Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

commercial at
     
         "@".  {ASCII} code 64.  Common names: at sign, at,
        strudel.  Rare: each, vortex, whorl, {INTERCAL}: whirlpool,
        cyclone, snail, ape, cat, rose, cabbage, amphora.  {ITU-T}:
        commercial at.
     
        The @ sign is used in an {electronic mail address} to separate
        the local part from the {hostname}.
     
        It is ironic that @ has become a trendy mark of Internet
        awareness since it is a very old symbol, derived from the
        latin preposition "ad" (at).
     
        Giorgio Stabile, a professor of history in Rome, has traced
        the symbol back to the Italian Renaissance in a Roman
        mercantile document signed by Francesco Lapi on 1536-05-04.
     
        In Dutch it is called "apestaartje" (little ape-tail), in
        German "affenschwanz" (ape tail).  The French name is
        "arobase".  In Spain and Portugal it denotes a weight of about
        25 pounds, the weight and the symbol are called "arroba".
        Italians call it "chiocciola" (snail).
     
        See {@-party}.
     
        (2003-04-28)