Pilcrow

Also called paragraph mark or blind P.

How to type it

Mac: Option + 7. Windows: Alt + 0182 on the number pad.

Common uses

• The pilcrow marks a paragraph, and editors use it in proofreading to show where to start a new one.
• Legal and technical documents sometimes use it to refer to a numbered paragraph, as in ¶ 3.

Less common uses

• Medieval scribes used the pilcrow to mark a new topic before indented paragraphs were common.
• Word processors show it when you turn on show formatting marks, with one pilcrow at the end of every paragraph.
• The shape began as a capital C for the Latin capitulum, meaning little head or chapter.