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U :: U () the twenty-first letter of the English alphabet, is a cursive form of the letter V, with which it was formerly used interchangeably, both letters being then used both as vowels and consonants. U and V are now, however, differentiated, U being used only as a vowel or semivowel, and V only as a consonant. The true primary vowel sound of U, in Anglo-Saxon, was the sound which it still retains in most of the languages of Europe, that of long oo, as in tool, and short oo, as in wood, answering t

Transliterate :: Transliterate (v. t.) To express or represent in the characters of another alphabet; as, to transliterate Sanskrit words by means of English letters..

Alectryomancy :: Alectryomancy (n.) Divination by means of a cock and grains of corn placed on the letters of the alphabet, the letters being put together in the order in which the grains were eaten..

Morse Alphabet :: Morse alphabet () A telegraphic alphabet in very general use, inventing by Samuel F.B.Morse, the inventor of Morse's telegraph. The letters are represented by dots and dashes impressed or printed on paper, as, .- (A), - . . . (B), -.. (D), . (E), .. (O), . . . (R), -- (T), etc., or by sounds, flashes of light, etc., with greater or less intervals between them..

Chirology :: Chirology (n.) The art or practice of using the manual alphabet or of communicating thoughts by sings made by the hands and fingers; a substitute for spoken or written language in intercourse with the deaf and dumb. See Dactylalogy.

V :: V () V, the twenty-second letter of the English alphabet, is a vocal consonant. V and U are only varieties of the same character, U being the cursive form, while V is better adapted for engraving, as in stone. The two letters were formerly used indiscriminately, and till a comparatively recent date words containing them were often classed together in dictionaries and other books of reference (see U). The letter V is from the Latin alphabet, where it was used both as a consonant (about like Engli

A :: A () The first letter of the English and of many other alphabets. The capital A of the alphabets of Middle and Western Europe, as also the small letter (a), besides the forms in Italic, black letter, etc., are all descended from the old Latin A, which was borrowed from the Greek Alpha, of the same form; and this was made from the first letter (/) of the Phoenician alphabet, the equivalent of the Hebrew Aleph, and itself from the Egyptian origin. The Aleph was a consonant letter, with a guttural

Theta :: Theta (n.) A letter of the Greek alphabet corresponding to th in English; -- sometimes called the unlucky letter, from being used by the judges on their ballots in passing condemnation on a prisoner, it being the first letter of the Greek qa`natos, death..

Acrostic :: Acrostic (n.) A Hebrew poem in which the lines or stanzas begin with the letters of the alphabet in regular order (as Psalm cxix.). See Abecedarian.

D :: D () The fourth letter of the English alphabet, and a vocal consonant. The English letter is from Latin, which is from Greek, which took it from Ph/nician, the probable ultimate origin being Egyptian. It is related most nearly to t and th; as, Eng. deep, G. tief; Eng. daughter, G. tochter, Gr. qyga`thr, Skr. duhitr. See Guide to Pronunciation, Ã178, 179, 229..

M :: M () M, the thirteenth letter of the English alphabet, is a vocal consonant, and from the manner of its formation, is called the labio-nasal consonant. See Guide to Pronunciation, // 178-180, 242..

O :: O () O, the fifteenth letter of the English alphabet, derives its form, value, and name from the Greek O, through the Latin. The letter came into the Greek from the Ph/nician, which possibly derived it ultimately from the Egyptian. Etymologically, the letter o is most closely related to a, e, and u; as in E. bone, AS. ban; E. stone, AS. stan; E. broke, AS. brecan to break; E. bore, AS. beran to bear; E. dove, AS. d/fe; E. toft, tuft; tone, tune; number, F. nombre..

Abecedarian :: Abecedarian (n.) One engaged in teaching the alphabet.

Y :: Y () Y, the twenty-fifth letter of the English alphabet, at the beginning of a word or syllable, except when a prefix (see Y-), is usually a fricative vocal consonant; as a prefix, and usually in the middle or at the end of a syllable, it is a vowel. See Guide to Pronunciation, // 145, 178-9, 272..

Hornbook :: Hornbook (n.) The first book for children, or that from which in former times they learned their letters and rudiments; -- so called because a sheet of horn covered the small, thin board of oak, or the slip of paper, on which the alphabet, digits, and often the Lord's Prayer, were written or printed; a primer..

H :: H () the eighth letter of the English alphabet, is classed among the consonants, and is formed with the mouth organs in the same position as that of the succeeding vowel. It is used with certain consonants to form digraphs representing sounds which are not found in the alphabet, as sh, th, /, as in shall, thing, /ine (for zh see /274); also, to modify the sounds of some other letters, as when placed after c and p, with the former of which it represents a compound sound like that of tsh, as in ch

C :: C () C is the third letter of the English alphabet. It is from the Latin letter C, which in old Latin represented the sounds of k, and g (in go); its original value being the latter. In Anglo-Saxon words, or Old English before the Norman Conquest, it always has the sound of k. The Latin C was the same letter as the Greek /, /, and came from the Greek alphabet. The Greeks got it from the Ph/nicians. The English name of C is from the Latin name ce, and was derived, probably, through the French. Et

Alphabetical :: Alphabetical (a.) Pertaining to, furnished with, expressed by, or in the order of, the letters of the alphabet; as, alphabetic characters, writing, languages, arrangement..

Alphabetize :: Alphabetize (v. t.) To arrange alphabetically; as, to alphabetize a list of words..

Cipher :: Cipher (n.) A private alphabet, system of characters, or other mode of writing, contrived for the safe transmission of secrets; also, a writing in such characters..

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