U

U, u (orig. V, v, a modification of the Greek U, Marc. Vict. p. 2459 P.), the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet ( i and j being counted as one), a vowel, which was early distinguished by the old grammarians from the consonant V, though represented by the same sign; v. the letter V. The long u corresponded in sound to the Greek ou, and to the German and Italian u (Engl. oo ); the short u seems to have been an obscure sound resembling the German ü and the French u; hence ŭ sometimes represented the Greek u, as in fuga from phugê, cuminum from kuminon, etc.; and sometimes was exchanged with the Latin i, as in opt i mus and opt u mus, carn u fex and carn i fex, sat u ra and sat i ra, in the old inscriptions CAP V TALIS and NOMIN V S LATINI, in the emperor Augustus's pronunciation of s i mus for s u mus, etc.; v. the letter I. For the affinity of u with o and with v, v. under those letters. U inserted in Alcumena, Alcumaeo, Æsculapius, Tecumessa, drachuma al.; v. Ritschl in Rhein. Mus. Neue Folge, 8, p. 475 sq.; 9, p. 480; and cf. the letters A and O.—As an abbreviation, V. (as the sign of the vowel u ) stands for uti, so V. V. uti voverant; and especially for urbs (i. e. Roma); as, U. C. (urbis conditae), or A. U. C. (ab urbe conditā). For its meanings when used as a sign of the consonant V, v. under the letter V fin.