[bak-slash] 
| a short oblique stroke (\): used in some computer operating systems to mark the division between a directory and a subdirectory, as in typing a path. |
| back·slash (bāk'slāsh') n. A backward virgule ( ). |
backslash character
"\" ASCII code 92. Common names: escape (from C/Unix); reverse slash; slosh; backslant; backwhack. Rare: bash; ITU-T: reverse slant; reversed virgule; INTERCAL: backslat.
Backslash is used to separate components in MS-DOS pathnames, and to introduce special character sequence in C and Unix strings, e.g. "\n" for newline.
(2000-02-21)