Etymology

interrobang

in·ter·ro·bang
I1N1T1E1R1R1O1B3A1N1G2

Today it means: The nonstandard punctuation mark ⟨‽⟩ (a combination of ⟨?⟩ and ⟨!⟩), which may be used at the end of a sentence to express excitement or disbelief, or to indicate that it is a rhetorical question. Full definition →

First used 1962.French (point d')interrogation
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The story

  1. French · derived from(point d')interrogation“question mark”
  2. English todayinterrobang

A blend of French (point d')interrogation (“question mark”) or the equivalent term in another Romance language + bang (“exclamation mark, exclamation point”), coined in a 1962 article in the journal TYPEtalks by American advertising executive Martin Kiehra Speckter (1915–1988), who invented the symbol.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 1962. The nonstandard punctuation mark ⟨‽⟩ (a combination of ⟨?⟩ and ⟨!⟩), which may be used at the end of a sentence to express excitement or disbelief, or to indicate that it is a rhetorical question.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.