tuscan sign for one thousand
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
D with a dash over it (D) is 5,000. D.O. (Letter). Demi-official. A British War Office term for a letter on official business but addressed personally from one officer to another.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “tuscan sign for one thousand” mean?
D with a dash over it (D) is 5,000. D.O. (Letter). Demi-official. A British War Office term for a letter on official business but addressed personally from one officer to another.
Is “tuscan sign for one thousand” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.