tilde
"~" {ASCII} character 126.
Common names are: {ITU-T}: tilde; squiggle; {twiddle}; not.
Rare: approx; wiggle; {swung dash}; enyay; {INTERCAL}: sqiggle
(sic).
Used as {C}'s prefix {bitwise negation} {operator}; and in
{Unix} {csh}, {GNU Emacs}, and elsewhere, to stand for the
current user's {home directory}, or, when prefixed to a {login
name}, for the given user's home directory.
The "swung dash" or "approximation" sign is not quite the same
as {tilde} in typeset material but the ASCII tilde serves for
both (compare {angle brackets}).
[Has anyone else heard this called "tidal" (as in wave)?]
(1996-10-18)