The ampersand symbol is formed from the letters in et, the Latin word for "and"

While the ampersand symbol, oftentimes used as the word “and” in writing, is just some mishmash of swirling loops, it actually looks like that for a reason. The swirling loops make up the letters “et”, which was the Latin word for “and”. When a symbol is formed out of two or more letters, it is officially known as a “ligature”. Since the ampersand is made up of the letters “E” and “T”, it is a ligature.