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Webster 1913 Edition

U

U

(ū)
,
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 to the French ou in tour. Etymologically U is most closely related to o, y (vowel), w, and v; as in two, duet, dyad, twice; top, tuft; sop, sup; auspice, aviary. See
V
, also
O
and
Y
.
See Guide to Pronunciation , §§ 130-144.

Webster 1828 Edition

U

U

is the twenty first letter and the fifth vowel in the English Alphabet. The sound seems to be nearly that of eu, shortened and blended. This sound however is not precisely that of eu or yu, except in a few words, as in unite, union, uniform; the sound does not begin with the distinct sound of e, nor end in the distinct sound of oo, unless when prolonged. It cannot be well expressed in letters. This sound is heard in the unaffected pronunciation of annuity, numerate, brute, mute, dispute, duke, true, truth, rule, prudence, opportunity, infusion.
Some modern writers make a distinction between the sound of u, when it follows r, as in rude, truth, and its sound when it follows other letters, as in mute, duke; making the former sound equivalent to oo; rood, trooth; and the latter a diphthong equivalent to eu or yu. This is a mischievous innovation, and not authorized by any general usage either in England or the United States. The difference, very nice indeed, between the sound of u in mute, and in rude, is owing entirely to the articulation which precedes that letter. For example, when a labial precedes u, we enter on its sound with the lips closed, and in opening them to the position required for uttering u, there is almost necessarily a slight sound of e formed before we arrive at the proper sound of u. When r precedes u, the mouth is open before the sound of u is commenced. But in both cases, u is to be considered as having the same sound.
In some words, as in bull, full, pull, the sound of u is that of the Italian u, the French ou, but shortened. This is a vowel.

U

has another short sound, as in tun, run, sun, turn,
rub.
This also is a vowel.

Definition 2024

Ü

Ü

Ü U+00DC, Ü
LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS
Composition: U [U+0055] + ̈ [U+0308]
← Û
[U+00DB] 		Latin-1 Supplement Ý →
[U+00DD]
See also: Appendix:Variations of "u"

Translingual

Letter

Ü upper case (lower case ü)

  1. The letter U with a diaeresis above itself.
  2. The letter U with an umlaut above itself.

See also

Azeri

Letter

Ü upper case (lower case ü)

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

See also

German Sign Language

Etymology

A variation of the sign for "U".

Production

This one-handed GSL sign is produced as follows:

  • Posture the dominant hand in the “U” shape, then move it downwards.

Letter

  1. the letter Ü

Turkish

Letter

Ü ‎(upper case, lower case ü)

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

See also

ü

ü

ü U+00FC, ü
LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH DIAERESIS
Composition: u [U+0075] + ̈ [U+0308]
← û
[U+00FB] 		Latin-1 Supplement ý →
[U+00FD]
See also: Appendix:Variations of "u"

Translingual

Letter

ü lower case (upper case Ü)

  1. The letter u with a diaeresis above itself.
  2. The letter u with an umlaut above itself.

See also

Azeri

Letter

ü lower case (upper case Ü)

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

See also

German

Symbol

ü ‎(lower case, upper case Ü)

  1. The letter u with an umlaut.

Portuguese

Pronunciation

  • (Diaeresis) IPA(key): /w/
  • (German loanwords) IPA(key): /i/

Symbol

ü ‎(lower case, upper case Ü)

  1. The letter u with a trema.

Usage notes

This letter is used to indicate diaeresis in <qu> and <gu> before <i> and <e> (e.g. freqüência, aqüífero, agüentar, lingüiça). It has been made obsolete by the reform of 1990, but could still be used until 31st of December 2012.

It is also used in words derived from borrowings, such as mülleriano, from German Müller (this usage isn't affected by the reform).

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /w/

Symbol

ü ‎(lower case, upper case Ü)

  1. The letter u with a trema.

Usage notes

Used to indicate diaeresis in <gu> before <i> and <e> (e.g. paragüero, pingüino).

Turkish

Letter

ü ‎(lower case, upper case Ü)

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

See also

Noun

ü

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter Ü/ü.

See also

Turkmen

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /y/, /yː/

Letter

ü ‎(upper case Ü)

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

See also

Volapük

Alternative forms

  • (before a vowel) üd

Conjunction

ü

  1. or

Related terms

  • e, ed ‎(“and”)

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