U or u, is the twenty-first and sixth-to-last
letter
Letter, letters, or literature may refer to:
Characters typeface
* Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet.
* Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
and fifth
vowel letter
A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (le ...
of the
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and th ...
, used in the
modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is
''u'' (pronounced ), plural
''ues''.
History
U derives from the Semitic
waw, as does
F, and later,
Y,
W, and
V. Its oldest ancestor goes to
Egyptian hieroglyphics, and is probably from a hieroglyph of a mace or fowl, representing the sound
v.html"_;"title="Voiced_labiodental_fricative.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Voiced_labiodental_fricative">v">Voiced_labiodental_fricative.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Voiced_labiodental_fricative">vor_the_sound_[
Voiced_labial–velar_approximant.html" ;"title="Voiced_labiodental_fricative">v.html" ;"title="Voiced_labiodental_fricative.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Voiced labiodental fricative">v">Voiced_labiodental_fricative.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Voiced labiodental fricative">vor the sound [
Voiced labial–velar approximant">w]. This was borrowed to Phoenician, where it represented the sound [w], and seldom the vowel [
Close back rounded vowel, u].
In Greek language, Greek, two letters were adapted from the Phoenician waw. The letter was adapted, but split in two, with the
first one of the same name (Ϝ) being adapted to represent
Voiced_labial–velar_approximant">w.html" ;"title="Voiced_labial–velar_approximant.html" ;"title="nowiki/>
w">Voiced_labial–velar_approximant.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Voiced_labial–velar_approximant">w_and_the_second_one_being_
w">Voiced_labial–velar_approximant.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Voiced_labial–velar_approximant">w_and_the_second_one_being_Upsilon">Voiced_labial–velar_approximant">w">Voiced_labial–velar_approximant.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Voiced_labial–velar_approximant">w_and_the_second_one_being_Upsilon_(),_which_was_originally_adapted_to_represent_[
Close_back_rounded_vowel.html" ;"title="Upsilon.html" ;"title="Voiced labial–velar approximant">w">Voiced_labial–velar_approximant.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Voiced labial–velar approximant">w and the second one being Upsilon">Voiced labial–velar approximant">w">Voiced_labial–velar_approximant.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Voiced labial–velar approximant">w and the second one being Upsilon (), which was originally adapted to represent [
Close back rounded vowel">u], later fronted, becoming [
Close front rounded vowel, y].
In Latin, a stemless variant shape of the upsilon was borrowed in early times as U, taking the form of modern-day
V — either directly from the
Western Greek alphabet
Many local variants of the Greek alphabet were employed in ancient Greece during the archaic and early classical periods, until around 400 BC, when they were replaced by the classical 24-letter alphabet that is the standard today. All forms ...
or from the
Etruscan alphabet
The Etruscan alphabet was the alphabet used by the Etruscans, an ancient civilization of central and northern Italy, to write their language, from about 700 BC to sometime around 100 AD.
The Etruscan alphabet derives from the Euboean alphabet u ...
as an intermediary — to represent the same sound, as well as the consonantal , ''num'' — originally spelled ''
NVM'' — was pronounced and ''via'' was pronounced . From the 1st century AD on, depending on
Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal registers of Latin spoken from the Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve into numerous Romance languages. Its literary counterpa ...
dialect, consonantal developed into (kept in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
), then later to .
During the late
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, two forms of U developed, which were both used for /v/ or the vowel /u/. The pointed form 'V' was written at the beginning of a word, while a rounded form 'U' was used in the middle or end, regardless of sound. So whereas 'valour' and 'excuse' appeared as in modern printing, 'have' and 'upon' were printed 'haue' and 'vpon', respectively. The first recorded use of 'U' and 'V' as distinct letters is in a Gothic alphabet from 1386, where 'V' preceded 'U'. Printers eschewed capital 'V' and 'U' into the 17th century and the distinction between the two letters was not fully accepted by the French Academy until 1762. The rounded variant became the modern-day version of U and its former pointed form became
V.
Pronunciation and use
English
In
English, the letter has four main pronunciations. There are "long" and "short" pronunciations. Short , found originally in closed syllables, most commonly represents (as in 'duck'), though it retains its old pronunciation after
labial consonant
Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. The two common labial articulations are bilabials, articulated using both lips, and labiodentals, articulated with the lower lip against the upper teeth, bot ...
s in some words (as in 'put') and occasionally elsewhere (as in 'sugar'). Long , found originally in words of French origin (the descendant of Old English long u was respelled as ), most commonly represents (as in 'mule'), reducing to after (as in 'rule'), (as in 'June') and sometimes (or optionally) after (as in 'lute'), and after additional consonants in American English (see
do–dew merger). (After , have assimilated to in some words) In a few words, short represents other sounds, such as in 'business' and in 'bury'.
The letter is used in the digraphs , (various pronunciations, but usually /aʊ/), and with the value of "long u" in , , and in a few words (as in 'fruit'). It often has the sound before a vowel in the sequences (as in 'quick'), (as in 'anguish'), and (as in 'suave'), though it is silent in final ''-que'' (as in 'unique') and in many words with (as in 'guard').
Additionally, the letter is used in
text messaging
Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending electronic messages, typically consisting of alphabetic and numeric characters, between two or more users of mobile devices, desktops/laptops, or another type of compatible comput ...
,
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
and other written slang to denote 'you', by virtue of both being pronounced .
One thing to note is that certain varieties of the English language (i.e.
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
,
Canadian English, etc.) use the letter U in words such as ''colour'', ''labour'', ''valour'', etc.; however, in
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...
the letter is not used and said words mentioned are spelled as ''color'' and so on. It is the thirteenth most frequently used letter in the English language, with a frequency of about 2.8% in words.
Other languages
In most languages that use the Latin alphabet, represents the
close back rounded vowel or a similar vowel.
In
French orthography
French orthography encompasses the spelling and punctuation of the French language. It is based on a combination of phonemic and historical principles. The spelling of words is largely based on the pronunciation of Old French c. 1100–1200 AD, a ...
the letter represents the
close front rounded vowel
The close front rounded vowel, or high front rounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is /y/, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is y. Ac ...
(); is represented by . In
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
, it represents either , or a near-close near-front rounded vowel (); likewise the phoneme is represented by . In
Welsh orthography
Welsh orthography uses 29 letters (including eight digraphs) of the Latin script to write native Welsh words as well as established loanwords.
The acute accent (), the grave accent (), the circumflex (, , or ) and the diaeresis mark () a ...
the letter can represent a long
close front unrounded vowel
The close front unrounded vowel, or high front unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound that occurs in most spoken languages, represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by the symbol i. It is similar to the vowel sound in the English wo ...
() or short
near-close near-front unrounded vowel
The near-close front unrounded vowel, or near-high front unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , i.e. a small capital letter ''i ...
() in Southern dialects. In Northern dialects, the corresponding long and short vowels are a long
close central unrounded vowel
The close central unrounded vowel, or high central unrounded vowel, is a type of vowel sound used in some languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , namely the lower-case letter ''i'' with a hori ...
() and a short lowered close central unrounded vowel (), respectively. and are represented by .
Other uses
The symbol 'U' is the chemical symbol for
uranium
Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...
.
In the context of Newtonian
mechanics
Mechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, ''mēkhanikḗ'', "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to object ...
'U' is the symbol for the
potential energy of a system.
'u' is the symbol for the
atomic mass unit
The dalton or unified atomic mass unit (symbols: Da or u) is a non-SI unit of mass widely used in physics and chemistry. It is defined as of the mass of an unbound neutral atom of carbon-12 in its nuclear and electronic ground state and at ...
and 'U' is the symbol for one
Enzyme unit The enzyme unit, or international unit for enzyme (symbol U, sometimes also IU) is a unit of enzyme's catalytic activity.
1 U (μmol/min) is defined as the amount of the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of one micromole of substrate per min ...
.
In
IPA, the
close back rounded vowel is represented by the lower case ⟨u⟩.
U is also the source of the mathematical symbol ∪, representing a
union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
. It is used mainly for
Venn diagram
A Venn diagram is a widely used diagram style that shows the logical relation between sets, popularized by John Venn (1834–1923) in the 1880s. The diagrams are used to teach elementary set theory, and to illustrate simple set relationships ...
s and
geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ...
.
It is used as for ''micro-'' in metric measurements as a replacement for the Greek letter
μ (mu), of which it is a graphic approximation when that Greek letter is not available, as in "
um
" for
μm (micrometer).
Some universities, such as the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
and the
University of Utah
The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...
, are locally known as "The U".
U (or sometimes RU) is a standard height unit of measure in
rack units, with each U equal to .
''U'' is a honorific in Burmese.
Related characters
Ancestors, descendants and siblings
*𐤅:
Semitic letter
Waw, from which the following symbols originally derive
** υ :
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
letter
Upsilon
Upsilon (, ; uppercase Υ, lowercase υ; el, ''ýpsilon'' ) or ypsilon is the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, grc, Υʹ, label=none has a value of 400. It is derived from the Phoenician waw .
E ...
, from which U derives
***V v : Latin letter
V, descended from U
****W w : Latin letter
W, descended frm V/U
***Y y : Latin letter
Y, also descended from Upsilon
***У у :
Cyrillic letter
U, which also derives from Upsilon
***Ү ү : Cyrillic letter
Ue
**Ϝ ϝ :
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
letter
Digamma
Digamma or wau (uppercase: Ϝ, lowercase: ϝ, numeral: ϛ) is an archaic letter of the Greek alphabet. It originally stood for the sound but it has remained in use principally as a Greek numeral for 6. Whereas it was originally called ''waw' ...
***F f : Latin letter
F, derived from Digamma
*
IPA-specific symbols related to U:
*
Uralic Phonetic Alphabet
The Uralic Phonetic Alphabet (UPA) or Finno-Ugric transcription system is a phonetic transcription or notational system used predominantly for the transcription and reconstruction of Uralic languages. It was first published in 1901 by Eemil Nes ...
-specific symbols related to U:
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
*
Teuthonista phonetic transcription-specific symbols related to U:
**
**
**
**
**
*ᶸ : Modifier letter small capital u is used for phonetic transcription
*Ꞿ ꞿ : Glottal U, used in the transliteration of
Ugaritic
Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic language, classified by some as a dialect of the Amorite language and so the only known Amorite dialect preserved in writing. It is known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeologist ...
*U with
diacritic
A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacriti ...
s:
Ŭ ŭ Ʉ ʉ ᵾ
ᶶ
Ꞹ
ꞹ
Ụ ụ Ü ü Ǜ ǜ Ǘ ǘ Ǚ ǚ Ǖ ǖ Ṳ ṳ
Ú ú Ù ù Û û Ṷ ṷ Ǔ ǔ Ȗ ȗ Ű ű Ŭ ŭ Ư ư Ứ ứ Ừ ừ Ử ử Ự ự Ữ Ữ
Ủ ủ Ū ū Ū̀ ū̀ Ū́ ū́ Ṻ ṻ Ū̃ ū̃
Ũ ũ Ṹ ṹ Ṵ ṵ
ᶙ Ų ų Ų́ ų́ Ų̃ ų̃ Ȕ ȕ Ů ů
** and are used in the
Mazahua language
The Mazahua language ( maz, Jñatrjo) is an Oto-Pamean language spoken in the central states of Mexico by the ethnic group that is widely known as the Mazahua but calls itself the Hñatho. It is a Mesoamerican language and has many of the tr ...
and feature a
bar diacritic
A bar or stroke is a modification consisting of a line drawn through a grapheme. It may be used as a diacritic to derive new letters from old ones, or simply as an addition to make a grapheme more distinct from others. It can take the form of a v ...
Ligatures and abbreviations
*∪ :
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
*∩ :
Intersection, an upside-down upper case "U"
Computing codes
:
1
Other representations
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Latin alphabet, U}
Vowel letters
ISO basic Latin letters