S
/ˈɛs/noun
The nineteenth letter of the modern English alphabet.
Did you know?The English name of S descends from the ancient Semitic letter samekh, but the shape and sound were reshaped through Greek and Latin alphabet traditions.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Sinaitic / Proto-Canaanite
Semitic
sāmk
“A probable early ancestor of the letter, likely associated with a support or prop”
Phoenician
Phoenician
sāmēk
“The letter samekh, representing an /s/ sound”
Ancient Greek
Greek
sigma
“The Greek letter for the /s/ sound”
Etruscan
Etruscan
𐌔
“A letter used for the /s/ sound in the alphabet passed to Latin”
Latin
Latin
S
“The Roman letter used for the /s/ sound”
Old English
English
s
“The letter name in English alphabetic tradition”
Modern English
English
S
“The nineteenth letter of the English alphabet”