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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

Ū

Ū

Ū U+016A, Ū
LATIN CAPITAL LETTER U WITH MACRON
Composition: U [U+0055] + ̄ [U+0304]
← ũ
[U+0169] 		Latin Extended-A ū →
[U+016B]
See also: Appendix:Variations of "U"

Translingual

Letter

Ū upper case (lower case ū)

  1. The letter U with a macron.

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): [uː]

Letter

Ū

Ū ‎(upper case, lower case ū)

  1. The thirtieth letter of the Latvian alphabet, called garais u and written in the Latin script.

See also

ū

ū

ū U+016B, ū
LATIN SMALL LETTER U WITH MACRON
Composition: u [U+0075] + ̄ [U+0304]
← Ū
[U+016A] 		Latin Extended-A Ŭ →
[U+016C]
See also: Appendix:Variations of "u"

Translingual

Letter

ū lower case (upper case Ū)

  1. The letter u with a macron.

See also

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *huhu. Compare Maori ū.

Noun

ū

  1. breast
  2. udder

Derived terms

Verb

ū

  1. (stative) to drip
  2. (stative) moist, soaked, oozing

Derived terms

Japanese

Romanization

ū

  1. rōmaji reading of うう
  2. rōmaji reading of うー
  3. rōmaji reading of ウー

Latgalian

Letter

ū ‎(upper case Ū)

  1. The thirty-second letter of the Latgalian alphabet, called ū 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): [uː]

Letter

Ū

ū ‎(lower case, upper case Ū)

  1. The thirtieth letter of the Latvian alphabet, called garais u and written in the Latin script.

See also

Lithuanian

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /uː/

Letter

ū ‎(upper case Ū)

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

See also

Livonian

Pronunciation

  • (phoneme) IPA(key): /uː/

Letter

ū ‎(upper case Ū)

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

See also

Maori

Etymology 1

From Proto-Polynesian *huhu. Compare Hawaiian ū.

Noun

ū

  1. breast
  2. udder, teat
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Verb

ū

  1. to strike home, to hit the mark (as of a weapon)
  2. to land (as of a vessel), to come ashore
  3. to comply
  4. (stative) to be firm, fixed, unyielding

Samogitian

Letter

ū ‎(upper case Ū)

  1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Samogitian alphabet, called ėlguojė ū and written in the Latin script.

See also

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