N
/ɛn/noun
The fourteenth letter of the English alphabet, also used as a symbol in mathematics, science, and writing.
Did you know?The Phoenician name nun meant “fish,” and the letter’s earliest ancestor is traditionally interpreted as a pictograph of a fish, though the exact original image remains debated.
Etymological Timeline
2nd Millennium BCE
Proto-Sinaitic
𐤍-like sign
“A sign traditionally interpreted as representing a fish”
c. 1050 BCE
Phoenician
𐤍 nun
“The consonant /n/; its name meant “fish””
Ancient Hebrew
נ nun
נון nun
“The letter for /n/, named nun”
Ancient Greek
Greek
Ν ν nu
“The Greek letter representing /n/”
1st Century BCE
Latin
N
“The Latin letter inherited from Greek nu”
Old English
English
n
“The letter used to represent the /n/ sound”
Modern English
English
N
“The fourteenth letter of the alphabet”