Editing U (section)

==History==
{{refimprove section |date=July 2023}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
! Proto-Sinaitic
! Phoenician<br />[[Waw (letter)|Waw]]
! Western Greek<br />[[Upsilon]]
! Latin<br />V
! Latin<br />U
|-
| [[File:Proto-semiticW-01.png|class=skin-invert-image|40px]]
| [[File:PhoenicianW-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|frameless|40x40px]]
| [[File:Greek Upsilon normal.svg|class=skin-invert-image|40px]]
| [[File:Capitalis monumentalis V.SVG|class=skin-invert-image|x30px]]
| [[File:Capitalis monumentalis U.SVG|class=skin-invert-image|x30px]]
|}
U derives from the Semitic [[waw (letter)|waw]], as does [[F]], and later, [[Y]], [[W]], and [[V]]. Its oldest ancestor goes back to [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]], and is probably from a hieroglyph of a mace or [[fowl]], representing the sound {{IPAblink|v}} or the sound {{IPAblink|w}}. This was borrowed to Phoenician, where it represented the sound {{IPAblink|w}}, and seldom the vowel {{IPAblink|u}}.

In [[Greek language|Greek]], two letters were adapted from the Phoenician waw. The letter was adapted, but split in two, with [[Digamma]] or wau {{angbr|{{script|Grek|Ϝ}}}} being adapted to represent {{IPAblink|w}}, and the second one being [[Upsilon]] {{angbr|{{script|Grek|Υ}}}}, which was originally adapted to represent {{IPAblink|u}}, later fronted, becoming {{IPAblink|y}}.

In [[Latin]], a stemless variant shape of the upsilon was borrowed in early times as U, taking the form of modern-day [[V]]{{snd}}either directly from the [[Western Greek alphabet]] or from the [[Etruscan alphabet]] as an intermediary{{snd}}to represent the same {{IPAslink|u}} sound, as well as the consonantal {{IPAslink|w}}, ''num''{{snd}}originally spelled ''<small>NVM</small>''{{snd}}was pronounced {{IPA|/num/}} and ''via'' was pronounced {{IPA|la|ˈwia|}}. From the 1st century AD on, depending on [[Vulgar Latin]] dialect, consonantal {{IPAslink|w}} developed into {{IPAslink|β}} (kept in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]), then later to {{IPAslink|v}}.

During the late [[Middle Ages]], two minuscule forms developed, which were both used for {{IPAslink|v}} or the vowel {{IPAslink|u}}. The pointed form {{angbr|v}} was written at the beginning of a word, while a rounded form {{angbr|u}} was used in the middle or end, regardless of sound. So whereas 'valour' and 'excuse' appeared as in modern printing, 'have' and 'upon' were printed 'haue' and 'vpon', respectively. The first recorded use of {{angbr|u}} and {{angbr|v}} as distinct letters is in a Gothic alphabet from 1386, where {{angbr|v}} preceded {{angbr|u}}. Printers eschewed capital {{angbr|U}} in favor of {{angbr|V}} into the 17th century and the distinction between the two letters was not fully accepted by the French Academy until 1762.<ref>cf. "U," in ''Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise'', 4th ed., 2: 893. 2 vols. Paris: Chez la Veuve de Bernard Brunet, Imprimeur de l'Académie Françoiſe, 1762. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k12803850/f901.item; and "U," in ''Dictionnaire de l'Académie Françoise'', 4th ed., 2: 893. 2 vols. Paris: Chez la Veuve de Bernard Brunet, Imprimeur de l'Académie Françoiſe, 1762. https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k12803850/f901.item.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Pflughaupt |first=Laurent |url=https://archive.org/details/letterbyletteral0000pflu |title=Letter by Letter: An Alphabetical Miscellany |publisher=[[Princeton Architectural Press]] |translator-first=Gregory |translator-last=Bruhn |date=2008 |isbn=978-1-56898-737-8 |pages=123–124 |access-date=2009-06-21 |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=The cited source does not identify the 1386 manuscript nor does it include a list of references.|date=June 2023}} The rounded variant became the modern-day version of U and its former pointed form became [[V]].