| phonogram |
| Definition: A character or symbol that is used as shorthand for a word. |
| Example: The @ symbol when used to represent the word at. |
| Etymology: The term was coined from the Greek phone, voice or sound + gram, that which is written, and was probably based on the analogy of the word telegram. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation is from 1860: "Phonogram, a written letter or mark, indicating a certain sound, or modification of sound; as —k, ·ah." (I. Pitman Man. Phonography (ed. 10) §17. 21) |