Enclosed A

Enclosed A or circled Latin A (, ) is a typographical symbol. It is an "A" within a circle, and it occurs alongside many other enclosed alphanumerics.

Uses

An A within a circle was adopted as a symbol by the United States Third Army (now the United States Army Central) in the early 20th century.

Anarchism

Nowadays, the symbol might be most recognised as an icon used by many people who identify or sympathize with anarchism. Despite the militaristic use noted above, by the dawn of the 21st century the enclosed A had largely supplanted the traditional Black Flag as the most-used symbol of that body of thought. Peter Marshall an author, philosopher and BBC television producer wrote that it represented the idea (as advanced by Peter Kropotkin and other anarchist theorists) that "Anarchy is Order"; early incarnations of the anarchist icon were expressed with an unenclosed A (Anarchy) superimposed over the O (Order) before evolving into the more formal form used modernly.[1]

Encodings

See also

Anarchism portal
Typography portal
United States Army portal

References

  1. ^ Marshall, Peter. Demanding the Impossible. Fontana, London. 1993. p. 558