tortoise shell bracket

English

Alternative forms

• tortoiseshell bracket

Etymology

Calque from Japanese 亀(きっ)甲(こう)括(かっ)弧(こ) (kikkōkakko, literally “tortoise shell bracket”), due to their resemblance to the shell of a tortoise. By surface analysis, tortoise shell +‎ bracket.

Noun

tortoise shell bracket (plural tortoise shell brackets)

2. (typography) Either of a pair of symbols,〔 〕, sometimes used in Japanese to enclose comments in quoted text.

Translations

Translations

• Japanese: 亀甲括弧 (kikkōkakko)