double vertical line

noun

The typographical character ‖; a symbol composed of two closely spaced line-height vertical lines.

Meanings

noundouble vertical line (plural double vertical lines)

plural double vertical lines

  1. The typographical character ‖; a symbol composed of two closely spaced line-height vertical lines.

    The whole tone unit stands between a double vertical line (double bars) ||.

    1998, Burkhard Dretzke, Modern British and American English Prononunciation: A Basic Textbook, page 89
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see double, vertical, line.

    In addition, Leibniz drew a double vertical line from line 36 to 37 (from “solidum est” to “Mechanice”[)].

    2008, Ursula Goldenbaum, Douglas Jesseph, Infinitesimal Differences: Controversies between Leibniz and his Contemporaries, →ISBN, page 86
    1 more example

    The ǁGana people (800 speakers—the double vertical line denotes a click sound) of Botswana have no generic word for living things, nor do they recognize a plant versus animal distinction.

    2007, K. David Harrison, When Languages Die:The Extinction of the World's Languages and the Erosion of Human Knowledge, page 39
Cite this entry
APA

double vertical line. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double%20vertical%20line

MLA

“double vertical line.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double%20vertical%20line. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “double vertical line,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double%20vertical%20line.

Source: double vertical line on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.