Editing Cedilla (section)

==Origin==
[[File:Visigothic Z-C cedille.svg|thumb|upright|Origin of the cedilla from the [[Visigothic script|Visigothic]] z]]
[[File:Modernist Ç.png|thumb|upright|A conventional "ç" and 'modernist' cedilla "c̦" (right). (Helvetica and Akzidenz-Grotesk Book)]]
The tail originated in Spain as the bottom half of a miniature [[cursive]] [[z]]. The word ''cedilla'' is the [[diminutive]] of the [[Old Spanish language|Old Spanish]] name for this letter, {{lang|osp|[[zeta (letter)|ceda]]}} ({{lang|osp|zeta}}).<ref>For {{lang|osp|cedilla}} being the diminutive of {{lang|osp|ceda}}, see [http://buscon.rae.es/draeI/SrvltGUIBusUsual?TIPO_HTML=2&LEMA=cedilla definition of ''cedilla''], {{lang|es|Diccionario de la lengua española}}, 22nd edition, [[Real Academia Española]] {{in lang|es}}, which can be seen in context by accessing the [http://www.rae.es/ site of the Real Academia] and searching for {{lang|es|cedilla}}. (This was accessed 27 July 2006.)</ref> Modern Spanish and isolationist Galician no longer use this diacritic, although it is used in [[Reintegrationism|Reintegrationist Galician]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]],<ref name="OED2">{{OED|cedilla}}</ref> [[Catalan language|Catalan]], [[Occitan language|Occitan]], and [[French language|French]], which gives [[English language|English]] the alternative spellings of ''cedille'', from [[French language|French]] "{{lang|fr|cédille}}", and the [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] form {{lang|pt|cedilha}}. An obsolete spelling of ''cedilla'' is ''cerilla''.<ref name="OED2"/> The earliest use in English cited by the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''<ref name="OED2"/> is a 1599 Spanish-English dictionary and grammar.<ref>Minsheu, John (1599) ''Percyvall's (R.) Dictionarie in Spanish and English'' (as enlarged by J. Minsheu) Edm. Bollifant, London, {{OCLC|3497853}}</ref> Chambers' ''Cyclopædia''<ref>Chambers, Ephraim (1738) ''Cyclopædia; or, an universal dictionary of arts and sciences'' (2nd ed.) {{OCLC|221356381}}</ref> is cited for the printer-trade variant ''[[c-cedilla|ceceril]]'' in use in 1738.<ref name="OED2"/>  Its use in English is not universal and applies to loan words from [[French language|French]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] such as ''[[façade]]'', ''[[limaçon]]'' and ''[[cachaça]]'' (often typed ''facade'', ''limacon'' and ''cachaca'' because of lack of ''ç'' keys on English-language keyboards).

With the advent of [[modern typography|typeface modernism]], the calligraphic nature of the cedilla was thought somewhat jarring on [[sans-serif]] typefaces, and so some designers instead substituted a comma design, which could be made bolder and more compatible with the style of the text.{{efn|Fonts with this design include [[Akzidenz-Grotesk]] and [[Helvetica]], especially the Neue Haas Grotesk digitisation.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jacquerye|first1=Denis Moyogo|title=Comments on cedilla and comma below (revision 2)|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2013/13155r-cedilla-comma.pdf|publisher=Unicode Consortium|access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Neue Haas Grotesk|url=http://www.fontbureau.com/nhg/|publisher=The Font Bureau, Inc.|page=Introduction}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linotype.com/6598/neuehaasgrotesk.html |title=Neue Haas Grotesk - Font News |publisher=Linotype.com |access-date=2013-09-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christianschwartz.com/haasgrotesk.shtml |title=Schwartzco Inc |publisher=Christianschwartz.com |access-date=2013-09-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Akzidenz Grotesk Buch|url=http://www.fonts.com/font/berthold/akzidenz-grotesk-bq/collection-volume|publisher=Berthold/Monotype|access-date=3 July 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150704103208/http://www.fonts.com/font/berthold/akzidenz-grotesk-bq/collection-volume|archive-date=4 July 2015}}</ref>}} This reduces the visual distinction between the cedilla and the [[diacritical comma]].