u

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Translingual[edit]

LetterU.svg
Unicode name LATIN SMALL LETTER U
Unicode block Basic Latin
Codepoint U+0075
t ← Basic Latin → v

Etymology 1[edit]

Latin V, from which U derived Minuscule variation of U, a modern variation of classical Latin V, from seventh century Old Latin adoption of Old Italic letter 𐌖 ‎(V).

Letter[edit]

u lower case (upper case U)

  1. The twenty-first letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Symbol[edit]

u

  1. (metrology) symbol for unified atomic mass unit
  2. (phonetics) Used in the International Phonetic Alphabet and in several romanization systems of non-Latin scripts to represent a close back rounded vowel (/u/).
  3. (physics) up quark

See also[edit]

Other representations of U:


English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚢ (u, “ur”)

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 ‎(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.

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter name
Phoneme
Phonetik.svg This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with enPR or the IPA then please add some!
Particularly: “Canada”

Letter[edit]

u ‎(lower case, upper case U, plural u's)

  1. 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.

See also[edit]

Noun[edit]

u ‎(plural ues)

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter U/u.
  2. A thing in the shape of the letter U

See also[edit]

Translations[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

u ‎(second person, singular or plural, nominative or objective)

  1. (abbreviation, slang, text messaging, Internet) you (in text messaging and internet conversations)
    Take me with u.

Abbreviation[edit]

u

  1. Underwater.

Derived terms[edit]


Afrikaans[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Dutch u.

Pronoun[edit]

u

  1. (formal) you (singular, subject and object)

See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Dutch uw.

Determiner[edit]

u

  1. (formal) your (singular)

See also[edit]


Albanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Albanian *wa, from Proto-Indo-European *su̯om.

Pronoun[edit]

u

  1. reflexive pronoun

Aragonese[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Latin aut.

Conjunction[edit]

u

  1. or

Aromanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Probably from an early (proto-Romanian) root *eaua, from Latin illam, accusative feminine singular of ille. Compare Romanian o.

Pronoun[edit]

u f ‎(short/unstressed accusative form of ea)

  1. (direct object) her

Related terms[edit]

  • ãl (masculine equivalent)
  • li (plural)

Asturian[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Latin aut.

Conjunction[edit]

u

  1. or

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

u

  1. where (relative pronoun)

Adverb[edit]

u

  1. where

Related terms[edit]


Azeri[edit]

Letter[edit]

u lower case (upper case U)

  1. The twenty-eighth letter of the Azeri alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]


Catalan[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Noun[edit]

u f ‎(plural us)

  1. The Latin letter U (lowercase u).

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

u m ‎(plural uns)

  1. (cardinal) one

Corsican[edit]

Article[edit]

u m

  1. the

Related terms[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

u m

  1. him, it

Czech[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

u + genitive

  1. at
  2. by

Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Originally the accusative/dative form of jij/gij, from Middle Dutch u, from Old Dutch iu, from Proto-Germanic *iwwiz, West Germanic variant of *izwiz, dative/accusative of *jūz, from Proto-Indo-European *yū́. Doublet of jou.

The use as a nominative stems from an original possessive uwe edelheid ‎(your gentility), which was later shortened to U E. and finally to u.

Cognate with West Frisian jo, Low German jo, ju, English you, German euch.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

u

  1. (personal, second-person singular, subjective) you (polite).
    Bent u klaar?‎ ― Are you ready?
    Bent u er nog?‎ ― Are you still there?
  2. (personal, second-person singular, objective) you (polite).
    Ik zal het aan u geven.‎ ― I will give it to you.
    Dit zal niet werken voor u.‎ ― This won’t work for you.
  3. (personal, second-person singular, objective) thee (dialectal).
    Ik doe dat wel voor u.‎ ― I’ll do it for thee.
  4. (personal, second-person plural, subjective) you (polite).
    Hebt u die oefening gemaakt?‎ ― Have you prepared that exercise?
  5. (personal, second-person plural, objective) you (polite).
    Ze zullen dat wel voor u doen.‎ ― They’ll do it for you.
  6. (reflexive, second-person singular) thyself (dialectal)
    Gij hebt u niet gewassen.‎ ― Thou hast not washed thyself.
  7. (reflexive, second-person plural) yourselves (dialectal)
    Wast u eens.‎ ― Wash yourselves.

Usage notes[edit]

  • The capitalization of u (as in U or Uw) is now considered old-fashioned, and no longer compulsory. In religious contexts, it is still often capitalized.
  • See usage notes at gij.

Declension[edit]


Letter[edit]

u ‎(lower case, upper case U)

  1. The twenty-first letter of the Dutch alphabet.

See also[edit]

  • Previous letter: t
  • Next letter: v

Esperanto[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

u ‎(lower case, upper case U)

  1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called u and written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Noun[edit]

u ‎(accusative singular u-on, plural u-oj, accusative plural u-ojn)

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter U/u.

See also[edit]


Faroese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

u ‎(upper case U)

  1. The twenty-third letter of the Faroese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]


Greenlandic[edit]

Affix[edit]

u

  1. to be
    e.g. ilinniartitsisiuuvugut - We are teachers.

Italian[edit]

Noun[edit]

u m, f ‎(invariable)

  1. See under U

Japanese[edit]

Romanization[edit]

u

  1. rōmaji reading of
  2. rōmaji reading of

Latin[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ū ‎(indeclinable)

  1. The name of the letter V.

Coordinate terms[edit]

References[edit]

  • Arthur E. Gordon, The Letter Names of the Latin Alphabet (University of California Press, 1973; volume 9 of University of California Publications: Classical Studies), part III: “Summary of the Ancient Evidence”, page 32: "Clearly there is no question or doubt about the names of the vowels A, E, I, O, U. They are simply long A, long E, etc. (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū). Nor is there any uncertainty with respect to the six mutes B, C, D, G, P, T. Their names are bē, cē, dē, gē, pē, tē (each with a long E). Or about H, K, and Q: they are hā, kā, kū—each, again, with a long vowel sound."

Latvian[edit]

Latvian Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia lv

Etymology[edit]

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation[edit]

Headset icon.svg This entry needs audio files. If you have a microphone, please record some and upload them. (For audio required quickly, visit WT:APR.)

Letter[edit]

U

u ‎(lower case, upper case U)

  1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Latvian alphabet, called u and written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

u m (invariable)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter U/u.

See also[edit]


Livonian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

u ‎(upper case U)

  1. The thirty-fifth letter of the Livonian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]



Malay[edit]

Letter[edit]

u ‎(lower case, upper case U)

  1. The twenty-first letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]


Maltese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Semitic. Cognate with Arabic وَ ‎(wa), Hebrew וְ־ ‎(v').

Conjunction[edit]

u

  1. and (used to connect two similar words, phrases, etc.)

Mauritian Creole[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

u ‎(informal to)

  1. Alternative spelling of ou

See also[edit]


Middle French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin u, v.

Letter[edit]

u

  1. u (letter)
  2. v (letter)

Usage notes[edit]

  • u and v were represented by a single character in Middle French, although scholars consider them to be separate letters both in terms of usage and in terms of pronunciation.

Norman[edit]

Norman Wikipedia has an article on:

Wikipedia nrm

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French ueil, from Vulgar Latin oclus, from Latin oculus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- ‎(eye; to see).

Noun[edit]

u m ‎(plural uûs or uur)

  1. (France, anatomy) eye

Norwegian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ʉː/
  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /ʉː/, /ʉ/, /ʊ/

Letter[edit]

u

  1. The 21st letter of the Norwegian alphabet

Old French[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Latin ubi.

Adverb[edit]

u

  1. (interrogative) where
Descendants[edit]
  • Middle French: ou

Etymology 2[edit]

From Latin u, v.

Letter[edit]

u

  1. u (letter)
  2. v (letter)
Usage notes[edit]
  • u and v were represented by a single character in Old French, although scholars consider them to be separate letters both in terms of usage and in terms of pronunciation.

Old Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin ubi.

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

u

  1. where

Descendants[edit]

  • Galician: u
  • Portuguese: u

Polish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Slavic *u, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew.

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

u ‎(+ genitive)

  1. at

External links[edit]

  • u in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Letter[edit]

u ‎(lower case, upper case U)

  1. The twenty-first letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Noun[edit]

u m (plural us)

  1. u (name of the letter U, u)

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Portuguese u, from Latin ubi. Cognate with Galician u, French , Italian ove and Romanian iuo.

Adverb[edit]

u

  1. (obsolete) where
Synonyms[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Article[edit]

u m

  1. Eye dialect spelling of o.

Pumpokol[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Yeniseian *ʔaw (/ *ʔu) ("thou").

Pronoun[edit]

u

  1. you (second-person plural subjective)

Synonyms[edit]


Romanian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

u (lowercase, capital U)

  1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Romanian alphabet representing the phoneme /u/. Preceded by ţ and followed by v.

Romansch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin aut.

Conjunction[edit]

u

  1. or

Rumu[edit]

Noun[edit]

u

  1. water

References[edit]


Serbo-Croatian[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

See Translingual section.

Alternative forms[edit]

  • (uppercase) U

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

u (Cyrillic spelling у)

  1. The 27th letter of the Serbo-Croatian Latin alphabet (gajica), preceded by t and followed by v.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Proto-Slavic *u, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew.

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

u (Cyrillic spelling у)

  1. (with locative) in, at (without change of position, answering the question gdjȅ/gdȅ)
    biti u školi‎ ― to be in the school
    u c(ij)elom društvu‎ ― in the whole society
  2. (with accusative) to, into (with change of position, answering the question kùda)
    ići u školu‎ ― to go to school
    putovati u Ameriku‎ ― to travel to America
  3. (with accusative) on, in, at, during (in expressions concerning time)
    u podne‎ ― at noon
    u sr(ij)edu‎ ― on Wednesday
    u zoru‎ ― at dawn
    U koliko sati?‎ ― At what time?
  4. (with locative) in, during (in expressions concerning time)
    u jednom danu‎ ― in one day
    u mladosti‎ ― during one's youth

Skolt Sami[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /u/, /w/

Letter[edit]

u ‎(upper case U)

  1. The thirty-first letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]


Somali[edit]

Preposition[edit]

u

  1. to
  2. for

Usage notes[edit]

  • In Somali, prepositions fall before the verb and not before the noun they modify:
    u sheeg -- to tell (lit. to call to)
    u keen -- to bring to

Spanish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Letter[edit]

u ‎(lower case, upper case U)

  1. The 22nd letter of the Spanish alphabet.

Noun[edit]

u f ‎(plural úes)

  1. Name of the letter U.

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

u

  1. or
Usage notes[edit]

Used instead of o when the following word starts with a vowel sound which is pronounced /o/.

See also[edit]


Swedish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter name
Phoneme

Letter[edit]

u ‎(lower case, upper case U)

  1. The twenty-first letter of the Swedish alphabet, called u and written in the Latin script.

Tolai[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

u

  1. Second-person singular pronoun: you (singular)

Declension[edit]



Torres Strait Creole[edit]

Noun[edit]

u

  1. (eastern dialect) a mature coconut

Usage notes[edit]

U is the sixth stage of coconut growth. It is preceded by pes and followed by drai koknat.


Turkish[edit]

Letter[edit]

u ‎(lower case, upper case U)

  1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Turkish alphabet, called u and written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Noun[edit]

u

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter U/u.

See also[edit]


Turkmen[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /u/, /uː/

Letter[edit]

u ‎(upper case U)

  1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Turkmen alphabet, called u and written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]



Uzbek[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

u ‎(Cyrillic у)

  1. Demonstrative pronoun used to indicate a thing that is far away from the speaker. that.
    • U eshik.‎ ― That is a door. / That door.

Vietnamese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

EB1911 - Volume 01 - Page 001 - 1.svg This entry lacks etymological information. If you are familiar with the origin of this term, please add it to the page per etymology instructions.

Noun[edit]

u ‎(𡠄)

  1. (Northern Vietnam) mother; mom
Synonyms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Proto-Vietic *ʔuː ‎(hump (of a zebu))

Noun[edit]

(classifier khối) u ‎(, 𢉾)

  1. (oncology, pathology) tumor
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Borrowing from Portuguese u.

Noun[edit]

u

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter U/u.

Volapük[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

u

  1. or

Alternate forms[edit]

  1. (in front of vowels) ud