U, u: Like F, From the Semitic
waw, "peg," but with the bottom stem lopped off altogether.
U is the immediate ancestor of letters
V and
W, which as late at the Seventeenth Century, were not represented by distinct letters, so the word
value would have been
ualue. Given that in the Middle Ages,
J had not yet become a letter a either,
juvenile would have been
iuuenile.
Uranus: Roman sky god, husband of Gaiea, "earth," from the Greek
ouranos, "heaven," possibly akin to the Hitite
wara, "to burn," therefore, "giver of light" (?)
Coming November 30th, Return of the Stoopid Contest
Published on November 21, 2011 03:51