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| ] Šîn (bow) was ] as /S/ as the modern ] ] SH. In ], there was only one ] /s/ and no /S/, so Greek σιγμα (]) came to represent the Greek /s/ phoneme. The name "sigma" probably comes from the Semitic letter "Sâmek" and not "Šîn". In ] and ], the /s/ value was maintained, and only in modern languages, S came to represent other sounds, like /S/ in ] or /z/ in English and ] (in English ''rise'' and French ''liser'', "to read"). | ] Šîn (bow) was ] as /S/ as the modern ] ] SH. In ], there was only one ] /s/ and no /S/, so Greek σιγμα (]) came to represent the Greek /s/ phoneme. The name "sigma" probably comes from the Semitic letter "Sâmek" and not "Šîn". In ] and ], the /s/ value was maintained, and only in modern languages, S came to represent other sounds, like /S/ in ] or /z/ in English and ] (in English ''rise'' and French ''liser'', "to read"). | ||
| An archaic alternative form of ''s'', ſ, called the ] or medial ''s'', was used at the beginning or in the middle of the word; the modern form, the short or terminal ''s'', was used at the end of the word. The ligature of ſs became the ] '']'' ( ß ). | |||
| ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], '''S''', ], ], ], ], ], ], ] | ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], '''S''', ], ], ], ], ], ], ] | ||
Revision as of 22:01, 18 March 2003
S is the nineteenth letter in the modern Latin alphabet.
Semitic Šîn (bow) was pronounced as /S/ as the modern English digraph SH. In Greek, there was only one phoneme /s/ and no /S/, so Greek σιγμα (sigma) came to represent the Greek /s/ phoneme. The name "sigma" probably comes from the Semitic letter "Sâmek" and not "Šîn". In Etruscan and Latin, the /s/ value was maintained, and only in modern languages, S came to represent other sounds, like /S/ in Hungarian or /z/ in English and French (in English rise and French liser, "to read").
An archaic alternative form of s, ſ, called the long s or medial s, was used at the beginning or in the middle of the word; the modern form, the short or terminal s, was used at the end of the word. The ligature of ſs became the German ess-tsett ( ß ).
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
S is also the symbol for sulfur and the stock symbol for Sears Roebuck and Co..