The same bare chevron names a keyboard modifier and anchors a pattern — and shell documentation puts them side by side.
Both are two strokes meeting at a point above. In a keyboard shortcut the chevron is the control key, which is why documentation writes control-C as caret-C. At the front of a regular expression the same mark anchors the pattern to the start of a line, and inside a bracket expression it negates the set instead.
Both are drawn as a bare upward chevron; one names a keyboard modifier, the other anchors a pattern to the start of a line.
| Control key symbol | Regular expression caret anchor | |
|---|---|---|
| What it names | The control key | The start of a line |
| Where | Keyboard shortcuts and terminal output | The front of a pattern |
| Matches a character | — | No, it matches a position |
| Second job | None | Negates a bracket expression when it comes first inside one |
| Relationship (from Symbolwise's records) | Commonly confused with Regular expression caret anchor — Both are drawn as a bare upward chevron; one names a keyboard modifier, the other anchors a pattern to the start of a line. | Commonly confused with Control key symbol — Both are drawn as a bare upward chevron; one anchors a pattern, the other names a keyboard modifier. |
Unicode Code Chart: Miscellaneous Technical (U+2300–U+23FF)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-07-31
Authoritative for the character's code point, name and block only. Unicode assigns identity; it does not define what a symbol means in use.
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-31
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity and origin summary, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-01
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity, origin and current use, not for contested detail or exact dates.
POSIX.1-2024, Regular Expressions
The Open Group / IEEE · retrieved 2026-08-01
Cited for the metacharacters of basic and extended regular expressions. Later dialects (PCRE, ECMAScript) extend this and diverge from it; where a record describes a construct POSIX does not define, it says so and is typed as documented practice.
The shift key is an outlined arrow with a stem and a broad head. The control key is a bare chevron with no stem at all — two strokes meeting at a point. Both point upward and both are modifiers, which is the whole of the resemblance; they do entirely different things and appear in different positions in printed shortcuts.
Both are drawn as one continuous decorative stroke with a closed loop and a tail that crosses back over itself, which is why a description of the shape alone reaches both. The clef is far taller, spans a stave, and its spiral encircles one specific line — that encircled line is the note G, and it is the only reason the shape is drawn where it is.
As punctuation the asterisk points at a footnote or marks a required field. In a filename pattern typed at a shell it matches any run of characters, including none — and the shell expands it against real filenames before the command runs, so the command never sees the pattern at all. That expansion is the part people are surprised by.
Check where the dot sits. A dot immediately to the right of the notehead adds half the note's value again — a dotted half note lasts three beats. A dot directly above or below the head means staccato: play it short and detached. One dot, two opposite instructions, and only position distinguishes them.