History of the letter U
The Phoenician letter waw (Y), or “hook”, was one of the most variable, undergoing many mutations as it was adopted by various languages and cultures. This letter was the sixth in the alphabet and the origin in Greek of the letters digamma (F) and upsilon (Y), and in Latin of F and V. The letters U, W, and Y were also derived from it. Thus, waw became both a consonant and a vowel.
In Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac, the letter waw came to be written in different ways, as a single stroke or a little circle.
In Latin, a stemless waw (V) was used for the letters U and W. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the lower case letter v began to be rounded sometimes into a u. The capital U became accepted in the 1700s, especially in France.
There is still confusion over the pronunciation and usage of the waw-derived letters, especially in English words borrowed from other languages.
Some U words
cunning
sum
udder
ultimate
underneath
uniform
unusual
upper
urgent
user
Exercises
- Define each word in the lists, “Some U Words.” Identify each as a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb. Use each word in a sentence.
Special reading assignment
- An underpass is the space under a bridge of some sort, allowing traffic to go through. A long underpass may be called a “subway”, distinct from subway meaning “underground” or “tube” rail transport systems.
- Pedestrian underpasses are built where heavy foot traffic needs to avoid a major thoroughfare.
Note: This blog post is an excerpt from a book, “English Manual: Letter by Letter,” to be published one of these days.
English Manual: Letter by Letter 