u
The name of the Latin script letter U/u.
Adjective
- Abbreviation of underwater.
Derived
Character
- The twenty-first letter of the English alphabet, called u and written in the Latin script.
- I prefer the u in Arial to the one in Times New Roman.
Origin
From Middle English lower case letter v (also written u), from Old English lower case u, from 7th century replacement by lower case u of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚢ (u, ur), derived from Raetic letter u. Before the 1700s, the pointed form v was written at the beginning of a word, while a rounded form u was used elsewhere, regardless of sound. So whereas valor and excuse appeared as in modern printing, have and upon were printed haue and vpon. Eventually, in the 1700s, to differentiate between the consonant and vowel sounds, the v form was used to represent the consonant, and u the vowel sound. v then preceded u in the alphabet, but the order has since reversed.
Forms
Related
Noun
- The name of the Latin script letter U/u.
- A thing in the shape of the letter U.
Forms
Related
letter a bee cee dee e ef gee aitch i jay kay el em en o pee cue ar ess tee vee double-u ex
Derived
long u short u U-boat U-bolt u-space u-stem u-substitution u-turn u-word
Pronoun
- Abbreviation of you.
- t8k me w u
- "(W)ho knows I wanted her dead? cuz i only told u and (D.B.) so unless u told someone ..." - 2009 March 10, Rosie DiManno, “Murder reduced to infantile online postings”, in Toronto Star, archived from the original on 13...
- What r u doing? Jacquie texted Opal. She put her phone on the bed and went to her suitcase to get her swimsuit. - 2018, Tommy Orange, “Jacquie Red Feather”, in There There, New York, N.Y.: Vintage Books, →ISBN, page 100: