Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Z

(zē; in England commonly, and in America sometimes, zĕd; formerly, also, ĭz′zĕrd)

Z, the twenty-sixth and last letter of the English alphabet, is a vocal consonant. It is taken from the Latin letter Z, which came from the Greek alphabet, this having it from a Semitic source. The ultimate origin is probably Egyptian. Etymologically, it is most closely related to s, y, and j; as in glass, glaze; E. yoke, Gr. [GREEK], L. yugum; E. zealous, jealous. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 273, 274.

Webster 1828 Edition

Z

, the last letter of the English Alphabet, is a sibilant articulation, and is merely a vocal S. It bears the same relation to s, as v does to f. With us it has not a compound sound, nor is it a double consonant, as in the Italian and German. It is as simple in its sound as S.

As a numeral, Z stands for 2000, and with a dash over it, Z, for 2,000,000. It is pronounced zee.

Definition 2024

Z

Z	U+005A, Z LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z

← Y
[U+0059]

Basic Latin

[ →
[U+005B]

See also: z, ʒ, Ζ, ℤ, and Appendix:Variations of "z"

Translingual

Letter

Z upper case (lower case z)

The twenty-sixth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

Symbol

(metrology) Symbol for the prefix zetta-
(physics) the impedance of an electrical circuit
(physics) the depth dimension in a 3D environment
(physics) atomic number
(biochemistry) IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation for either aspargine or aspartic acid

Derived terms

Base SI units derived from the prefix meaning zetta-

Derived SI units derived from the prefix meaning zetta-

English

Letter

Z ‎(upper case, lower case z, plural Zs or Z's)

The twenty-sixth letter of the English alphabet, called zed or zee and written in the Latin script.

Symbol

(chemistry) Atomic number.

American Sign Language

Letter

‎(Stokoe Z)

The letter Z

Azeri

Letter

Z upper case (lower case z)

The thirty-second letter of the Azeri alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Dutch

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /zɛt/

Letter

Z ‎(capital, lowercase z)

The twenty-sixth and last letter of the Dutch alphabet.

Abbreviation

Abbreviation of zuid; south

Esperanto

Letter

Z ‎(upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-eighth letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called zo and written in the Latin script.

Finnish

Letter

Z ‎(upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-fifth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called tseta or tset and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

Used only in loanwords. In more established loanwords replaced with ts.

German

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tsɛt/

Letter

Z ‎(upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-sixth and last letter of the German alphabet.

German Sign Language

Etymology

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

Production

This one-handed GSL sign is produced as follows:

Posture the dominant hand in the “Z” shape, which is very similar to the “D” shape, and then move it in a "z"-shaped zig-zag as indicated in the picture below.

Letter

the letter Z

Ido

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

Z ‎(lower case z)

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

Italian

Pronunciation

(name of letter) IPA^(key): /ˈdzɛta/
(phoneme) IPA^(key): /ts/, /dz/

Letter

Z m, f ‎(invariable, lower case z)

The twenty-first letter of the Italian alphabet, called zeta and written in the Latin script.

Symbol

The letter zeta in the Greek alphabet

Latin

Etymology

The letter descended from the Old Italic letter 𐌆 ‎(z) in the Old Latin period, but had long fell into native disuse by the Classical period, when it came back into use, transcribing the Ancient Greek letter Ζ ‎(Z, “zeta”), which had formerly been transcribed S in initial position and SS in medial position. In writings of the Late Latin period, Z frequently takes the place of S and in the third and fourth centuries often represented word-inital prevocalic di.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /z/, [z̪]

Letter

Z ‎(upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-third letter of the Classical Latin alphabet, called zēta.

References

z Z, z in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
Félix Gaffiot (1934), “Z”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette, page 1,700/1.
“Z, z” on page 2,125/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

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): [z]

Letter

Z ‎(upper case, lower case z)

The thirty-second letter of the Latvian alphabet, called zē and written in the Latin script.

Malay

Pronunciation

(Name of letter) IPA^(key): [zɛt̚], [zɛk̚], [zi]
(Phoneme, Syllable initial) IPA^(key): [z]
(Phoneme, Syllable final) IPA^(key): [s]

Letter

Z ‎(upper case, lower case z)

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

Portuguese

Letter

Z ‎(upper case, lower case z)

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

Romanian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ze/, /zet/

Letter

Z (capital, lowercase z)

The twenty-eighth letter of the Romanian alphabet representing the phoneme /z/. Preceded by X.

Saanich

Letter

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

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

Z ‎(lower case z)

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

Slovene

Letter

Z ‎(capital, lowercase z)

The 24th letter of the Slovene alphabet. Preceded by V and followed by Ž.

Spanish

Letter

Z ‎(upper case, lower case z)

The 27th letter of the Spanish alphabet.

Turkish

Letter

Z ‎(upper case, lower case z)

The twenty-ninth letter of the Turkish alphabet, called ze and written in the Latin script.

z

z	U+007A, z LATIN SMALL LETTER Z

← y
[U+0079]

Basic Latin

{ →
[U+007B]

See also: Appendix:Variations of "z"

Translingual

Pronunciation

Letter

z lower case (upper case Z)

The twenty-sixth letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

Symbol

(metrology) Symbol for the prefix zepto-.
(astronomy) Symbol for the redshift.
(mathematics) Used to denote a real variable when x and y are already in use.
$f\left(x,y,z\right)=\sin x+\cos y+\tan z$
(mathematics) Used to denote the third coordinate in three-dimensional Cartesian and cylindrical coordinate systems.
$x^{2}+y^{2}+z^{2}=1$
(mathematics) Used to denote a complex variable.
$\left\Vert z\right\Vert =z\cdot {\bar z}$
(statistics) Used to denote a value of a standard normal random variable.
$P[Z>z]=1-P[Z<z]=1-\Phi (z)$
(analytic geometry, classical mechanics) Quantity along the third axis in a three-dimensional system, vertical when applicable.
(chemistry) Symbol for atomic number.
(IPA) voiced alveolar fricative

Derived terms

Prefix zepto-

zmol
zs

English

Letter

z ‎(lower case, upper case Z, plural z's)

The twenty-sixth letter of the English alphabet, called zed or zee and written in the Latin script.

Azeri

Letter

z lower case (upper case Z)

The thirty-second letter of the Azeri alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Czech

Pronunciation

Preposition

from
Toto víno pochází z Francie. -- This wine comes from France.
out of
Pět z deseti doktorů doporučuje tuto zubní pastu.
Five out of ten doctors recommend this toothpaste.

Usage notes

This preposition is followed by the genitive case.

Synonyms

Dutch

Pronunciation

Rhymes: -ɛt
(letter name): IPA^(key): /zɛt/

Letter

z ‎(lower case, upper case Z)

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

Egyptian

Noun

Alternative transliteration of s.

Esperanto

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /zo/

Letter

z ‎(lower case, upper case Z)

The twenty-eighth letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called zo and written in the Latin script.

Ido

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

z ‎(upper case Z)

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

Italian

Noun

z m, f ‎(invariable)

See under Z

Latin

Etymology

The minuscule form derives from the majuscule Z.

Letter

z ‎(lower case, upper case Z)

The twenty-third letter of the Classical Latin alphabet, called zēta.

References

Z in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
z in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Latvian

Etymology

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [z]

Letter

z ‎(lower case, upper case Z)

The thirty-second letter of the Latvian alphabet, called zē and written in the Latin script.

Livonian

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

z ‎(upper case Z)

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

Lower Sorbian

Alternative forms

ze (used before sibilants and certain consonant clusters)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /z/, (before a voiceless consonant) /s/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *jьz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs

Preposition

z (with genitive)

from, out of

Etymology 2

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

Preposition

z (with instrumental)

with
Stej bratš ze sotšu.‎ ― They are brother and sister (lit. ‘brother with sister’).

Malay

Letter

z ‎(lower case, upper case Z)

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

Norwegian

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /set/, /sɛt/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /s/, /ʃ/

Letter

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

Usage notes

Not used in Norwegian, only appears in loanwords from e.g. Slavic.
Used interchangeably with s in Internet slang and informal writing.

Polish

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

(isolated) IPA^(key): /z/, /s/

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *jьz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰs

Preposition

z (+ genitive)

from
Jestem z Polski. – I'm from Poland.
out of
jeden z dziesięciu – one out of ten
made of
motyka z drewna – a hoe made of wood

Etymology 2

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

Preposition

z (+ instrumental)

with

Usage notes

As a rule of thumb the preposition z should be changed to ze when the pronunciation of the two consecutive words becomes problematic. Some dictionaries claim that this rule applies to the words starting with one of the following consonants: s, z, ś, ź, ż, rz, sz that are followed by another consonant. ^[1] Examples include:

Ten pręt jest z żelaza – This rod is made of iron

Ten pręt jest ze stali – This rod is made of steel

Pochodzę z Francji – I come from France

Pochodzę ze Szwecji – I come from Sweden

References

↑ Wielki słownik poprawnej polszczyzny. Keyword "z".

Portuguese

Letter

z ‎(lower case, upper case Z)

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

Romanian

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ze/, /zet/

Letter

z ‎(lowercase, capital Z)

The twenty-eighth letter of the Romanian alphabet, called ze, zet, zed or zî and written in the Latin script.

Sani

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /z̊³³/

Noun

water

References

Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, volumes 26-27 (2003, Department of Linguistics, University of California), page 74
Huang Bufan (editor), Xu Shouchun, Chen Jiaying, Wan Huiyin, A Tibeto-Burman Lexicon (1992; Central Minorities University, Beijing) (has z̊³³)

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

(uppercase) Z

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /z/

Preposition

(Kajkavian, Chakavian, Croatia) with
- 1501, Marko Marulić, Judita
  
  požgat su pritili sela naša stane,
  
  žene z dicom htili vest u svoje strane,
  
  inim dati rane, svih smrtno sikući;
- 1622, Ivan Gundulić, Suze sina razmetnoga
  
  od svjetlosti zrak otvori,
  
  i ostaše razlučene,
  
  z bielim danom noćne sjene:
- 1927, Dragutin Domjanić, Kaj
  
  I srce mi greje
  
  I z menom se smeje
  
  I v žalosti plače takaj.

(Kajkavian) from, out of
- 1927, Dragutin Domjanić, Kaj vrt si senja
  
  Oblaček po nebu
  
  Si stiha putuje,
  
  A z trave još samo
  
  Šćurica se čuje.

Synonyms

iz, s, sa, š

Letter

z ‎(Cyrillic spelling з)

The 29th letter of the Serbo-Croatian Latin alphabet (gajica), preceded by v and followed by ž.

Skolt Sami

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /z/

Letter

z ‎(upper case Z)

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

Slovak

Alternative forms

zo (see usage notes)

Preposition

from

Usage notes

The zo form is used when the following word starts with the letter z, ž, s, š and certain consonant clusters.

Slovene

Etymology 1

See Translingual section.

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /z/, word-finally /s/
(phoneme) Tonal orthography: z

Letter

The twenty-fourth letter of the Slovene alphabet, written in the Latin script. Preceded by v and followed by ž.

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /z/
Tonal orthography: z

Alternative forms

(before a voiceless consonant) s

Preposition

(with instrumental) with, by means of, using
(with instrumental) (together) with, in the company of
This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Spanish

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /ˈsɛːta/, /ˈθɛːta/
(phoneme): IPA^(key): /s/, /θ/

Letter

z ‎(lower case, upper case Z)

The twenty-seventh letter of the Spanish alphabet, called zeta and written in the Latin script.

Swedish

Pronunciation

Letter name

IPA^(key): /ˈsɛːta/

Phoneme

IPA^(key): /s/

Letter

z ‎(lower case, upper case Z)

The twenty-sixth letter of the Swedish alphabet, called säta or zäta and written in the Latin script.

Turkish

Letter

z ‎(lower case, upper case Z)

The twenty-ninth letter of the Turkish alphabet, called ze and written in the Latin script.

Turkmen

Pronunciation

(phoneme) IPA^(key): /ð/, /z/

Letter

z ‎(upper case Z)

The thirtieth letter of the Turkmen alphabet, called ze and written in the Latin script.