Nu
/nuː/noun
The thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, written Ν or ν.
Did you know?Greek nu was adapted from the Phoenician letter nun, whose name probably meant “fish”; its descendant ultimately became the modern Latin letter N.
Etymological Timeline
Late 2nd millennium BCE
Proto-Canaanite
𐤍
“An early alphabetic sign, probably associated with a fish”
1st millennium BCE
Phoenician
𐤍 nun
“The letter nun, traditionally connected with “fish””
1st millennium BCE
Aramaic
𐡍 nun
“A Semitic alphabetic letter descended from Phoenician nun”
Ancient Greek
Greek
νῦ (nu)
“The thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet”
Late Antiquity
Greek/Latin
nu
“The Greek letter name used in scholarly and scientific writing”
Modern English
English
nu
“The Greek letter ν, used in mathematics, physics, and other technical fields”