 The ampersand should not be confused with the Tironian "et" , which has the same meaning, but which in appearance resembles the numeral .Both symbols have their roots in the classical antiquity, and both signs were used throughout the Middle Ages as a representation for the Latin word "et" ("and").However, while the ampersand was in origin a common ligature in everyday script, the Tironian "et" was part of a highly specialised stenographic shorthand.