Michele Barnes, age 8, of Freeland, Wash., for his question:

WHAT IS AN AMPERSAND?

The word (ital) ampersand (end ital) is the name of this symbol: &. The symbol and the word stand for the word (ital) and (end ital).

Ampersand comes from the expression "and per se and,'' which means " & by itself makes and.'' With printers, the symbol is often called the "short and.''

Many different symbols have become common in our printed language. The symbol for the dollar, for example, is a capital letter S with a line drawn through it. Single and double quotation marks are common, just as periods and commas are. When you make an exciting statement, you end it with this symbol: 1 It isn't necessary for you to spell out the words "exclamation mark.''