Upsilon: Difference between revisions
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{{Greek Alphabet|letter=upsilon}} | {{Greek Alphabet|letter=upsilon}} | ||
'''Upsilon''' ({{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|ʌ|p|s|ɪ | '''Upsilon''' ({{IPAc-en|US|ˈ|ʌ|p|s|ɪ|l|ɒ|n|,_|ˈ|(|j|)|uː|p|-|,_|-|l|ən}}, {{IPAc-en|UK|(|j|)|uː|p|ˈ|s|aɪ|l|ən|,_|ˈ|ʊ|p|s|ɪ|l|ɒ|n|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Upsilon.wav}};<ref name=Chambers>{{cite encyclopedia |title=upsilon |encyclopedia=[[Chambers Dictionary]] |publisher=[[Chambers (publisher)|Chambers]] |year=2003 |edition=9th |isbn=0-550-10105-5}}</ref><ref name=Collins>{{cite encyclopedia |title=upsilon |encyclopedia=[[Collins English Dictionary]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |year=2018 |edition=13th |isbn=978-0-008-28437-4}}</ref>{{refn|{{cite Merriam-Webster|access-date=2016-01-22|Upsilon}}}}{{refn|{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Upsilon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221151730/https://www.lexico.com/definition/upsilon |url-status=dead |archive-date=2019-12-21 |title=Upsilon |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}} }}{{refn|{{cite Dictionary.com|access-date=2016-01-22|upsilon}}}}<ref>{{cite OED|upsilon}}</ref> uppercase '''Υ''', lowercase '''υ'''; {{langx|el|{{linktext|ύψιλον}}}} ''ýpsilon'' {{IPA|el|ˈipsilon|}}) or '''ypsilon''' {{IPAc-en|I|p|-}}<ref name="Chambers" /> is the twentieth letter of the [[Greek alphabet]]. In the system of [[Greek numerals]], {{langx|grc|Υʹ|label=none}} has a value of 400. It is derived from the [[phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]] [[Waw (letter)|waw]] [[Image:Phoenician waw.svg|20px]]. | ||
[[File:NAMA Alphabet grec.jpg|thumb|The Greek alphabet on a [[black figure]] vessel, with a V-shaped upsilon]] | [[File:NAMA Alphabet grec.jpg|thumb|The Greek alphabet on a [[black figure]] vessel, with a V-shaped upsilon]] | ||
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==Correspondence with Latin Y== | ==Correspondence with Latin Y== | ||
[[File:Y-like European letters.svg|thumb|[[U (Cyrillic)|Cyrillic '''У''']], [[Y|Latin '''Y''']] and Greek '''Υ''' (upsilon) and '''ϒ''' (hooked upsilon) in [[w:GNU FreeFont|FreeSerif]] – one of the few typefaces that distinguish between the Latin and the Greek form | [[File:Y-like European letters.svg|thumb|[[U (Cyrillic)|Cyrillic '''У''']], [[Y|Latin '''Y''']] and Greek '''Υ''' (upsilon) and '''ϒ''' (hooked upsilon) in [[w:GNU FreeFont|FreeSerif]] – one of the few typefaces that distinguish between the Latin and the Greek form]] | ||
The use of [[Y]] in Latin dates back to the first century BC. It was used to transcribe loanwords from Greek, so it was not a native sound of Latin and was usually pronounced {{IPA|/u/}} or {{IPA|/i/}}. The latter pronunciation was the most common in the Classical period and was used mostly by uneducated people. The [[Roman Emperor]] [[Claudius]] proposed introducing a [[Claudian letters|new letter]] into the [[Latin alphabet]] to transcribe the so-called {{lang|la|sonus medius}} (a short vowel before labial consonants), but in inscriptions, the new letter was sometimes used for Greek upsilon instead. | The use of [[Y]] in Latin dates back to the first century BC. It was used to transcribe loanwords from Greek, so it was not a native sound of Latin and was usually pronounced {{IPA|/u/}} or {{IPA|/i/}}. The latter pronunciation was the most common in the Classical period and was used mostly by uneducated people. The [[Roman Emperor]] [[Claudius]] proposed introducing a [[Claudian letters|new letter]] into the [[Latin alphabet]] to transcribe the so-called {{lang|la|sonus medius}} (a short vowel before labial consonants), but in inscriptions, the new letter was sometimes used for Greek upsilon instead. | ||
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Upsilon is known as Pythagoras' letter, or the Samian letter, because [[Pythagoras]] used it as an emblem of the path of virtue or vice.<ref>Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. ''The reader's handbook of famous names in fiction, allusions, references, proverbs, plots, stories, and poems'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=n3kjAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA956&q=%22samian%20letter%22 Vol. 2, p. 956]. Lippincott, 1899.</ref> As the Roman writer [[Persius]] wrote in ''Satire III'': | Upsilon is known as Pythagoras' letter, or the Samian letter, because [[Pythagoras]] used it as an emblem of the path of virtue or vice.<ref>Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. ''The reader's handbook of famous names in fiction, allusions, references, proverbs, plots, stories, and poems'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=n3kjAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA956&q=%22samian%20letter%22 Vol. 2, p. 956]. Lippincott, 1899.</ref> As the Roman writer [[Persius]] wrote in ''Satire III'': | ||
{{quote|and the letter which spreads out into Pythagorean branches has pointed out to you the steep path which rises on the right.<ref>{{cite book|author=Persius|title=Satires|year=1920|url=https://archive.org/stream/juvenalpersiuswi00juveuoft/juvenalpersiuswi00juveuoft_djvu.txt|author-link=Persius}}</ref>}} | {{quote|and the letter which spreads out into Pythagorean branches has pointed out to you the steep path which rises on the right.<ref>{{cite book|author=Persius|title=Satires|year=1920|url=https://archive.org/stream/juvenalpersiuswi00juveuoft/juvenalpersiuswi00juveuoft_djvu.txt|author-link=Persius}}</ref>}} | ||
[[Lactantius]], an early Christian author ( | [[Lactantius]], an early Christian author ({{Circa|240|320}}), refers to this: | ||
{{quote|For they say that the course of human life resembles the letter Y, because every one of men, when he has reached the threshold of early youth, and has arrived at the place "where the way divides itself into two parts," is in doubt, and hesitates, and does not know to which side he should rather turn himself.<ref>{{cite book|author=Lactatius|title=The Divine Institutes|pages=Book VI Chapter III|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_VII/Lactantius/The_Divine_Institutes/Book_VI/Chap._III|author-link=Lactantius}}</ref>}} | {{quote|For they say that the course of human life resembles the letter Y, because every one of men, when he has reached the threshold of early youth, and has arrived at the place "where the way divides itself into two parts," is in doubt, and hesitates, and does not know to which side he should rather turn himself.<ref>{{cite book|author=Lactatius|title=The Divine Institutes|pages=Book VI Chapter III|url=http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_VII/Lactantius/The_Divine_Institutes/Book_VI/Chap._III|author-link=Lactantius}}</ref>}} | ||
Latest revision as of 20:18, 20 October 2025
Template:Short description Template:Hatnote group Template:Pp-pc Template:Greek Alphabet
Upsilon (Template:IPAc-en, Template:IPAc-en;[1][2]Template:RefnTemplate:RefnTemplate:Refn[3] uppercase Υ, lowercase υ; Template:Langx ýpsilon Script error: No such module "IPA".) or ypsilon Template:IPAc-en[1] is the twentieth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, Template:Langx has a value of 400. It is derived from the Phoenician waw File:Phoenician waw.svg.
Etymology
The name of the letter was originally just Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang"., also called Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang"., hence hyoid, meaning 'shaped like the letter Script error: No such module "Lang".'), but the name changed to Script error: No such module "Lang". (=Script error: No such module "Lang". Script error: No such module "Lang"., 'u-plain' or 'u-simple') to distinguish it from Script error: No such module "Lang"., which had come to have the same Script error: No such module "IPA". pronunciation.[4]
Pronunciation
In early Attic Greek (6th century BCE), it was pronounced Template:IPAblink (a close back rounded vowel like the English "long o͞o").[5][6] In Classical Greek, it was pronounced Template:IPAblink (a close front rounded vowel), at least until 1030.[7] In Modern Greek, it is pronounced Script error: No such module "IPA".; in the digraphs Script error: No such module "IPA". and Script error: No such module "IPA"., as Script error: No such module "IPA". or Script error: No such module "IPA".; and in the digraph Script error: No such module "IPA". as Script error: No such module "IPA".. In ancient Greek, it occurred in both long and short versions, but Modern Greek does not have a length distinction.
As an initial letter in Classical Greek, it always carried the rough breathing (equivalent to h) as reflected in the many Greek-derived English words, such as those that begin with hyper- and hypo-. This rough breathing was derived from an older pronunciation that used a sibilant instead; this sibilant was not lost in Latin, giving rise to such cognates as super- (for hyper-) and sub- (for hypo-).
Upsilon participated as the second element in falling diphthongs, which have subsequently developed in various ways.
Correspondence with Latin Y
The use of Y in Latin dates back to the first century BC. It was used to transcribe loanwords from Greek, so it was not a native sound of Latin and was usually pronounced Script error: No such module "IPA". or Script error: No such module "IPA".. The latter pronunciation was the most common in the Classical period and was used mostly by uneducated people. The Roman Emperor Claudius proposed introducing a new letter into the Latin alphabet to transcribe the so-called Script error: No such module "Lang". (a short vowel before labial consonants), but in inscriptions, the new letter was sometimes used for Greek upsilon instead.
Four letters of the Latin alphabet arose from it: U, Y and, much later, V and W. In the Cyrillic script, the letters U (У, у) and Script error: No such module "Lang". (Ѵ, ѵ) arose from it.
In some languages, including German and Portuguese, the name upsilon (Script error: No such module "Lang". in German, Script error: No such module "Lang". in Portuguese) is used to refer to the Latin letter Y as well as the Greek letter. In some other languages, the (Latin) Y is referred to as a "Greek I" (Script error: No such module "Lang". in Spanish, Script error: No such module "Lang". in French), also noting its Greek origin.
Usage
- In particle physics the capital Greek letter ϒ denotes an Upsilon particle. Note that the symbol should always look like in order to avoid confusion with a Latin Y denoting the hypercharge. This may be done either with a font such as FreeSerif or with the dedicated Unicode character U+03D2 ϒ.
- Automobile manufacturer Lancia has a model called the Ypsilon.
- In the International Phonetic Alphabet, the symbol Template:Angbr IPA is used to represent a labiodental approximant.
- In astrophysics and physical cosmology, ϒ refers to the mass-to-light ratio.[8]
- In statistics, it is sometimes used instead of v or nu to indicate degrees of freedom.[9]
- In the Persian language, “one upsilon” is used to describe a positive amount close to 0 (zero).Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
Similar appearance
- A similar symbol Template:Unichar is used for the astrological sign of Aries.
Symbolism
Upsilon is known as Pythagoras' letter, or the Samian letter, because Pythagoras used it as an emblem of the path of virtue or vice.[10] As the Roman writer Persius wrote in Satire III: Template:Quote Lactantius, an early Christian author (Template:Circa), refers to this: Template:Quote
Character encodings
Upsilon and Coptic Ua characters.[11]
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
- Template:Unichar
Notes
External links
Template:Sister project Template:Sister project
- Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "template wrapper". Template:OEDsub
- ↑ W. Sidney Allen, Vox Graeca, 3rd ed., Cambridge 1987, p. 69.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ F. Lauritzen, "Michael the Grammarian's irony about Hypsilon. A step towards reconstructing Byzantine pronunciation", Byzantinoslavica, 67 (2009)
- ↑ Mihalas and McRae (1968), Galactic Astronomy (W. H. Freeman)
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham. The reader's handbook of famous names in fiction, allusions, references, proverbs, plots, stories, and poems, Vol. 2, p. 956. Lippincott, 1899.
- ↑ Unicode Code Charts: Greek and Coptic (Range: 0370-03FF)