The caret () is a V-shaped
grapheme
In linguistics, a grapheme is the smallest functional unit of a writing system.
The word ''grapheme'' is derived and the suffix ''-eme'' by analogy with ''phoneme'' and other names of emic units. The study of graphemes is called '' graphemi ...
, usually inverted and sometimes extended, used in
proofreading and
typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible, readable and appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, point sizes, line lengths, line-spacing ( leading), ...
to indicate that additional material needs to be inserted at the point indicated in the text. The same symbol is also used as a diacritical mark modifying another character (as in ), for which purpose it is known as a
circumflex.
Usage
The caret was originally and continues to be used in handwritten form as a
proofreading mark to indicate where a punctuation mark, word, or phrase should be inserted into a document.
The term comes from the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
word , "it lacks", from , "to lack; to be separated from; to be free from".
The caret symbol can be written just below the line of text for a punctuation mark at low line position, such as a
comma, or just above the line of text as an inverted caret () for a character at a higher line position, such as an
apostrophe, or in either position to indicate insertion of a letter, word or phrase;
the material to be inserted may be placed inside the caret, in the margin, or above the line.
File:Image of carets telling reader to insert a comma, an apostrophe, and quotation marks.png, Carets telling reader to insert a comma, an apostrophe, and quotation marks.
File:Image of caret telling a reader to insert a letter.png, Caret telling a reader to insert a letter.
File:Image of caret telling reader to insert a word.png, Caret telling reader to insert a word.
File:Image of caret telling reader to change a word.png, Caret telling reader to change a word.
References
{{navbox punctuation
Typographical symbols
Copy editing