From the first sentence of the Wikipedia entry on "Slash (punctuation) ": "The slash (/), also known as a stroke and by the technical term solidus, is a sign used as a punctuation mark and for various other purposes. It is often called a forward slash, a retronym used to distinguish it from the backslash (\). It has many other names." ‘Reverse solidus’ is the Unicode name.

Understanding the Context

‘Backslash’ is a more common and colloquial term. Technically, of course, ‘reverse solidus’ is a misnomer, since the character is a reserved slash, not a reversed solidus. But that’s its name. In contexts where the virgule or "oblique stroke" mark is used to express a choice between two alternatives, it's standard in AmE to just say "slash": slash ( / ) — technically known as a virgule but also called a slant, solidus, or stroke (the common name in British English)—serves a number of purposes in writing, essentially standing in for other words as a quick and clear way of showing ...

Key Insights

The solidus ( ⁄ ) is a punctuation mark used to indicate fractions including fractional currency. It may also be called a shilling mark, an in-line fraction bar, or a fraction slash. What is the / symbol called? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange I usually put a space before and after a slash, when indicating alternatives. We review a module / theme per user.

Final Thoughts

Is it correct, or should I rewrite the sentence to remove those spaces? We revi... SI compound units often use negative indices rather than 'per' or the solidus. Thus 10ms⁻²; kgm⁻³. No gap before the derived unit (or any other). With currency, there is no corresponding scientific convention.

I'd advise a 'per' as in say £4000 per kg (or £4000 / kg) and I prefer a gap where there is no orthography czar. I am wondering where did A/C abbreviation originate, and especially the slash since aircraft is one word. For instance, I can understand why there is a slash while abbreviating air conditioning.