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u

See also: U, ս, and Appendix:Variations of "u"
Letter u.svg
u U+0075, u
LATIN SMALL LETTER U
← t
[U+0074] 		Basic Latin v →
[U+0076]
ｕ U+FF55, ｕ
FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER U
← ｔ
[U+FF54] 		Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms ｖ →
[U+FF56]

Contents

TranslingualEdit

Etymology 1Edit

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

LetterEdit

u (upper case U)

  1. The twenty-first letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.
See alsoEdit

Etymology 2Edit

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA
    		(file)

SymbolEdit

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

GalleryEdit

  • Letter styles

  • Capital and lowercase versions of U, in normal and italic type

  • Uppercase and lowercase U in Fraktur

See alsoEdit

Other representations of U:

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

 

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 ᚢ (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.

PronunciationEdit

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

LetterEdit

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 alsoEdit

NounEdit

u (plural ues)

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

See alsoEdit

TranslationsEdit

Derived termsEdit

PronounEdit

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.

AbbreviationEdit

u

  1. Underwater.

Derived termsEdit

AcehneseEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

u

  1. coconut (fruit of the coco palm)

ReferencesEdit

AfrikaansEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Dutch u.

PronounEdit

u

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

See alsoEdit

Afrikaans personal pronouns
subjective objective possessive
singular 1st ek my
2nd jy jou
2nd, formal u
3rd, masc hy hom sy
3rd, fem sy haar
3rd, neut dit sy
plural 1st ons
2nd julle julle / jul1
3rd hulle hulle / hul1
1. In the second and third persons plural, the usual possessive forms are julle and hulle (like the subjective and objective forms), but jul and hul are sometimes used instead when the sentence would otherwise be ambiguous.

Etymology 2Edit

From Dutch uw.

DeterminerEdit

u

  1. (formal) your (singular)

See alsoEdit

Afrikaans personal pronouns
subjective objective possessive
singular 1st ek my
2nd jy jou
2nd, formal u
3rd, masc hy hom sy
3rd, fem sy haar
3rd, neut dit sy
plural 1st ons
2nd julle julle / jul1
3rd hulle hulle / hul1
1. In the second and third persons plural, the usual possessive forms are julle and hulle (like the subjective and objective forms), but jul and hul are sometimes used instead when the sentence would otherwise be ambiguous.

AjiëEdit

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

u

  1. to swim

ReferencesEdit

AlbanianEdit

EtymologyEdit

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

PronounEdit

u

  1. reflexive pronoun

AragoneseEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin aut.

ConjunctionEdit

u

  1. or

AromanianEdit

EtymologyEdit

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

PronounEdit

u f (short/unstressed accusative form of ea)

  1. (direct object) her

Related termsEdit

  • ãl (masculine equivalent)
  • li (plural)

AsturianEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Latin aut.

ConjunctionEdit

u

  1. or

Etymology 2Edit

From Latin ubi.

PronounEdit

u

  1. where (relative pronoun)

AdverbEdit

u

  1. where

Related termsEdit

AzerbaijaniEdit

PronunciationEdit

LetterEdit

u lower case (upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit

CatalanEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

NounEdit

u f (plural us)

  1. The Latin letter U (lowercase u).

Etymology 2Edit

NounEdit

u m (plural uns)

  1. (cardinal) one

CorsicanEdit

ArticleEdit

u m

  1. the

Related termsEdit

PronounEdit

u m

  1. him, it

CzechEdit

PronunciationEdit

PrepositionEdit

u + genitive

  1. at
  2. by

DutchEdit

EtymologyEdit

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.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

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 notesEdit

  • 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.

InflectionEdit

Dutch personal pronouns
subject object possessive reflexive genitive5
singular full unstr. full unstr. full unstr. pred.
1st person ik 'k1 mij me mijn m'n1 mijne me mijner
2nd person jij je jou je jouw je jouwe je jouwer
2nd person archaic or regiolectal gij ge u – uw – uwe u uwer
2nd person formal u – u – uw – uwe zich uwer
3rd person masculine hij ie1 hem 'm1 zijn z'n1 zijne zich zijner
3rd person feminine zij ze haar h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 haar h'r1, 'r1, d'r1 hare zich harer
3rd person neuter het 't1 het 't1 zijn z'n1 zijne zich zijner
plural
1st person wij we ons – ons, onze2 – onze ons onzer
2nd person jullie je jullie je jullie je – je –
2nd person archaic or regiolectal6 gij ge u – uw – uwe u uwer
2nd person formal u – u – uw – uwe zich uwer
3rd person zij ze hen3, hun4 ze hun – hunne zich hunner
1) Not as common in written language.
2) Inflected as an adjective.
3) In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative).
4) In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative). 		5) Archaic. Nowadays used for formal, literary or poetic purposes, and in fixed expressions.
6) To differentiate from the singular gij, and in a similar vein to "you lot" or "you guys" in English, it is common to use gijlui ("you people") or gijlieden ("you people") or one of their contracted variants, and their corresponding objects, possessives and reflexives, in the plural.


Alternative formsEdit

  • (Brabantian) a

SynonymsEdit

LetterEdit

u (lower case, upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit

  • Previous letter: t
  • Next letter: v

EsperantoEdit

PronunciationEdit

LetterEdit

u (lower case, upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit

NounEdit

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

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

See alsoEdit

FaroeseEdit

PronunciationEdit

LetterEdit

u (upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit

FinnishEdit

LetterEdit

u (lower case, upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit

FrenchEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

u m (plural us)

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

FulaEdit

PronunciationEdit

LetterEdit

u (lower case, upper case U)

  1. A letter of the Fula alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Usage notesEdit

See alsoEdit

GalicianEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Latin ū.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

u m (plural us)

  1. the name of the letter U.

Etymology 2Edit

From Latin ubi.

PronunciationEdit

AdverbEdit

u

  1. (archaic) where, whereby
    • 1264, E. Portela Silva (ed.), La región del obispado de Tuy en los siglos XII a XV. Santiago: Tip. El Eco Franciscano, page 364:
      pelo camino que vay peraa devesa de valadares asy como vay o porto do rrio u pasan os carros
      by the road that goes to the wood of Valadares as it goes by the ford of the river where the carts cross
    Synonym: onde
  2. where (interrogative adverb)
    U-los libros? ― Where are the books?
    Synonym: onde

ReferencesEdit

  • “u” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006-2012.
  • “u” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
  • “u” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

GothicEdit

RomanizationEdit

u

  1. Romanization of 𐌿

Guinea-Bissau CreoleEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Portuguese tu.

PronounEdit

u

  1. you (second person singular).

IdoEdit

PronunciationEdit

  • (context pronunciation, letter name) IPA(key): /u/

LetterEdit

u (upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit

InterlingueEdit

AdverbEdit

u

  1. where

ItalianEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin ū (the name of the letter V).

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

u f (invariable)

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

See alsoEdit

JapaneseEdit

RomanizationEdit

u

  1. Rōmaji transcription of う
  2. Rōmaji transcription of ウ

LatinEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

ū (indeclinable)

  1. The name of the letter V.

Coordinate termsEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • u in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
  • Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • anger is defined as a passionate desire for revenge: iracundiam sic (ita) definiunt, ut ulciscendi libidinem esse dicant or ut u. libido sit or iracundiam sic definiunt, ulc. libidinem
  • u in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • 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."

LatvianEdit

 
Latvian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia lv

EtymologyEdit

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.

PronunciationEdit

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

LetterEdit

 
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 alsoEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

u m (invariable)

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

See alsoEdit

LithuanianEdit

PronunciationEdit

LetterEdit

u (upper case U)

  1. The twenty-seventh letter of the Lithuanian alphabet, called u trumpoji and written in the Latin script.

See alsoEdit

LivonianEdit

PronunciationEdit

LetterEdit

u (upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit


MalayEdit

LetterEdit

u (lower case, upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit

MalteseEdit

Alternative formsEdit

  • w (before a vowel; also after a vowel, unless the following word begins with a consonant cluster)

EtymologyEdit

From Arabic وَ‎ (wa), from Proto-Semitic. Cognate with Hebrew וְ־‎ (wə-).

ConjunctionEdit

u

  1. and; used to connect words, phrases, etc.

Mauritian CreoleEdit

PronounEdit

u (informal to)

  1. Alternative spelling of ou

See alsoEdit

Mauritian Creole personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person mo
mwa (objective) 		nou
2nd person to (informal), ou (formal)
twa (objective) 		zot
3rd person li zot, bann-la

Middle DutchEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Old Dutch iuwa, from Proto-Germanic *izweraz.

DeterminerEdit

u

  1. your (plural)
  2. your (singular, informal)
Usage notesEdit

See the usage notes for gi.

DescendantsEdit
  • Dutch: uw
  • Limburgish: eur

Etymology 2Edit

See the etymology of the main entry.

PronounEdit

u

  1. accusative and dative of gi

Further readingEdit

  • “uwe”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
  • “u (II)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, 1929

Middle EnglishEdit

NounEdit

u

  1. Alternative form of ew

Middle FrenchEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin u, v.

LetterEdit

u

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

Usage notesEdit

  • 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.

Middle High GermanEdit

PronounEdit

ū

  1. (personal pronoun, dative, Middle German) Alternative form of iu.

Middle Low GermanEdit

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

û

  1. (personal pronoun, dative, accusative) Alternative form of jû.
  2. (possessive) Alternative form of jû.

DeclensionEdit

Possessive pronoun:

Declension of u
nominative accusative dative genitive
Strong declension
Masculine û ûwen ûwem(e) (ûwennote) ûwes
Neuter û
Feminine ûwe ûwer(e)
Plural ûwe ûwen ûwer(e)
Weak declension
Masculine ûwe ûwen ûwen
Neuter ûwe
Feminine ûwen
Plural ûwen
The longer forms become rarer in the course of the period.

NormanEdit

 
Norman Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nrm

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

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

NounEdit

u m (plural uûs or uur)

  1. (France, anatomy) eye

NorwegianEdit

PronunciationEdit

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

LetterEdit

u

  1. The 21st letter of the Norwegian alphabet

Old FrenchEdit

Etymology 1Edit

From Latin ubi.

AdverbEdit

u

  1. (interrogative) where
DescendantsEdit
  • Middle French: ou

Etymology 2Edit

From Latin u, v.

LetterEdit

u

  1. u (letter)
  2. v (letter)
Usage notesEdit
  • 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 PortugueseEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin ubi.

PronunciationEdit

AdverbEdit

u

  1. where

DescendantsEdit

  • Galician: u
  • Portuguese: u

PolishEdit

EtymologyEdit

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

PronunciationEdit

PrepositionEdit

u (+ genitive)

  1. at

Further readingEdit

  • u in Polish dictionaries at PWN

PortugueseEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

LetterEdit

u (lower case, upper case U)

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

NounEdit

u m (plural us)

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

See alsoEdit

Etymology 2Edit

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

AdverbEdit

u

  1. (obsolete) where
SynonymsEdit

Etymology 3Edit

ArticleEdit

u m

  1. Eye dialect spelling of o.

PumpokolEdit

EtymologyEdit

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

PronounEdit

u

  1. you (second-person plural subjective)

SynonymsEdit

RomanianEdit

PronunciationEdit

LetterEdit

u (lowercase, capital U)

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

RomanschEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Latin aut.

ConjunctionEdit

u

  1. or

RumuEdit

NounEdit

u

  1. water

ReferencesEdit

Serbo-CroatianEdit

Etymology 1Edit

See Translingual section.

Alternative formsEdit

  • (uppercase) U

PronunciationEdit

LetterEdit

u (Cyrillic spelling у)

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

Etymology 2Edit

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

PronunciationEdit

PrepositionEdit

u (Cyrillic spelling у)

  1. (+ locative case) in, at (without change of position, answering the question gdjȅ/gdȅ)
    biti u školi ― to be in school
    u c(ij)elom društvu ― in the whole society
  2. (+ accusative case) 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. (+ accusative case) 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. (+ locative case) in, during (in expressions concerning time)
    u jednom danu ― in one day
    u mladosti ― during one's youth

Skolt SamiEdit

PronunciationEdit

LetterEdit

u (upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit

SomaliEdit

PrepositionEdit

u

  1. to
  2. for

Usage notesEdit

  • 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

SpanishEdit

Etymology 1Edit

PronunciationEdit

LetterEdit

u (lower case, upper case U)

  1. The 22nd letter of the Spanish alphabet.

NounEdit

u f (plural úes)

  1. Name of the letter U.

Etymology 2Edit

PronunciationEdit

ConjunctionEdit

u

  1. or
Alternative formsEdit
  • ú (obsolete)
Usage notesEdit

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

Further readingEdit

SwedishEdit

PronunciationEdit

Letter name
Phoneme

LetterEdit

u (lower case, upper case U)

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

TolaiEdit

PronounEdit

u

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

DeclensionEdit

Tolai personal pronouns
singular dual paucal plural
1st person exclusive iau amir
mir 		amital
mital 		avet
ave1
1st person inclusive - dor datal dat
da1
2nd person u amur
mur 		amutal
mutal 		avat
ava1
3rd person ia
i 		dir
di 		dital diat
dia1
1) The plural pronouns lose the final -t when preceding a verb.


Torres Strait CreoleEdit

NounEdit

u

  1. (eastern dialect) a mature coconut

Usage notesEdit

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

TurkishEdit

LetterEdit

u (lower case, upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit

NounEdit

u

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

See alsoEdit

TurkmenEdit

PronunciationEdit

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /u/, /uː/

LetterEdit

u (upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit

TzotzilEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

u

  1. moon
  2. month

SynonymsEdit

ReferencesEdit

UzbekEdit

PronounEdit

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.

VietnameseEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

  This entry lacks etymological information. If you are familiar with the origin of this term, please add it to the page per etymology instructions. You can also discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.

NounEdit

u

  1. (Northern Vietnam) mother; mom
SynonymsEdit

Etymology 2Edit

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

NounEdit

(classifier khối, cục) u (幽, 𢉾)

  1. excrescence; protuberance; swelling
  2. (oncology, pathology) tumor
Derived termsEdit
See alsoEdit

VerbEdit

u

  1. to get bumpy; to swell

Etymology 3Edit

From Portuguese u.

NounEdit

u

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

VolapükEdit

ConjunctionEdit

u

  1. or

Alternative formsEdit

  1. (in front of vowels) ud

ZuluEdit

LetterEdit

u (lower case, upper case U)

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

See alsoEdit

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