V - Definition


V - Definition

Latin alphabet
	Aa	Bb	Cc	Dd
Ee	Ff	Gg	Hh	Ii	Jj
Kk	Ll	Mm	Nn	Oo	Pp
Qq	Rr	Ss	Tt	Uu	Vv
	Ww	Xx	Yy	Zz

V is the twenty-second letter in the modern Latin alphabet.

Like F, Greek Ypsilon has Semitic Waw as its letter of origin. The Etruscans somehow simplified the letter to V. Its Etruscan sound value was /u/; but since Latin lacked a letter for /w/, Romans used V for both /w/ and /u/, as in QVVS. In some Roman hands, it was written as a modern uppercase V, while in others like uncial it resembled modern lowercase u. With the Mediaeval introduction of the distinction between both cases, the pair was written as V/u, as in Vniuersitas. In Romance languages, V came to represent /v/ which developed from /w/; Around the Renaissance, U and V were felt as sounds different enough to warrant their own letters, and a lowercase v and an uppercase U were developed. A similar evolution happened with I/J.

German W (or double u, from VV) originally was pronounced as the English letter – but was pronounced /v/ since Middle High German times. At the same time, V was in German pronounced as in English, but the German Vau soon stood for /f/ again (the same is probably now happening in Dutch).

See SAMPA Chart for pronunciation key.

Victor represents the letter V in the NATO phonetic alphabet.

Meanings for V

Missing image
TheVarsitySign_Atlanta-GA.jpg

Outside The Varsity, Atlanta, Georgia

In biochemistry, V is the symbol for valine.
In chemistry, V is the symbol for vanadium.
In communication, V is the name of a hand gesture; see V sign
In computer science,
- V is an operation on a semaphore, used for process synchronisation.
- V is the name of an operating system developed at Stanford University.
In electrical engineering, V is the symbol for voltage (also known as electric potential, see below).
In financial securities, V is the stock symbol for Vivendi Universal.
In grammar, v is an abbreviation for verb.
In international licence plate codes, V stands for Vatican City.
In the Metric system, V is the symbol for volt, the SI derived unit for electric potential.
In physics, v is often a variable for speed or velocity.
As the first letter of a postal code,
- In Canada, V stands for British Columbia.
In Roman numerals, V denotes the number five.
In literature, Thomas Pynchon's first novel is called V. (including the period).
In television, V is the name of a science fiction TV series
In music,
- the roman numeral V is the dominant scale degree, chord, or diatonic function, when distinguished V = major and v = minor.
- V is the name of a band from the United Kingdom; see V (band).
- V is the name of an album released by the band Live in 2001.
V is the name of a drink produced by Frucor in New Zealand.
A V engine is an internal combustion engine configuration.

Meanings for V

See also