Upsilon

Upsilon (Template:IPAc-en, Template:IPAc-en;<ref name=Chambers>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref><ref name=Collins>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>Template:RefnTemplate:RefnTemplate:Refn<ref>Template:Cite OED</ref> uppercase Υ, lowercase υ; Template:Langx ýpsilon {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) or ypsilon Template:IPAc-en<ref name="Chambers" /> 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.

File:NAMA Alphabet grec.jpg

The Greek alphabet on a black figure vessel, with a V-shaped upsilon

Etymology

The name of the letter was originally just {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, also called {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, hence hyoid, meaning 'shaped like the letter {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}'), but the name changed to {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (={{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, 'u-plain' or 'u-simple') to distinguish it from {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, which had come to have the same {{#invoke:IPA|main}} pronunciation.<ref>W. Sidney Allen, Vox Graeca, 3rd ed., Cambridge 1987, p. 69.</ref>

Pronunciation

In early Attic Greek (6th century BCE), it was pronounced Template:IPAblink (a close back rounded vowel like the English "long o͞o").<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Classical Greek, it was pronounced Template:IPAblink (a close front rounded vowel), at least until 1030.<ref>F. Lauritzen, "Michael the Grammarian's irony about Hypsilon. A step towards reconstructing Byzantine pronunciation", Byzantinoslavica, 67 (2009)</ref> In Modern Greek, it is pronounced {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; in the digraphs {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, as {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; and in the digraph {{#invoke:IPA|main}} as {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. 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

File:Y-like European letters.svg

Cyrillic У, Latin Y and Greek Υ (upsilon) and ϒ (hooked upsilon) in 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 {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. 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 {{#invoke:Lang|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 {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (Ѵ, ѵ) arose from it.

In some languages, including German and Portuguese, the name upsilon ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in German, {{#invoke:Lang|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" ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} in Spanish, {{#invoke:Lang|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 <math>\,\Upsilon</math> 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.<ref>Mihalas and McRae (1968), Galactic Astronomy (W. H. Freeman)</ref>
• In statistics, it is sometimes used instead of v or nu to indicate degrees of freedom.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• In the Persian language, “one upsilon” is used to describe a positive amount close to 0 (zero).Template:Cn

Similar appearance

• A similar symbol Template:Unichar is used for the astrological sign of Aries.

Symbolism

File:Geoffrey Tory Ypsilon.jpg

Geoffroy Tory Ypsilon

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, Vol. 2, p. 956. Lippincott, 1899.</ref> 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.<ref>Unicode Code Charts: Greek and Coptic (Range: 0370-03FF)</ref>

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External links

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