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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

octothorp \oc"to*thorp\, octothorpe \oc"to*thorpe\, n. [octo-
eight thorp Etymology of thorp uncertain. (ca. 1965). See
quote below. Possibly derived from octalthorpe or octotherp
(once used by the Bell System?).]
A typographic symbol (#) having two vertical lines
intersected by two horizontal lines. It is also called the
{crosshatch}, {hash}, {numeral sign} and {number sign}; in
the U. S. it is commonly called the {pound sign}, especially
to designate the symbol as used on digital telephone dials,
but this can be confusing to Europeans who think of the pound
sign as the symbol for the British pound. It is commonly used
as a symbol for the word number; as in #36 (meaning: number
thirty-six).
[PJC]

octothorp
Otherwise known as the numeral sign. It has also been
used as a symbol for the pound avoirdupois, but this
usage is now archaic. In cartography, it is also a
symbol for village: eight fields around a central
square, and this is the source of its name. Octothorp
means eight fields.
--Robert
Bringhurst
(The Elements
of Typographic
Style (2d
edition,
1996), Hartley
& Marks,
Publishers,
Point Roberts,
WA; Vancouver,
BC, Canada, p.
282)
[Joel Neely]