K
/keɪ/noun
The eleventh letter of the English alphabet, representing the consonant sound /k/ in most contexts.
Did you know?The ancestor of K was the Phoenician letter kaph, whose name meant “palm of the hand” and whose symbol was likely based on a hand viewed from the side.
Etymological Timeline
Late 2nd millennium BCE
Proto-Sinaitic
𐤊
“An early consonant sign, probably connected with the image of a hand or palm”
c. 1050 BCE
Phoenician
𐤊 kaph
““Palm of the hand”; the letter represented a /k/ sound”
c. 800 BCE
Greek
kappa (Κ, κ)
“The Greek letter kappa, inherited from Phoenician kaph”
c. 700 BCE
Etruscan
𐌊
“A borrowed form of Greek kappa used for the /k/ sound”
7th Century BCE
Latin
K
“The Latin letter K, adopted from Etruscan for the /k/ sound”
Old English
English
k
“A letter used in the English writing system, alongside the more common C”
Modern English
English
K
“The eleventh alphabetic letter, pronounced “kay””