Caret (proofreading)

Usage

The caret was originally and continues to be used in handwritten form as a proofreading mark to indicate where a punctuation mark, word, or phrase should be inserted into a document. The term comes from the Latin word caret, "it lacks", from carēre, "to lack; to be separated from; to be free from". The caret symbol can be written just below the line of text for a punctuation mark at low line position, such as a comma, or just above the line of text as an inverted caret (U+02C7 ˇ CARON) for a character at a higher line position, such as an apostrophe, or in either position to indicate insertion of a letter, word or phrase; the material to be inserted may be placed inside the caret, in the margin, or above the line.