Turned Ampersand

Turned Ampersand at U+214B is a letterlike symbol formed as a rotated ampersand, used chiefly as the sign for the par connective in linear logic. It belongs to the Letterlike Symbols block, a Unicode area for symbols that behave visually like letters or named notation marks rather than ordinary punctuation. Its main real-world use is in mathematical logic and theoretical computer science. In linear logic, ⅋ denotes “par,” the multiplicative disjunction dual to tensor, so a formula such as A ⅋ B is read as A par B and has a precise proof-theoretic meaning distinct from ordinary “or.” It appears in textbooks, research papers, lecture notes, and formal proof systems dealing with linear logic, proof nets, and related type-theoretic work. Outside that field, the character is uncommon. It may be seen in discussions of logic typography, Unicode symbol inventories, or as a visually unusual ampersand-like mark, but it is not used as a normal replacement for the ampersand meaning “and.” A practical caution is that it can be mistaken for a decorative rotated ampersand, while in logic writing it is a specific operator with its own name and semantics.