What is .htaccess file?

.htaccess is a configuration file for use on web servers running the Apache Web Server software. ... These .htaccess files can be used to alter the configuration of the Apache Web Server software to enable/disable additional functionality and features that the Apache Web Server software has to offer.

htaccess stands for "hypertext access".

These files provides configuration options for an entire directory. So, although I would not recommend this, you could have an .htaccess file for every directory on your server. The htaccess file acts as a subset of the server's global configuration files and allows rules to be overridden for specific directories.

These files are specific to Apache servers, so they're being used on the majority of servers worldwide.

The dot prefix marks the file as hidden for Unix based environments. Any file that starts with a prefix is usually a system file such as .bash.

.htaccess is a configuration file for use on web servers running the Apache Web Server software. When a .htaccess file is placed in a directory which is in turn 'loaded via the Apache Web Server', then the .htaccess file is detected and executed by the Apache Web Server software.

The .htaccess is a configuration file read by the server which can cancel many server configuration settings and can be used for authorization, cache control, website optimization, and URL rewriting.

The .htaccess file is a configuration file for the Apache web server .In other words, it contains factors that give your website's server various instructions. Just about every WordPress site has an .htaccess file which is  located in the 'root' or central directory. It's a hidden file and has no extension.