The English alphabet, as we know it today, consists of 26 letters. However, this was not always the case. In the early stages of its development, the English language had at least 5 more characters (and two ligatures), all of which have been omitted over the centuries. These forgotten letters of the English alphabet offer a fascinating glimpse into the history of the language and the evolution of its written form.
The Lost Letters
1. Eth (Ð/ð)
One of the most well-known lost letters of the English alphabet is “eth” (Ð/ð). This letter represented the voiced dental fricative sound, similar to the “th” sound in words like “this” and “that.” Eth was commonly used in Old English and Middle English texts but gradually fell out of use during the Middle English period. It was often replaced by the letter “thorn” (Þ/þ), which we will discuss next. Words with Eth: Ðis, ðat and ðe oðer. (This, that and the other)
2. Thorn (Þ/þ)
Thorn, represented by the letterform (Þ/þ) is another letter that has been omitted from the modern English alphabet. It also represented the voiced dental fricative sound, much like “eth.” Thorn was widely used in Old English texts and can be found in words like “þe” (the) and “þorn” (thorn). Whenever you see an old timey reference in a movie to “Ye Olde Tavern,” the “y” is actually the long forgotten thorn. Over time, it was replaced by the letter combo “th.”
3. Wynn (Ƿ/ƿ)
Wynn, represented by the letterform “ƿ” or “Ƿ,” was used in Old English to denote the sound we now represent with “w.” It looked quite similar to the letter “p” in its early form (elder Furthark rune Wynn (ᚹ). Wynn fell out of use by the Middle English period, where it was replaced with the letter u and then the ligature double “uu.” Double uu’s ligature eventually became “w”.
4. Yogh (Ȝ/ȝ)
Yogh, written as “Ȝ,” is a letter that represented various sounds over time, including a guttural sound similar to the “ch” in the Scottish beastie “Loch Ness.” The yogh glyph can be found in many Middle English words like niȝt (“Night”), ȝiefte (“Gift”), ȝise (“Yes”) and ȝisterday (“Yesterday”). The use of yogh became confused with a cursive z and the early Scots printers often used z when yogh was not available in their fonts. Over time, the letter Yogh fell out of favour, mostly due to the confusion of spelling and sounds that were not agreed upon among scribes, as the English language was hardly standardized at the time (1150-1500AD).
5. Long S (ſ)
The long s, often written as “ſ,” was a letter that looked much like the letter “f” (just without a crossbar) but was used exclusively as an “s” in early English printing. It was used in place of the modern “s” in most positions within a word and can be found in texts dating back to the 16th century. There was also a long list of rules that were not always followed which included: it could never be used for the last letter of word or be used in front or behind an “f” (for clarity).
Some words with the long s: ſubſtantive, ſucceſs, ſatisfaction, and ſong. It eventually became less common due to it’s redundancy in sound with the letter “s”, it’s complicated ruleset, and it’s visual similarity to the letter “f”.
6. Œthel (Œ/œ)
Pronounced “ee-thel” this symbol was first created to represent the complicated sounds of the Greek language in the Latin alphabet. It also is used to adapt the sound of the ancient English rune Odal (ᛟ) into the English alphabet. While it is technically a ligature, which is a symbol which is made of a combination of two individual letters “o” and “e”, this character represented the long “e” sound like in words like “need.” Some modern words what you may be familiar with include: Phœbe, amœba, phœnix and subpœna.
7. Ash (Æ/æ)
Ash, symbolized by the letter “Æ/æ,” was used in Old English to represent a vowel sound similar to the modern short “a” sound in words like “cat” and “hat.” In modern times however, the sound is funnily enough similar to our previous ligature ethel (“œ”). While it is no longer considered a distinct letter in the English alphabet, it is still used in some modern languages like Danish and Norwegian. Modern examples include: Archaeology, Cæsar, algæ, and vertibræ.
Conclusion
The history of the English alphabet is a rich and complex one, and the forgotten letters mentioned above are just a few examples of how the language has evolved over time. While these letters are no longer part of the standard English alphabet, they provide valuable insights into the linguistic heritage of the language. Exploring these lost characters helps us appreciate the long journey that the English alphabet has taken from its early roots to its current form, and it serves as a reminder of the ever-changing nature of language.
If you enjoyed this post, chances are you also would like it’s sister post about the Origins of Common Keyboard Symbols detailing symbols such as: !, @, #, $, %, &, and *
Did I miss any strange characters? Something of note to add to the list? Let me know in the comments. Happy writing.
-Richard
I never knew this Richard! Now I will look at words in a whole new light!
So interesting! Many of these still exist in German, of course (both having similar roots). Whilst the sounds are different oe/ő, ue/ü, ae/ä all exist and so (despite attempts to scrap it!) does the long s, ß called sharp s, and the same shape as that f/s combo (with a little imagination).
Interesting! It’s cool to see how two languages which were one, diverge. That sharp s (ß) is a really cool character. I went down a rabbit hole with it and saw it’s cursive versions. Thank you for your input Chris.
Wow! Very interesting
When looking at old documents like the Declaration of Independence and the US Continuation you see some of these letters. They have always been a fascination to me. Thank you for putting this info on line.
Thank you for your kind words. And thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂
Œ is NOT a forgotten letter just keep a long press in o in phone keyboard
You are correct. It does exist, but I guess I meant “forgotten” in the sense of not commonly used. Do you use it often?
“
As a moderator of r/theforgottenletters, I can say that this is just a few.
Here is a list:
Æ, Æsc
CↃꙆ, Oa
Ə, schwə
Ð, Eð
Ⅎ, digamma inⅎersum
Ᵹ, insular Ᵹ
Ꟑ, closed insular Ꟑ
Ȝ, yoȝ
Ⱶ, half h
Ɥ, Ɥh
𐌈, 𐌈e
Ŋ, eŋ
ᛝ, iᛝwaz
𐌎, e𐌎
Œ, œthel
ᛟ, ᛟthala
Ϻ, Ϻade
Ʃ, eʃ
ⵋ, antisigma
Þ, þorn
ꟓ, double þorn
Ƿ, ƿynn
ꟕ, double ƿynn
𐌘, 𐌘e
𐌙, 𐌙e
&, and per se &
⁊, tironian ⁊
Hi Visaa,
I have 6 of these but the rest of these I will have to look into.
Thanks for the input!
-Richard
Golly, you made my week! I love such comparative rarities. Roughly half a dozen were new and surprising.
In my Jitterbug 4 phone, a mixed blessing, I saw only a few “tofu” (See origin of the Noto fonts).
Right in my immediate neighborhood is a small plumbing company named for (quite likely) its founder. I see its panel trucks, showing “Æ Carter…” prominently, as the company name.
Alas, while (Ash) Carter was a national Cabinet secretary, I failed to publicize the close similarity.
I’ve found it difficult in past
decades to learn the same of “Œ”, and when I did, it was a modest surprise.
It would be a delight to read more about the the origins (if known, of the letter, as well as its name) of more of these.
Probably the origin of the contraction “ampersand” (which you alluded to) is best known. One such explanation said that it used to be the last letter (27th) of our alphabet.
Hi Vell!
I am very glad you enjoyed this post. It seems to get more traction that I would think. I do in fact have a post about the common keyboard symbols (which includes ampersand) that for some reason I did not link to. Thank you for that, as I will now link to it here as well: https://calligrascape.com/keyboard-symbology/
If you are interested, there is a good comment listing a whole bunch of new letters that I will be looking into in the future. That could be a good place to start 🙂
Let me know if you find any information and I will add it to this post.