Ditto mark

The ditto mark is a shorthand sign, used mostly in hand-written text, indicating that the words or figures above it are to be repeated.

The word ditto comes from the Tuscan language,[7] where it is the past participle of the verb dire (to say), with the meaning of "said", as in the locution "the said story".

[8] For Chinese, Japanese and Korean, there is the specific Unicode character U+3003 〃 DITTO MARK in the range CJK Symbols and Punctuation.

For example, in Norwegian and Swedish handwriting, a version using horizontal lines to indicate the span of the cell in a table where an entry repeats is sometimes seen (––〃––).

[9] In French, it is called a guillemet itératif, but the actual symbol used may vary: » is used in Quebec, while in France ― is preferred.

Ditto marks date to cuneiform tablets.
Bronzeware script, c. 825 BCE , showing " 子 𠄠 孫 𠄠 寶用 ", where the small 𠄠 ("two") is used as iteration marks in the phrase " 子子孫孫寶用 " ("descendants to use and to treasure").
An advertisement from 1833. The second item on the list can be read as "Prime American Pork, in barrels", but the third and fourth are ambiguous as to the origin of the meat. The repetition indicator used is "do." ( Perth Gazette )