Tick (checkmark)

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A tick (known as a checkmark or check in American English) is a mark (✓) ( ) used to indicate the concept "yes", for example "yes, this has been verified" or "yes, I agree". Its opposite is the cross (✗) ( ), although the cross can also be positive, for example in elections.

As a verb, to tick (off) or to check (off) means to add such a mark. It is quite common, especially on printed forms, printed documents, and computers, for there to be squares in which to place ticks. In America, it is more common for people to check a square box with a cross (☒); while in some European countries, it is more common for people to check a square box with a v-shaped checkmark.

In some countries, e.g. Sweden, the tick is used as an error mark and indicates "no" rather than "yes".

History

The history of the checkmark goes back to the ancient Romans: When keeping checklists, they marked the items that they had checked with a V, standing for the Latin word veritas ("truth").

Another history suggests that it comes from the use of fountain pens. A fountain pen (a "self-filling pen" not a dip pen or a quill pen) would not always start flowing ink without some initial action. The downstroke of the pen's nib was enough to get the ink flowing and then the ink was available for the upstroke.

Tick marks in Unicode

Unicode provides various related symbols, including:

Symbol	Unicode Codepoint	Name
	U+2713	CHECK MARK (tick)
	U+2714	HEAVY CHECK MARK (bold tick)
	U+2717	BALLOT X (cross)
	U+2718	HEAVY BALLOT X (bold cross)
	U+2610	BALLOT BOX (square)
	U+2611	BALLOT BOX WITH CHECK (square with tick)
	U+2612	BALLOT BOX WITH X (square with cross)

Tick (checkmark)

History

Tick marks in Unicode

See also