Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

S

S

(ĕs)
,
the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet, is a consonant, and is often called a sibilant, in allusion to its hissing sound. It has two principal sounds; one a mere hissing, as in sack, this; the other a vocal hissing (the same as that of z), as in is, wise. Besides these it sometimes has the sounds of sh and zh, as in sure, measure. It generally has its hissing sound at the beginning of words, but in the middle and at the end of words its sound is determined by usage. In a few words it is silent, as in isle, débris. With the letter h it forms the digraph sh. See Guide to pronunciation, §§ 255-261.
Both the form and the name of the letter S are derived from the Latin, which got the letter through the Greek from the Phoenician. The ultimate origin is Egyptian. S is etymologically most nearly related to c, z, t, and r; as, in ice, OE. is; E. hence, OE. hennes; E. rase, raze; erase, razor; that, G. das; E. reason, F. raison, L. ratio; E. was, were; chair, chaise (see C, Z, T, and R.).

Webster 1828 Edition

S

S

, the nineteenth letter of the English Alphabet, is a sibilant articulation, and numbered among the semi-vowels. It represents the hissing made by driving the breath between the end of the tongue and the roof of the mouth, just above the upper teeth. It has two uses; one to express a mere hissing, as in Sabbath, sack, sin, this, thus; the other a vocal hissing, precisely like that of z, as in muse, wise, pronounced muze, wize. It generally has its hissing sound at the beginning of all proper English words, but in the middle and end of words, its sound is to be known only by usage. In a few words it is silent, as in isle and viscount.
In abbreviations, S. stands for societas, society, or socius, fellow; as F.R.S. fellow of the Royal Society. In medical prescriptions, S.A. signifies secundem artem, according to the rules of art.
In the notes of the ancients, S. stands for Sextus; SP. for Spurius; S.C. for senatus consultum; S.P.Q.R. for senatus populusque Romanus; S.S.S. for stratum super stratum, one layer above another alternately; S.V.B.E.E.Q.V. for sivales, bene est, ego quoque valeo.
As a numeral, S. denoted seven. In the Italian music, S. signifies solo. In books of navigation and in common usage, S. stands for south; S.E. for south-east; S.W. for south-west; S.S.E. for south south-east; S.S.W. for south south-west, &c.

Definition 2024

S

S


S U+0053, S
LATIN CAPITAL LETTER S
← R
[U+0052] 		Basic Latin T →
[U+0054]
See also: s, 's, -s, ѕ, Ѕ, Տ, Ꮪ, and Appendix:Variations of "s"

Translingual

Letter

S upper case

  1. The nineteenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

See also

Symbol

S

  1. (chemistry) symbol for sulfur / sulphur
  2. (metrology) symbol for siemens, a measure of electrical conductance.
  3. (metrology) symbol for spat (obsolete astronomical unit of distance).
  4. (metrology) symbol for svedberg (unit of sedimentation rate in ultracentrifugation).
  5. (biochemistry) IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation for serine
  6. (geology) symbol for storativity
  7. (mathematics, topology) sphere
  8. (mathematics, computer science) The S ("substitution") combinator, defined as Sxyz = xz(yz), used in SKI calculus

See also

Other representations of S:

English

Pronunciation

  • (letter) IPA(key): /ɛs/
  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /s/, /z/, /ʒ/

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case s, plural Ss or S's)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the English alphabet, called ess and written in the Latin script.
See also

Number

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

  1. The ordinal number nineteenth, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called ess and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

Noun

S ‎(plural Ss)

  1. American Library Association. Abbreviation for sextodecimo, a book size, 15-17.5 cm in height.
  2. south
  3. Abbreviation of season. (group of episodes of a series)
    I watched S01 through 03. I have yet to watch the S04.
    The pilot episode is S01E01.

American Sign Language

Letter

‎(Stokoe S)

  1. The letter S

Azeri

Letter

S upper case (lower case s)

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

See also

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ɛs/

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Esperanto

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

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

See also

Abbreviation

S

  1. Abbreviation of sudo ‎(“south”).
  2. (text messaging) Abbreviation of ŝi ‎(“she”).

Alternative forms

  • (she): Ŝ

Finnish

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called äs or es and written in the Latin script.

See also

French

Pronunciation

  • (letter) IPA(key): /ɛs/
  • Rhymes: -ɛs

Abbreviation

S

  1. Abbreviation of sud; south.

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

  • Template:list:Latin script letters/fr

Galician

Abbreviation

S

  1. sur (south)

Antonyms

  • (south): N

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʔɛs/
  • Homophone: es

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case ſ)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the German alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Abbreviation

S

  1. Abbreviation of Süd; south

German Sign Language

Etymology

Related to the French Sign Language sign for "S".

Production

This one-handed GSL sign is produced as follows:

  • Posture the dominant hand in the “S” shape.

Letter

  1. the letter S

Ido

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /s/

Letter

S ‎(lower case s)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Italian

Pronunciation

  • (name of letter) IPA(key): /ˈɛsse/
  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /s/, /z/
  • (phoneme, when followed by a voiceless consonant) IPA(key): /s/
  • (phoneme, when followed by a voiced consonant) IPA(key): /z/

Letter

S m, f ‎(invariable, lower case s)

  1. The seventeenth letter of the Italian alphabet, called esse and written in the Latin script.

See also

Latvian

Etymology

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

  • IPA(key): [s]

Letter

S

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

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

See also

Malay

Pronunciation

  • (Name of letter) IPA(key): [ɛs]
  • (Phoneme) IPA(key): [s]

Letter

S

  1. The nineteenth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Portuguese

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Romanian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /se/, /es/
  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /s/

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

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

See also

Saanich

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /s/

Letter

S

  1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Saanich alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /s/

Letter

S ‎(lower case s)

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

See also

Slovene

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the Slovene alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Somali

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /s/
  • (letter name): IPA(key): /sæ/

Letter

S upper case (lower case s)

  1. The ninth letter of the Somali alphabet, called sa and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

  1. The ninth letter of the Somali alphabet, which follows Arabic abjad order. It is preceded by R and followed by SH.

See also

Spanish

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

  1. The twentieth letter of the Spanish alphabet, called es and written in the Latin script.

Abbreviation

S

  1. Abbreviation of sur; south

Turkish

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

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

See also

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

  • (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [ʔɛʔt̚˧ˀ˦/, /ʔɛʔt̚˧ˀ˦ s̪i˨˩/, /s̪əːɰ˨˩/, /s̪əːɰ˨˩ nɐŋ˧ˀ˨ʔ]
  • (Huế) IPA(key): [ʔɛʔt̚˦˥/, /ʔɛʔt̚˦˥ s̪ɪj˧˧/, /ʂəːɰ˧˧/, /ʂəːɰ˧˧ nɐŋ˨ˀ˨ʔ]
  • (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ʔɛʔk̚˦ˀ˥/, /ʔɛʔk̚˦ˀ˥ s̪ɪj˨˩/, /ʂəːɰ˨˩/, /ʂəːɰ˨˩ nɐŋ˨ˀ˧ʔ]
  • Phonetic: ét, ét xì, sờ, sờ nặng

Letter

S ‎(upper case, lower case s)

  1. The twenty-third letter of the Vietnamese alphabet, called ét, ét-xì, sờ or sờ nặng and written in the Latin script.

See also

s

s


s U+0073, s
LATIN SMALL LETTER S
← r
[U+0072] 		Basic Latin t →
[U+0074]
See also: Appendix:Variations of "s"

Translingual

Letter

s lower case (upper case S)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

Pronunciation

Symbol

s

  1. (IPA) voiceless alveolar fricative
  2. Symbol for second, an SI unit of measurement of time.

See also

Other representations of S:

English

Letter

s ‎(lower case, upper case S, plural s's)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the English alphabet, called ess and written in the Latin script.

Number

s ‎(lower case, upper case S)

  1. The ordinal number nineteenth, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called ess and written in the Latin script.

Abbreviation

s

  1. (metrology) abbreviation for the scruple (unit of mass in the apothecaries' system)
  2. Alternative form of s.

See also

Derived terms

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

Article

s n

  1. (definite) the
    • 1978, Rolf Lyssey and Christa Maerker, Die Schweizermacher (transcript):
      Wüssed Si, Herr Bodmer, das isches, was ich so bewundere an de Schwitzer: Ire Humor. I jedere Situazion s’richtige Wort.‎
      You know, Mr Bodmer, that's what I admire about the Swiss – their humour. The right word for every situation.
    • 2010, Pedro Lenz, Der Goalie bin ig:
      D Wohnig isch d Wohnig und ds Business isch ds Business.‎
      Accommodation is accommodation, and business is business.

Declension

Alemannic German definite articles
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative/Accusative de
dr (Bern) 		d s
ds (Bern) 		d
Dative em der em de
  • Masculine nominative/accusative singular de has the form der before a vowel, e.g. der alt Maa ‘the old man’
  • Dative plural de has the form den before a vowel, e.g. den alte Fraue ‘(to) the old women’
  • Feminine singular d and plural d have the variant di before an adjective, e.g. di jung Mueter ‘the young mother’

Azeri

Letter

s lower case (upper case S)

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

See also

Czech

Pronunciation

Preposition

s

  1. with

Usage notes

This preposition is followed by the instrumental case.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɛs
  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ɛs/

Letter

s ‎(lower case, upper case S)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

  • Previous letter: r
  • Next letter: t

Egyptian

Noun

z
Z1

  1. A door bolt of wood or copper [since the Pyramid Texts]

Alternative forms

z
z
M3
z
t 		M3
z
tZ1 		M3
[Old Kingdom] [New Kingdom] [Late Period] [Late Period]

Verb

z
Z1

  1. To latch such a bolt
  2. To keep a door shut with such a bolt

Alternative forms

z
z
M3
z
t 		M3
z
tZ1 		M3
[Old Kingdom] [New Kingdom] [Late Period] [Late Period]

Noun

z
A3Z1

  1. man (male person) [since the Old Kingdom]
  2. someone, anyone

Usage notes

This word can be placed after a type of person and before a number to indicate that many prisoners of that type were taken.

Alternative forms

A3
z
z
A3
z
Z1A3
s A3
s Z1 A3
s i A3
Aa18 A3
[Old Kingdom] [since Middle Kingdom] [since Middle Kingdom] [since Middle Kingdom] [since 19th dynasty] [since 19th dynasty] [Late Period] [in Greek inscriptions]

Descendants

  • Coptic: ⲥⲁ- ‎(ⲥⲁ-)

Noun

z

  1. Being, creature (used of a snake) [Pyramid Texts]

Noun

z

  1. A type of fish [22nd dynasty]

Noun

s

  1. The object depicted in the hieroglyph
    s
    . The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
    1. A cloth

Noun

s Z1

  1. A vessel or container (made of gold) [18th dynasty]

Noun

s G38

  1. A type of goose, especially as an offering for the dead [Old Kingdom]
  2. Variant form of sr ‎(“type of goose”)

Alternative forms

s G54
s

References

  • Erman and Grapow, Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache

Esperanto

Pronunciation

Letter

s ‎(lower case, upper case S)

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

See also

Faroese

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /s/

Letter

s ‎(upper case S)

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

See also

Hungarian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈʃ]
  • (conjunction): IPA(key): [ˈʃ]
  • (letter name): IPA(key): [ˈɛʃː]

Conjunction

s

  1. and (short variant of és ‎(“and”))

Derived terms

(Compound words):

(Expressions):

Letter

s

  1. The thirty-first letter of the Hungarian alphabet, written in the Latin script. Pronounced sh as in she.

Ido

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /s/

Letter

s ‎(upper case S)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Italian

Noun

s m, f ‎(invariable)

  1. See under S

Latvian

Etymology

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

  • IPA(key): [s]

Letter

S

s ‎(lower case, upper case S)

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

See also

Livonian

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /s/

Letter

s ‎(upper case S)

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

See also

Malay

Letter

s ‎(lower case, upper case S)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Norwegian

Pronunciation

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /esː/, /ɛsː/
  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /s/, /ʃ/, /ʂ/*

Letter

s

  1. The nineteenth letter of the Norwegian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

  • /ʃ/ in Norwegian is created by merging skj, sk and sj.
  • /ʂ/ Retroflex, merge of rs.
  • When s is followed by an l, the s is pronounced /ʃ/.

Portuguese

Letter

s ‎(lower case, upper case S)

  1. The nineteenth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Adverb

s

  1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of sim ‎(“yes”).

Noun

s m (plural s)

  1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of sim ‎(“yes”).

Interjection

s

  1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of sim ‎(“yes”).

Romanian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /se/, /es/

Letter

s ‎(lowercase, capital S)

  1. The twenty-first letter of the Romanian alphabet, written in the Latin script. Representing the phoneme /s/. Preceded by r and followed by ş.

Saanich

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /s/

Letter

s

  1. The thirty-ninth letter of the Saanich alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

See Translingual section.

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /s/

Letter

s ‎(Cyrillic spelling с)

  1. The 24th letter of the Serbo-Croatian Latin alphabet (gajica), preceded by r and followed by š.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Slavic *sъ(n), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱom.

Alternative forms

  • (see usage notes) sa

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /s/

Preposition

s ‎(Cyrillic spelling с)

  1. (with instrumental) with, together with, along with
    raditi s nekim‎ ― to work with somebody
    svađati se s nekim‎ ― to quarrel with somebody
    ratovati s nekim‎ ― to wage war with somebody
    d(j)evojka s plavom kosom‎ ― a girl with blonde hair
    s godinama dolazi mudrost‎ ― with age comes wisdom
    s ljubavlju‎ ― with love
  2. (with instrumental) miscellaneous prepositional senses in various phrases
    što je s tobom?‎ ― what's wrong with you?
    s vremenom‎ ― in time
    pozdraviti se s nekim‎ ― to greet somebody
  3. (with genitive) from, off
    pao sam sa stabla‎ ― I fell from the tree
    s druge strane‎ ― on the other side
    sa zapada‎ ― from the west
    s leđa‎ ― from the back
    promatrati s prozora‎ ― to observe from the window
    ljudi s planine‎ ― people from the mountain
  4. (with genitive) because of (= iz, zbȍg)
    s tog razloga‎ ― for that reason
Usage notes

s takes the alternative form sa in the following environments:

  • before /s, š, z, ž/:
    sa stránē‎ ― aside
    sa škȏlōm‎ ― with school
    sa zȗbom‎ ― with tooth
    sa živòtom‎ ― with life
  • before consonant clusters where the second consonant is /s, š, z/:
    sà psom (sa psȍm)‎ ― with dog
    sa pšènicōm‎ ― with wheat
    sa ȑzānjem‎ ― with neighing
  • before instrumental form of first-person pronoun jȃ ‎(“I”)
    sȁ mnȏm‎ ― with me

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

Abbreviation

s ‎(Cyrillic spelling с)

  1. (grammar) neuter gender (srednji rod)

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /s/

Letter

s ‎(upper case S)

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

See also

Slovak

Preposition

s ‎(+ instrumental)

  1. with

Synonyms

Slovene

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /s/
  • Tonal orthography: s

Preposition

s

  1. Alternative form of z

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /s/, /s̺/, /s̄/
  • (letter name) IPA(key): /'ese/

Letter

s ‎(lower case, upper case S)

  1. The twentieth letter of the Spanish alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Swedish

Abbreviation

s

  1. page; Abbreviation of sida.
  2. Swedish Social Democratic Party; Abbreviation of Socialdemokraterna.

Turkish

Letter

s ‎(lower case, upper case S)

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

See also

Turkmen

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /θ/, /s/

Letter

s ‎(upper case S)

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

See also

Etymology

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