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The semicolon; (or semi-colon [1]) is a symbol commonly used as orthographic punctuation. In the English language , a semicolon is most commonly used to link (in a single sentence) two independent clauses that are closely related in thought, such as when restating the preceding idea with a different expression.
When an independent clause ends with a dash or semicolon, the first letter of the following word should not be capitalized, even if it begins a new independent clause that could be a grammatically separate sentence: Cheese is a dairy product; bacon is not. For guidance after colons, see WP:Manual of Style § Colons.
The second is a link to the article that details that symbol, using its Unicode standard name or common alias. (Holding the mouse pointer on the hyperlink will pop up a summary of the symbol's function.); The third gives symbols listed elsewhere in the table that are similar to it in meaning or appearance, or that may be confused with it;
BCE and CE or BC and AD are written in upper case, unspaced, without a full stop (period), and separated from the numeric year by a space (5 BC, not 5BC). It is advisable to use a non-breaking space. AD appears before or after a year (AD 106, 106 AD); BCE, CE, and BC always appear after (106 CE, 3700 BCE, 3700 BC).
There should be a space after a closing bracket, except where a punctuation mark follows (though a spaced dash would still be spaced after a closing bracket) and in unusual cases similar to those listed for opening brackets. Avoid adjacent sets of brackets. Either put the parenthetical phrases in one set separated by semicolons, or rewrite:
Generally acronyms and initialisms are capitalized, e.g., "NASA" or "SOS". Sometimes, a minor word such as a preposition is not capitalized within the acronym, such as "WoW" for "World of Warcraft". In some British English style guides, only the initial letter of an acronym is capitalized if the acronym is read as a word, e.g., "Nasa" or ...
While it may seem like an ordinary punctuation mark, the semicolon tattoo represents a symbolic movement far beyond basic grammar.When tattooed on the skin, semicolons carry a range of meanings ...
A leading semicolon;, in column 1 of a line, causes the line to be displayed as the name part of a description list. These lists contain a name, followed by one or more descriptions that apply to it (e.g. in a glossary). These descriptions are indicated by starting them with :.