A horizontal bar over two angled tails, marking the option modifier.
Also known as: Alt key symbol
The glyph ⌥ stands for the option key — labelled Alt on many keyboards — in Apple shortcut notation. It depicts a switch diverting a line onto one of two paths.
Encoded as U+2325 OPTION KEY, a character added specifically to represent this keyboard modifier.
Contexts: Software
Denotes the option key, which changes what another keypress produces rather than acting on its own.
Contexts: Software
The shape is read as a track switch: a line arriving from the right is diverted onto one of two outgoing paths, which is what an alternative modifier does to a keystroke.
Contexts: Software
A horizontal line across the top, with two short strokes descending from its left end and stepping down to the right, so the whole reads as a line diverted onto a lower track.
Both are used in software contexts.