- Tick (checkmark)
A tick (known as a checkmark or check in
American English ) is a mark (unicode|✓, unicode|✔, unicode|☑, Check mark, etc.) used to indicate the concept "yes", for example "yes; this has been verified" or, "yes; that is the correct answer". Its opposite is the cross, although the cross can also be positive (most notably on electionballot papers ).As a verb, to tick (off) or to check (off) means to add such a mark. It is quite common, especially on printed forms, printed documents, and computers (see
check box ), for there to be squares in which to place ticks. In America and Germany, it is more common for people to check a square box with anx mark ; while in some European countries, it is more common for people to check a square box with a v-shaped checkmark.Fact|date=February 2007In the
U.S. (but notCanada ) and some European countries (e.g.Finland andSweden ), the tick can be used as an error mark and indicates "no" rather than "yes". In Japan and Korea, an "O Mark " (in the appearance of a circle, unicode symbol "◯"), also known as "丸印" "marujirushi", is used instead of a tick to mean 'yes'. [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%B8%E5%8D%B0] [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E2%97%8B%C3%97%E3%82%AF%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BA]A rainbow-colored tick was also used for the
Amiga logo during the Commodore era of the Amiga (1985 -1994 ).History
Contributors to
The Guardian 's [http://www.guardian.co.uk/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-60164,00.html "Notes and Queries" page on the tick mark] suggest that it goes back to the ancient Romans: When keepingchecklist s, they marked the items that they had checked with a V, standing for the Latin word "veritas" ("truth"). However the contributors don't provide much evidence for this.Another history suggests that it comes from the use of
fountain pen s. A fountain pen (a "self-filling pen" not adip pen or aquill pen) would not always start flowing ink without some initial action. The downstroke of the pen's nib was enough to get the ink flowing and then the ink was available for the upstroke.Fact|date=February 2007Tick marks in Unicode
Unicode provides various related symbols, including:ee also
*
x mark
*tally marks
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