w

See also: W, w/, ա, ⴍ, ԝ, and Appendix:Variations of "w"

w U+0077, w LATIN SMALL LETTER W ← v [U+0076] Basic Latin x → [U+0078]

Character variations

ʷ U+02B7, ʷ MODIFIER LETTER SMALL W ← ʶ [U+02B6] Spacing Modifier Letters ʸ → [U+02B8]

ｗ U+FF57, ｗ FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER W ← ｖ [U+FF56] Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms ｘ → [U+FF58]

Languages (51)

Translingual • English

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Basque • Catalan • Czech • Danish • Dutch • Egyptian • Estonian • Finnish • French • Fula • Gothic • Haitian Creole • Hawaiian • Hungarian • Ido • Indonesian • Italian • Japanese • Kankanaey • Kashubian • Lower Sorbian • Malay • Maltese • Maori • Navajo • North Frisian • Norwegian • Nupe • Old English • Old Polish • Polish • Portuguese • Romani • Romanian • Silesian • Slovak • Slovincian • Spanish • Swedish • Tagalog • Tlingit • Turkmen • Vietnamese • Welsh • White Hmong • Yele • Yoruba • Zhuang • Zulu

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Page categories

Translingual

English Wikipedia has an article on:

w

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• uu, vv (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• Pronunciation of IPA [wːɑː, ɑwwɑː] with the sound [w]:

  (file)

Letter

w (upper case W)

1. The twenty-third letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.
2. The first letter of callsigns allocated to American broadcast television and radio stations east of the Mississippi river.

Ligature

w (obsolete)

1. ⟨uu⟩
2. ⟨vv⟩

Symbol

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Voiced labial-velar approximant

Wikipedia

w

1. (IPA) a voiced labial-velar (or, more precisely, labialized velar) approximant.
2. (superscript ʷ, IPA) labialization ([w]-coloring) or a consonant or vowel; or a weak, fleeting or epenthetic [w].

   Specifically, on a vowel letter: an [u] off-glide (diphthong) or a protruded (as opposed to compressed) vowel, e.g. Swedish /yʷː/.

3. (superscript ʷ, NAPA) labialization.
4. (Cyrillic, phonetics) A voiced bilabial fricative, equivalent to IPA ⟨β⟩.

Gallery

• Letter styles
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase versions of W, in normal and italic type
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase W in Fraktur

See also

• (Latin script):  Aa  Bb  Cc  Dd  Ee  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Jj  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn  Oo  Pp  Qq  Rr  Sſs  Tt  Uu  Vv  Ww  Xx  Yy  Zz
• (Variations of letter W):  Ẃẃ  Ẁẁ  Ŵŵ  Ẅẅ  Ẇẇ  Ẉẉ  W̊ẘ  Ⱳⱳ  ᴡ  Ｗｗ
• (Letter combinations):  Ꜳꜳ  Ææ  ᴁᴭ  Ǽǽ  Ǣǣ  Ꜵꜵ  Åå  Ꜷꜷ  Ꜹꜹ  Ꜻꜻ  Ꜽꜽ  ct  ȸ  DZDzdz  DŽDždž  ᴂᵆ  ᴔ  &  ff  fi  ffi  fl  ffl  ℔  IJij  LJLjlj  Ỻỻ  Ŋŋ  NJNjnj  Œœ  ɶ  Ꝏꝏ  Ȣȣᴕ  ȹ  ẞß  ſtst  ᵫ  Ůů  Ww  Ꝡꝡ
• Turned: ʍ
• Ƿ
• ʬ

Other representations of W:

NATO phonetic: Whiskey Morse code: ·–– Braille: ⠺ ASL Manual: W

Signal flag:

Semaphore:

English

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ˈdʌbəl.juː/, /ˈdʌbə.juː/, /ˈdʌbiː.(j)uː/, /ˈdʌb.juː/, /ˈdʌb.jə/, /ˈdʌb/, /ˈdʌbz/, /ˈdʊbəl.juː/

Audio (US):

(file)

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /w/
• (letter name) Rhymes: -ʌbjə, -ʌb, -ʌbəlju

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W, plural ws or w's)

1. The twenty-third letter of the English alphabet, called double-u and written in the Latin script.

Derived terms

• w-anchor
• w-buffer
• w-buffering
• w-shingling
• w-w
• w-word

See also

• (Latin-script letters) letter; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Etymology 2

Abbreviations.

Noun

w

1. watt
2. west
3. witness
4. work
5. Abbreviation of win.

Adjective

w

1. (cricket) wide
2. white
3. (from noun sense 5) successful, admirable, good

   W rizz.

Preposition

w

1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of with.

   Alternative form: w/

   • 2013, Jessica Burkhart, Home for Christmas (Canterwood Crest; Super Special), New York, NY: Aladdin M!X, →ISBN, page 44:

     This was supposed 2 be a SURPRISE, but the girls got it out of me. ☺ I wanted all of us 2 spend Xmas 2gether. By all, I mean r horses 2. Sooo . . . B, C, G, Z, & D, you have guests waiting @ BC. Zane, Valentino, Scout, Nero, & Polo r there! Now we can ride r horses when we r not volunteering & spend Xmas w them. ☺

2. with a wing (on the Enneagram)

   When Sharon took the Enneagram test, she came out as a 3w2.

Basque

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ube bikoi̯t͡s̻/, [u.β̞e̞ β̞i.ko̞i̯t͡s̻]

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

1. The twenty-fourth letter of the Basque alphabet, called uve bikoitz and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• Used chiefly in recent loanwords and foreign proper nouns.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ü ü), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [ˈbe ˈðob.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [ˈve ˈðob.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈve ˈðo.ble]

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

1. The twenty-third letter of the Catalan alphabet, called ve doble and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• Used chiefly in recent loanwords and foreign proper nouns.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) lletres; A a (À à), B b, C c (Ç ç), D d, E e (É é, È è), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í, Ï ï), J j, K k, L l (L·L l·l), M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ò ò), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú, Ü ü), V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Czech

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

1. The thirty-seventh letter of the Czech alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) písmeno; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Č č, D d, Ď ď, E e, É é, Ě ě, F f, G g, H h, Ch ch, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ň ň, O o, Ó ó, P p, Q q, R r, Ř ř, S s, Š š, T t, Ť ť, U u, Ú ú, Ů ů, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Ý ý, Z z, Ž ž

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɔbəlveː/, [ˈd̥ʌb̥əlˌveːˀ]

Letter

w (uppercase W)

1. the twenty-third letter of the Danish alphabet

See also

• (Latin-script letters) bogstav; A a (Á á), B b, C c, D d, E e (É é), F f, G g, H h, I i (Í í), J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó), P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u (Ú ú), V v, W w, X x, Y y (Ý ý), Z z, Æ æ (Ǽ ǽ), Ø ø (Ǿ ǿ), Å å

Dutch

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ʋeː/
• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ʋ/ in a syllable onset; /u̯/ in a coda

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eː
• Hyphenation: w

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

1. the twenty-third letter of the Dutch alphabet

See also

• Previous letter: v
• Next letter: x

Egyptian

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /uː/
  • Conventional anglicization: u

Particle

 enclitic

1. (Old Egyptian) not; used to negate the subjunctive or prospective in wishes and commands

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of w  

w

Noun

 m

1. area, district
2. administrative district
3. nome [since the New Kingdom]

Inflection

Declension of w (masculine)

singular	w
dual	wwj
plural	ww

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of w  

w	w
	[Old Kingdom]

Pronoun

 sg 1. enclitic (‘dependent’) pronoun

1. alternative form of wj (“I, me”)

References

• Erman, Adolf; Grapow, Hermann (1926), Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎, volume 1, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 243.1–243.8
• James P[eter] Allen (2010), Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 51, 198, 415.

Estonian

Pronunciation

• (letter name, kaksisvee): IPA^(key): /kɑk.sisˈveːː/

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Estonian alphabet, called kaksisvee and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) täht; A a, B b (C c), D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p (Q q), R r, S s, Š š, Z z, Ž ž, T t, U u, V v (W w), Õ õ, Ä ä, Ö ö, Ü ü (X x, Y y)

Finnish

Etymology

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on those of Swedish, German and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and w for information on the development of the glyph itself.

Pronunciation

• Audio; “kaksoisvee, Waltari”:

  (file)

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

1. A letter of the Finnish alphabet, called kaksoisvee and written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• In the Finnish alphabet, w is a variant of v.
• Used only in loanwords, old/archaic language and proper names with old spelling; see the usage notes for W.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) kirjain; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s (Š š), T t, U u, V v (W w), X x, Y y, Z z (Ž ž), Å å, Ä ä, Ö ö

French

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /du.blə.ve/

• Audio:

  (file)

Letter

w (uppercase W)

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

Fula

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /w/

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

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

Usage notes

• Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).

See also

• (Latin-script letters) karfeeje; ', A a, B b, Mb mb, Ɓ ɓ, C c, D d, Nd nd, Ɗ ɗ, E e, F f, G g, Ng ng, Ɠ ɠ, H h, I i, J j, Nj nj, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ŋ ŋ, Ñ ñ, Ɲ ɲ, O o, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, W w, Y y, Ƴ ƴ

Gothic

Romanization

w

1. romanization of 𐍅

Haitian Creole

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /w/

Pronoun

w

1. Contraction of ou.

Hawaiian

Alternative forms

• (letter name) wē

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ˈweː/, [ˈʋeː]
• (phoneme) [w ~ v]

Letter

w

1. The twelfth letter of the Hawaiian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a (Ā ā), E e (Ē ē), I i (Ī ī), O o (Ō ō), U u (Ū ū), H h, K k, L l, M m, N n, P p, W w, ʻ

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): [ˈv]
• (letter name): IPA^(key): [ˈduplɒveː]

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

1. A letter of the extended Hungarian alphabet, called dupla vé and written in the Latin script.

Declension

Inflection (stem in long/high vowel, front unrounded harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	w	w-k
accusative	w-t	w-ket
dative	w-nek	w-knek
instrumental	w-vel	w-kkel
causal-final	w-ért	w-kért
translative	w-vé	w-kké
terminative	w-ig	w-kig
essive-formal	w-ként	w-kként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	w-ben	w-kben
superessive	w-n	w-ken
adessive	w-nél	w-knél
illative	w-be	w-kbe
sublative	w-re	w-kre
allative	w-hez	w-khez
elative	w-ből	w-kből
delative	w-ről	w-kről
ablative	w-től	w-ktől
non-attributive possessive – singular	w-é	w-ké
non-attributive possessive – plural	w-éi	w-kéi

Possessive forms of w

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	w-m	w-im
2nd person sing.	w-d	w-id
3rd person sing.	w-je	w-i
1st person plural	w-nk	w-ink
2nd person plural	w-tek	w-itek
3rd person plural	w-jük	w-ik

See also

• (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, Z z, Zs zs. Only in the extended alphabet: Q q W w X x Y y. Commonly used: ch. Also defined: à ë. In surnames (selection): ä aa cz ds eé eö ew oe oó th ts ÿ.

Further reading

• w in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Ido

Pronunciation

• (context pronunciation) IPA^(key): /w/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /we/

Letter

w (upper case W)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) litero; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (context pronunciation) IPA^(key): /w/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /wɛ/

Letter

w (upper case W)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) huruf; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Etymology 2

Pronoun

w

1. (text messaging, slang) abbreviation of gue

   Synonym: gw

Italian

Letter

w f or m (invariable, lower case, upper case W)

1. the twenty-third letter of the Latin alphabet, called doppia vu or vu doppia in Italian

Usage notes

• The letter W is not considered part of the Italian alphabet. It is found mainly in loanwords.

Japanese

Etymology

Short for (笑) (warai, “laughing”).

Punctuation mark

w

1. (Internet slang, often repeated) LOL; an expression of amusement or laughter.

   このバカｗｗｗｗｗｗｗ(´∀`*)

   kono baka ｗｗｗｗｗｗｗ (´ ∀ ` *)

   you silly fool lol

   • c. 2017 April, anonymous author, “untitled”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name) (copypasta):

     ちょ ｗｗｗ お前(まえ)のツイート伸(の)びすぎ ｗｗｗ 有(ゆう)名(めい)人(じん)じゃん ｗｗｗｗｗ

     cho ｗｗｗ omae no tsuīto nobisugi ｗｗｗ yūmeijin jan ｗｗｗｗｗ

     yo hol up, your tweet's crazy popular 🔥😂 you're goddamn famous 😂

Usage notes

• w (w) can be used multiple times in a row, as in the examples above; it is sometimes repeated to quite lengthy extents.

Derived terms

• 草(くさ) (kusa)

Related terms

• (笑(わらい)) (warai), (藁(わら)) (wara)
• ワロス (warosu), ワロタ (warota), ワラタ (warata)

Kankanaey

Etymology

Borrowed from Tagalog w. Letter pronunciation is influenced by English w.

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /dobolˈju/ [do.bʊlˈju]
  • Rhymes: -u
• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /w/ [w]

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) letra; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, Ñ ñ, Ng ng, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

References

• Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (2016), Ortograpiya di Kankanaëy [Kankanaey Orthography]‎ (in Kankanaey and Tagalog), →ISBN, pages 10-11

Kashubian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈv/ (before a voiced consonant)
• IPA^(key): /ˈf/ (before a voiceless consonant)
• Syllabification: w

Etymology 1

The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Kashubian alphabet article on Wikipedia for more, and w for development of the glyph itself.

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

1. The thirtieth letter of the Kashubian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ą ą, àã, B b, C c, D d, E e, É é, Ë ë, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, Ł ł, M m, N n, O o, Ò ò, Ó ó, Ô ô, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, Ù ù, W w, Y y, Z z, Ż ż

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁en-

Proto-Indo-European *h₁énder.

Proto-Slavic *vъ(n)

Kashubian w

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *vъ(n).

Preposition

w

1. denotes inessive position; in, at, on
2. denotes illative movement; into, in, to
3. denotes an amount or number; in, as, in a group of
4. denotes position in time; in, on

Alternative forms

• we, wew

Further reading

• Stefan Ramułt (1893), “v”, in Słownik języka pomorskiego czyli kaszubskiego (in Kashubian), page 241
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “w, we”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎, volume 2, page 1251
• “w”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (before most vowels) /w/
• Silent before consonants and word-initially before ⟨o⟩ and ⟨u⟩ (but not ⟨ó⟩)

Etymology 1

Letter

w (upper case W)

1. The thirtieth letter of the Lower Sorbian alphabet, called wej and written in the Latin script.

Etymology 2

From Proto-Slavic *vъ(n), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én.

Alternative forms

• we (especially before labial consonants and consonant clusters)

Preposition

w (with locative)

1. in

See also

• See Template:list:Latin script letters/dsb.

Malay

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

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

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Maltese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /w/

Etymology 1

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

1. The twenty-seventh letter of the Maltese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) ittra; A a, B b, Ċ ċ, D d, E e, F f, Ġ ġ, G g, Għ għ, H h, Ħ ħ, I i, Ie ie, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Ż ż, Z z

Etymology 2

Conjunction

w

1. superseded spelling of u, before or after a vowel

Maori

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /w/, [w]

Letter

w (upper case W)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Maori alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) A a, Ā ā, E e, Ē ē, H h, I i, Ī ī, K k, M m, N n, O o, Ō ō, P p, R r, T t, U u, Ū ū, W w, Ng ng, Wh wh

Navajo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /w/, /ɣ/

Letter

w (upper case W)

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

Usage notes

The letter ⟨w⟩ is used for the phoneme /w/, but also for /ɣ/ before a back vowel, where that is pronounced [ɣʷ].

North Frisian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [v] (generally)
• IPA^(key): [f] (Sylt, except at the start of a word or stressed syllable)

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

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

Usage notes

• Word-internal and final ⟨w⟩ alternates with ⟨f⟩ in many cases. In Föhr-Amrum and Mooring Frisian this alternation simply reflects the pronunciation: voiced [v] and devoiced [f] respectively. It is true that written ⟨w⟩ might be devoiced in certain clusters, e.g. dü skreewst, but careful enunciation maintains [v] in these cases, so the spelling ⟨w⟩ is justified. On Amrum (but not on Föhr), final unstressed ⟨ew⟩ is pronounced [o].
• Sylt Frisian has lost the voice distinction in unstressed position. Therefore ⟨w⟩ frequently represents [f] in this dialect. Complicating matters more, Sylt Frisian also replaces ⟨w⟩ with ⟨v⟩ under certain circumstances (see below). This means that all of ⟨w, v, f⟩ may alternate in one word stem without there being any difference in pronunciation. Some stems are non-alternating; they keep ⟨f⟩ throughout (see e.g. Wüf, Filosoof). However, most are alternating; they use ⟨w⟩ before vowels, ⟨v⟩ word-finally after long or unstressed vowels, ⟨f⟩ word-finally after short stressed vowels and generally in consonant clusters (compare the conjugation of skriiv).

See also

• (North Frisian letters): a, ä, å, ā, b, c, d, đ, e, ē, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, ö, p, r, s, t, u, ü, v, w (q, x, y, z)

Norwegian

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ˈdɔbəlt.ˌʋeː/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /ʋ/, /v/

• Audio:

  (file)

Letter

w

1. The 23rd letter of the Norwegian alphabet.

Usage notes

• Only appears in loanwords from e.g. German.

Nupe

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /w/

Letter

w (lower case, upper case W)

1. The twenty-seventh letter of the Nupe alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) banki; A a (Á á, À à), B b, C c, D d, Dz dz, E e (É é, È è), F f, G g, Gb gb, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì), J j, K k, Kp kp, L l, M m (Ḿ ḿ, M̀ m̀, M̄ m̄), N n (Ń ń, Ǹ ǹ, N̄ n̄), O o (Ó ó, Ò ò), P p, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, Ts ts, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù), V v, W w, Y y, Z z, Zh zh

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /w/

Letter

w

1. A letter of the Old English alphabet, written in the Latin script., used in modern texts

Usage notes

• This letter is commonly used in modern texts to transcribe the letter ⟨Ƿ⟩ in order to avoid confusion with ⟨p⟩. While Ƿ was the most common letter used to transcribe this sound, ⟨u⟩ and ⟨uu⟩, the ancestor of modern English w, were also used.

Old Polish

Alternative forms

• we

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁en-

Proto-Indo-European *h₁énder.

Proto-Slavic *vъ(n)

Old Polish w

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *vъ(n). First attested in the first half of the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /v/, /f/

Preposition

w

1. denotes illative movement; into [with accusative]
   1. denotes contact because of movement, i.e. to bump into something [with accusative]
2. denotes allative movement; to, towards [with accusative]
3. used in temporal constructions to create adverbs from nouns [with accusative]
4. denotes a goal or aim; for [with accusative or locative]
5. denotes function; in the role of; as [with accusative or locative]
6. denotes a manner; in [with accusative or locative]
7. denotes instrumental usage [with accusative or locative]
8. used with some nouns to denote physical or temporal measure [with accusative or locative]
9. denotes the amount of participants [with accusative]
10. denotes a change of state; into [with accusative]
11. denotes the intended addressee of a statement; at [with accusative or locative]
12. used in some syntactical constructions with verbs [with accusative]
13. denotes inessive position; in [with locative]
14. denotes position in time; in [with locative]
15. denotes cause; because of [with locative]
16. used in some noun constructions to denote "in the pattern of" [with locative]
17. denotes state; in [with locative]

Derived terms

adverb

• w jedno

preposition

• w imię

Descendants

• Polish: w, we
• Silesian: w, we, wy

References

• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “w”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN