The word comes from Canadian French, translating as “a plate for tarts.”
Tourte means “tart” and –ière is used for words that “facilitate the use of” something as in, a boutonniere, which is a flower that is worn in a buttonhole.
From octo-, after the eight endpoints on the perimeter of the symbol, plus a second element of disputed origin.
Used for numerous purposes, such as before a hashtag, for representing “pound” or “pounds” as a unit of weight or mass, for representing “number” or “numbered,” or as a proofreader’s symbol used to indicate the need to insert space.
Originally from Scots, persnickety is a variant of pernickety, which is of uncertain origin.
The prefix per– occurs in a number of other expressive words in Scots, such as pergaddus, “thump, clatter,” perskeet, “fastidious,” and perjink, “trim, neat.”