . This habit was useful in spelling where a word or syllable was repeated after spelling ; e.g. `` d , o , g -- dog '' would be clear but simply saying `` a -- a '' would be confusing without the clarifying `` per se '' added . It was also common practice to add the `` & '' sign at the end of the alphabet as if it were the 27th letter , pronounced as the Latin et or later in English as and . As a result , the recitation of the alphabet would end in `` X , Y , Z , and per se and '' . This last phrase was routinely slurred to `` ampersand '' and the term had entered common English usage by 1837 . However , in contrast to the 26 letters , the ampersand does not represent a speech sound -- although other characters that were dropped from the English alphabet did , such as the Old English thorn , wynn , and eth . </P>
when was the ampersand removed from the alphabet
when was the ampersand removed from the alphabet
1837
1837