Upsilon

Upsilon (upper case Upsilon, lower case upsilon) is the 20th letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 400. It is derived from the Phoenician waw. Four letters of the Latin alphabet arose from it: V and Y and, much later, U and W.

Related Topics:
Greek alphabet - Greek numerals - Phoenician - Waw - Latin alphabet - V - Y - U - W

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In early Greek it was pronounced like "continental" u or English oo, IPA {{IPA|}} . In Classical Greek, it was pronounced like French u or German ü, IPA {{IPA|}} — a sound that is not found in most dialects of English. In Modern Greek it is pronounced like "continental" i or English ee, IPA {{IPA|}}. In ancient Greek it occurred in both long and short versions, but this distinction has been lost in Modern Greek.

Related Topics:
IPA - Classical Greek - English - Modern Greek

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As an initial letter in Classical Greek it always carried the rough breathing (equivalent to h) as reflected in the many Greek-derived English words starting with hy.

Related Topics:
Rough breathing - Greek-derived English words

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Upsilon participated as the second element in falling diphthongs, which have subsequently developed in various ways: for instance after alpha or epsilon it is pronounced f or v.

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The Roman Emperor Claudius proposed introducing a new letter into the Latin alphabet to approximate the sound of upsilon, but in due course the letter Y was adopted instead.

Related Topics:
Roman Emperor - Claudius - New letter - Latin alphabet

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The name of the letter was originally just υ. It changed to "u psilon" (Greek υ ψιλόν, meaning "simple u") to distinguish it from οι, which had come to have the same {{IPA|}} pronunciation.

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