View source for Œ

{{short description|Ligature of the Latin letters O and E}}
{{other uses|OE (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox grapheme
| name = Œ
| letter = Œ œ ɶ
| image = File:Latin ligature OE.svg
| imageclass = skin-invert-image
| imagesize = 200px
| imagealt = 
| script = [[Latin script]]
| type = [[Alphabet]]
| typedesc = 
| fam1 = [[O]][[E]] [[o]][[e]]
| language = [[English language]], [[French language]], [[German language]], [[Swedish language]], [[Turkish language]]
| phonemes = {{flex list|[{{IPAlink|œ}}]&nbsp;[{{IPAlink|ø}}]&nbsp;[{{IPAlink|ɛ}}]&nbsp;[{{IPAlink|e}}]&nbsp;[{{IPAlink|i}}]}}
| unicode = U+0152<br>U+0153<br>U+0276
| alphanumber = 
| number = 
| usageperiod = 
| children = 
| sisters = 
| equivalents = 
| associates = 
| direction = Left-to-right
}}
[[File:Onomatopoeia.svg|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|200px|The word [[onomatopoeia]] with the ''œ'' [[Orthographic ligature|ligature]]]]
'''Œ''' ([[minuscule]]: '''œ'''), in English known as '''ethel''' or '''œthel''' (also spelt, '''ēðel''', '''odal'''), is a [[Latin alphabet]] [[grapheme]], a [[Typographical ligature|ligature]] of ''[[o]]'' and ''[[e]]''. In medieval and early modern Latin, it was used in [[Loanword|borrowings]] from [[Greek language|Greek]] that originally contained the [[diphthong]] ''οι'', and in a few non-Greek words. These usages continue in [[English language|English]] and [[French language|French]]. In French, the words that were borrowed from Latin and contained the Latin diphthong written as ''œ'' now generally have ''[[é]]'' or ''[[è]]''; but ''œ'' is still used in some non-learned French words, representing [[open-mid front rounded vowel]]s, such as ''<span lang="fr" dir="ltr">œil</span>'' ("eye") and ''<span lang="fr" dir="ltr">sœur</span>'' ("sister").

It is used in the modern [[orthography]] for [[Old Norse|Old West Norse]] and is used in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] to represent the [[open-mid front rounded vowel]]. In [[Anglo-Saxon runes|English runology]], ''œ ɶ'' is used to transliterate the rune [[othala]] {{runic|[[ᛟ]]}} ({{langx|ang|ēðel}}, "estate, ancestral home"), of which English derives its name.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=John Richard Clark Hall  |first=John R. Clark |last=Hall |date=1962 |title=A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=108 |id=s.v. "''ēðel'' name of the rune for ''œ ɶ''"}}</ref>

== Languages ==
=== Latin ===
[[Classical Latin]] wrote the ''o'' and ''e'' separately (as has today again become the general practice), but the ligature was used by medieval and early modern writings, in part because the diphthongal sound had, by [[Late Latin]], merged into the sound {{IPAblink|e}}. The classical diphthong had the value {{IPA|la|oe̯|}}, similar to (standard) English '''oi''' as in ''ch'''oi'''ce''.  It occurs most often in borrowings from Greek, rendering that language's ''οι'' (in majuscule ''ΟΙ''), although it is also used in some native words such as ''<span lang="la" dir="ltr">coepi</span>'' "I began".

=== French ===
In French, ''œ'' is called ''{{lang|fr|e dans l'o}}'' {{IPA|[ə dɑ̃ lo]}}, which means ''e in the o'' (a [[:wikt:mnemotechnic|mnemotechnic]] pun used first at school, sounding like ''{{lang|fr|(des) œufs dans l'eau}}'', meaning ''eggs in water'') or sometimes ''{{lang|fr|o et e collés}}'', (literally ''o and e glued'') and is a true linguistic [[typographic ligature|ligature]], not just a typographic one (like the ''fi'' or ''fl'' ligatures), reflecting [[etymology]]. In [[Canadian French]], the names ''o-e liés'' ("linked O and E") or ''lettre double œ'' (where O and E are pronounced separately for clarity) are used officially.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lettres doubles Æ et Œ : écriture et prononciation |url=https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/21611/lorthographe/problemes-lies-aux-voyelles/ecriture-et-prononciation-des-lettres-doubles-ae-et-oe |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca |language=fr}}</ref> ''Œ'' is most prominent in the words ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:mœurs|mœurs]]}}'' ("mores"), ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:cœur|cœur]]}}'' ("heart"), ''chœur'' ("choir"), ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:sœur|sœur]]}}'' ("sister"), ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:œuf|œuf]]}}'' ("egg"), ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:bœuf|bœuf]]}}'' ("beef", "steer"), ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:œuvre|œuvre]]}}'' ("work") and ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:œil|œil]]}}'' ("eye"), in which the digraph ''œu'', like ''eu'', represents the sound {{IPAblink|œ}} (in other cases, like plurals ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:œufs|œufs]]}}'' ("eggs") and ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:bœufs|bœufs]]}}'' ("steers"), it stands for {{IPAblink|ø}}).

French also uses ''œ'' in direct borrowings from Latin and Greek. So, "[[Coeliac disease|coeliac]]" in French is ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:cœliaque|cœliaque]]}}'', "[[Fetus|fetus / foetus]]" is ''fœtus'' and "[[Oedipus]]" is ''Œdipe''. In such cases, the ''œ'' is classically pronounced {{IPA|[e]}}, or, sometimes, in modern pronunciation, {{IPA|[œ]}}. In some words, like ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:phénix|phénix]]}}'' and ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:économique|économique]]}}'', the etymological ''œ'' is changed to ''é''.

In French placenames or [[Family name|family names]] of Germanic origin (mostly in and around [[Alsace-Lorraine]], historically Germanic-speaking areas that have changed hands between France and Germany (or Prussia before 1871) a number of times), ''œ'' replaces German ''ö'' and is pronounced {{IPA|[œ]}}. Examples include [[Schœneck]] ([[Moselle (department)|Moselle]]), [[Kœtzingue]] ([[Haut-Rhin]]), and [[Hœrdt]] ([[Bas-Rhin]]) for placenames, or Schœlcher (as in [[Victor Schœlcher]]) for surnames.

In all cases, ''œ'' is [[collation|alphabetized]] as ''oe'', rather than as a separate letter.

When {{lang|fr|oe}} occurs in French without the ligature, it is pronounced {{IPA|/wa/}} or sometimes {{IPA|/wɛ/}}, just like words spelt with {{lang|fr|oi}}. The most common words of this type are {{lang|fr|[[wikt:poêle|poêle]]}} ("stove", "frying pan") and {{lang|fr|[[wikt:moelleux|moelleux]]}} ("soft"). {{lang|fr|poêle}} is itself an etymological spelling, with the {{lang|fr|ê}} reflecting its derivation from Latin {{lang|la|[[wikt:patella|patella]]}}. If the {{lang|fr|oe}} is not to be pronounced thus, then a diaeresis, acute or [[grave accent]] needs to be added in order to indicate that the vowels should be pronounced separately. For example, {{lang|fr|[[wikt:Noël|Noël]]}}, {{lang|fr|[[wikt:poésie|poésie]]}}, {{lang|fr|[[wikt:poète|poète]]}}. The exception to this rule is when a morpheme ending in {{lang|fr|o}} is joined to one beginning in {{lang|fr|e}}, as in {{lang|fr|[[wikt:électroencéphalogramme|électroencéphalogramme]]}}, or with the prefix {{lang|fr|co-}}, which is always pronounced {{IPA|/ko/}} in hiatus with the following vowel, as in {{lang|fr|[[wikt:coefficient|coefficient]]}} ("ratio", "coefficient").

=== Lombard ===
In [[Lombard language|Lombard]] "œ" is used in many writing systems, sometimes along with "u", the {{IPA|/øː/}} phoneme. For example: {{lang|lmo|[[wikt:tegnœra|tegnœura]]}} (bat).

=== English ===
A number of words written with ''œ'' were borrowed from French and [[List of Latin words with English derivatives|from Latin into English]],  where the ''œ'' is now rarely written. Modern [[American English]] spelling usually substitutes ''œ'' with ''e'', so ''diarrhœa'' has become  ''diarrhea'', although there are some exceptions, such as ''[[phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]]''. In modern [[British English]], the spellings generally keep the ''o'' but remove the ligature (e.g. ''diarrhoea'').

The ''œ'' ~ ''oe'' ~ ''e'' is traditionally pronounced as "short&nbsp;Ĕ" {{IPAc-en|ɛ}}, as "long&nbsp;Ē" {{IPAc-en|iː}}, or as an [[stress and vowel reduction in English|(unrounded) unstressed vowel]]. These three Modern-English values interchange with one another in consistent ways, just as do the values within each of the sets from the other vowel-spellings that at the [[Middle English]] stage likewise represented non-diphthongs — except for, as was recognised particularly in certain positions by Dobson<ref name=Dobson-1968>{{cite book |last=Dobson |first=E.J. |orig-year=1957 |year=1968 |title=English Pronunciation 1500–1700 |edition=2nd |place=Oxford, UK |publisher=The Clarendon Press}}</ref>{{rp|page=&nbsp;495}} a tendency whereby

{{blockquote|...&nbsp;long vowels are, in later use, often substituted&nbsp;... cf. Pres(ent-Day) E(nglish) [iːkənɒmik] '[[economic]]' in place of the popular [ekənɒmik], which (latter) is in accord with the normal rules and must be regarded as the traditional and naturally-developed pronunciation&nbsp;...}}

There are a few words that English has recently borrowed from [[French language|contemporary French]]. The pronunciation of these English words is generally an approximation of that of the French word (the French use {{IPAblink|œ}} or {{IPAblink|ø}} in terms of the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]]). English-speakers use a variety of substitutions for these sounds.  The [[List of English words that may be spelled with a ligature|words involved]] include {{lang|fr|manœuvre}}, {{lang|fr|hors d'œuvre}}, {{lang|fr|[[wikt:oeuvre|œuvre]]}}, and {{lang|fr|[[œil de bœuf]]}}.

However, most ''œ'' words use the traditional English pronunciation of borrowings from/via pre-modern [[French language|French]] and from/via [[Latin]]. Examples are listed in the following categories, into which they have been divided by developments in our pronunciation since [[Middle English]].

* An overriding rule is that where ''œ'' ~ ''oe'' ~ ''e'' is followed by another [[vowel]] (whatever the position(s) of [[stress (linguistics)|stress(es)]] in the word), it is pronounced as a long&nbsp;Ē ({{IPAc-en|i:}}).

:Examples: ''onomatopœic'', ''[[onomatopœia]]'', ''[[Dyspnea|dyspnœa]]'', ''[[apnœa]]'', ''[[Amenorrhea|amenorrhœa]]'', ''[[diarrhœa]]'', ''[[wikt:logorrhœa|logorrhœa]]'', ''[[Eubœa]]'', ''[[Bœotia]]'', ''[[Homeosis|homœosis]]'', ''[[homœopathy]]''; ''[[Homeopath|homœopath]]''; ''homœopathic'', ''homœostatic'', ''[[Homeostasis|homœostasis]]'', ''[[Homeozoic|homœozoic]]'', ''[[Homeomorphic|homœomorphic]]'', and ''[[homoeomorphism|homœomorphism]]''.

* In [[:wikt:open syllable|open syllables]] immediately following or preceding a syllable that bears primary or [[secondary stress]], an ''œ'' ~ ''oe'' ~ ''e'' [[Vowel reduction in English|is  pronounced as an]] [[Schwa#In English|(unrounded) unstressed vowel]], as in the short&nbsp;Ĭ ({{IPAc-en|I}}) or [[Schwa]]-like sound ({{IPAc-en|@}}). Alternatively, especially when clearer [[enunciation]] is desired, an additional (secondary) stress can be added, resulting in a long&nbsp;Ē ({{IPAc-en|i:}}).

:Examples: ''[[tragœdy]]'', ''(arch)[[diœcese]]''; ''œconomisation'', ''œsophageal''; ''[[œsophagus]]'', ''[[Ecologist|œcologist]]'', ''œcology'', ''œconomise'', ''[[Economist|œconomist]]'', ''[[Economy|œconomy]]'', ''[[Oedema|œdema]]'', ''[[Oenologist|œnologist]]'', ''[[Oenology|œnology]]'', ..., ''[[Penology|pœnology]]'', and ''[[Phoenicia|Phœnician]]''.

* A long&nbsp;Ē ({{IPAc-en|i:}}) can be used for ''œ'' ~ ''oe'' ~ ''e'' in a [[primary stress]]ed [[open syllable]] that lies within the final two [[syllable]]s of the [[word]] (not counting [[suffix]]es such as ''-es'' and ''-ing'', even if they are syllabic, and lexical suffixes like ''[[-cide]]'' if they do not affect the [[pronunciation]] of the rest of the word).

::Examples: ''[[Subpoena|subpœna]](ing)'', ''[[Phoenix (mythology)|phœnix]](es)'', (''[[Foeticide|fœticide]]'', which belongs in this category if the first vowel is pronounced as long&nbsp;Ē ({{IPAc-en|i:}}) due to carry-over from the next word,) ''[[Fetus|fœtus]]'', ''[[Phoebe (mythology)|Phœbe]]'', ''fœtor'', ''[[Penal (disambiguation)|pœnal]]'', ''[[Crœsus]]'', and ''[[Amoeba|amœba]]''.

* A long&nbsp;Ē ({{IPAc-en|i:}}) is used for ''œ'' ~ ''oe'' ~ ''e'' in primary-stressed open syllables that lie in the third-to-final position (antepenultimate syllables) if the final [[syllable]] begins with a [[vowel]] and the penultimate (second-to-last) ends in a vowel other than ''o'' or ''u'' (or did prior to a blending of that [[vowel]] with the preceding [[consonant]]).

::Examples: ''[[Celiac (disambiguation)|cœliac]]'' and ''[[Mœsia]](n)'', which (depending on the dialect) equal {{IPAc-en|'|s|iː|l|i|æ|k|}} and {{IPAc-en|'|m|iː|ʒ|ə|(|n|)|}} ~ {{IPAc-en|'|m|i:|ʃ|ə|(|n|)|}} ~ {{IPAc-en|'|m|i:|s|i|ə|(|n|)|}}~{{IPAc-en|'|m|i:|z|i|@|(|n|)|}}.

* Finally, there are some cases where a short&nbsp;Ĕ {{IPAc-en|E}} is used, as what Dobson called in the quote above the "naturally-developed pronunciation" though "the long vowels are, in later use, often substituted":<ref name=Dobson-1968/>{{page number|date=August 2021}}

# for an ''œ'' ~ ''oe'' ~ ''e'' lying in a secondarily-stressed (open or [[wikt:closed_syllable|closed]]) syllable not adjacent to the primary-stressed one, as in ''[[Confederation|(con)fœderation]]'', ''[[œcologic]](al)(ly)'', ''[[œconomic]](al)(ly)'', ''[[œcumenical]](ly)'' and ''[[œstrogen]]ic'';
# for an ''œ'' ~ ''oe'' ~ ''e'' in a [[closed syllable]] anywhere as long as it bears some [[Stress (linguistics)|stress]] (so this overlaps with the preceding category), as in ''œstrogenic'', ''[[œstrogen]]'', ''œstral'' and ''œstrus'';
# for an ''œ'' ~ ''oe'' ~ ''e'' in a primary-stressed syllable that does not lie within the final two syllables of the word (except for words like ''cœliac'' and ''Mœsia(n)'', see above).

::Examples: ''[[wikt:confederate|Confœderate]]s'', ''(con)fœderate'' (adj.), ''[[Confederation (action)|to (con)fœderate]]'', ''[[wikt:federal|fœderal]](ly)'', ''Œdipal'', ''[[Œdipus]]'', ''[[wikt:penalty|pœnalty]]'' and ''[[wikt:foetid|fœtid]]''.

The likes of ''fœ̯tid'', though superficially exceptional here, do indeed belong here in this category because the counting properly includes also [[Silent E|final ''-e'']] that has [[Phonological history of English#Dropping of final E|gone silent]] since [[Middle English]] (and therefore has been left out by some spellings) in those situations where speakers before the ''-e''{{'}}s demise, such as [[Chaucer]] (who did not drop it in rhymes), would have had the ''-e'' as an intrinsic part of the word (rather than as just a suffix) — save for its regularly disappearing where followed with no pause by a word beginning with a vowel or sometimes {{IPAc-en|h}}.

As less circumstantial evidence (than this word's modern short&nbsp;Ĕ {{IPAc-en|E}}) that it contained the final ''-e'', consider both the spelling of its earliest attestation in English recorded by the ''NED'',<ref name=Murray-etal-1887-1933/> within ''"It maketh to blister both handes, & feet, out of which issueth ''foetide'', and stinckinge water."'' (in a text dating to 1599). And from the immediate [[Etymology|ancestor of the word]], lying between it and [[Latin]]'s ''{{wikt-lang|la|fœtidus}}, -a, -um'', namely, [[Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-Norman]] ''fetide'', attested [[13th century]].{{efn|
In medical texts find: {{cite web |title=pissade |url=http://www.anglo-norman.net/D/pissade |postscript=,}}<ref name=deWilde-etal-AnglNormDict/> {{cite web |title=fetide |url=http://www.anglo-norman.net/D/fetide |postscript=,}}<ref name=deWilde-etal-AnglNormDict/> {{cite web |title=laureole <!-- |website=Anglo-Norman.net |series=(dictionary entries) --> |url=http://www.anglo-norman.net/D/laureole |postscript=;}}<ref name=deWilde-etal-AnglNormDict/> {{cite web |title=spatule fetide <!-- |website=Anglo-norman.net --> |url=http://www.anglo-norman.net/D/spatule%20fetide <!-- |access-date=2018-09-18 --> |postscript=;}}<ref name=deWilde-etal-AnglNormDict/> (the source text that can be most narrowly dated is a manuscript of [[Roger of Salerno]] ({{circa|1240}}) ''Chirurgia'').{{full citation|date=August 2021}}
— within parallels that English has to the ''fœtid'', such as ''acid'', ''arid'', ''avid'', ''placid'', ''rabid'', ''rapid'', ''sapid'', ''squalid'', ''valid'', ''vapid''; ''gelid'', ''intrepid'', ''tepid''; ''frigid'', ''insipid'', ''liquid'', ''livid'', ''rigid'', ''timid'', ''viscid'', ''vivid''; ''florid'', ''solid'', and ''stolid''. The stressed syllable's vowel likewise has its short value. Or rather, had ''one of'' its short values, in the special case where either a preceding /w/ or a following /r/ has created a special short value.
:
Consider ''squalid'', ''florid'', and / or ''arid'' in certain dialects: The syllable did not lie in one of the word's two final syllables – as is straightforwardly shown for these words by comparing their cognate French spellings: ''{{lang|fr|aride}}'', ''{{lang|fr|avide}}'', ''{{lang|fr|insipide}}'', ''{{lang|fr|liquide}}'', ''{{lang|fr|livide}}'', etc. Whether the word contained a final ''-e'' does not matter for the parallels whose stressed syllable had (not a [[monophthong]] but) a diphthong.  That includes words such as ''humid'', ''lurid'', ''lucid'', ''pellucid'', ''putrid'', ''stupid'', and ''tumid'', since [[Middle English dialects]] save in the Southwest had lost the vowel-sound {{IPAblink|y}} from their sound-systems, and so the [[Middle-English]] ancestors of our Modern-Standard dialects used in any open syllable as closest approximation to that sound of the French the diphthong which they spelled in non-Romance words as ''iw'' or similar.
:
Because of using a Middle-English diphthong, distance from word-end did not cause the sound to vary.) Dobson<ref name=Dobson-1968/>{{rp|page= 711}} notes however:
:"...&nbsp;that this was the only development is difficult, though not impossible, to reconcile with the rarity, in the fourteenth century, of the inverted spelling ''u(e)'' for the native diphthong [iu] and with the fact that cultivated poets like [[Chaucer]] and Gower rhyme [[Old French#Influence on English|O[ld ]Fr[ench]]] [y] with native [iu] relatively seldom, especially considering the usefulness of such rhymes,<ref name=Jordan-1925/> therefore suggests that in cultivated speech the pronunciation [y:] was maintained."
}}

===Other Germanic languages===
;Old Norse:
''Œ'' is used in the modern scholarly orthography of [[Old Norse|Old West Norse]], representing the [[vowel length|long vowel]] {{IPA|/øː/}}, contrasting with ''ø'', which represents the short vowel {{IPA|/ø/}}. Sometimes, the ''ǿ'' is used instead for Old West Norse, maintaining consistency with the designation of the length of the other vowels, e.g. ''{{lang|non|mǿðr}}'' "mothers".

;Middle High German:
''Œ'' is also used to express long {{IPA|/øː/}} in the modern scholarly orthography of [[Middle High German]]. It contrasts ''ö'', pronounced as a short {{IPA|/œ/}}.

;(Modern) German:
''Œ'' is not used in modern [[German language|German]]. [[Loanword]]s using ''œ'' are generally rendered [[ö]], e.g. ''{{lang|de|[[Esophagus|Ösophagus]]}}''. A common exception is the French word ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:oeuvre|Œuvre]]}}''<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Ouvre |title=ouvre |dictionary=[[Duden]] |edition=online}}</ref> and its compounds (e.g. ''{{lang|de|[[wikt:Œuvreverzeichnis|Œuvreverzeichnis]]}}''<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Ouvreverzeichnis |title=ouvreverzeichnis |dictionary=[[Duden]] |edition=online}}</ref>). It remains used in [[Swiss German]], especially in the names of people and places.

;Danish:
''Œ'' is not used in Danish, just like German, but unlike German, Danish replaces ''œ'' or ''œu'' in loan-words with [[ø]], as in ''{{lang|da|[[wikt:økonomi|økonomi]]}}'' "economy" from Greek via Latin ''{{lang|la|[[wikt:œconomia|œconomia]]}}'' or ''{{lang|da|[[wikt:bøf|bøf]]}}'' "beef" from French ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:bœuf|bœuf]]}}''. ''œ'', mainly lowercase, has historically been used as a typeface alternative to ''æ'' in Danish.

== Transcription ==
The symbol {{IPA|[œ]}} is used in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] (IPA) for the [[open-mid front rounded vowel]]. This sound resembles the "œu" in the [[French language|French]] ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:œuf|œuf]]}}'' or the "[[ö]]" in the [[German language|German]] ''{{lang|de|[[wikt:öffnen|öffnen]]}}''. These contrast with French ''{{lang|fr|[[wikt:feu|feu]]}}'' and German ''{{lang|de|[[wikt:schön|schön]]}}'', which have the [[close-mid front rounded vowel]], {{IPA|[ø]}}.

The small capital variant {{IPA|[ɶ]}} represents the [[open front rounded vowel]] in the IPA. 
Modifier letter small ligature oe ({{IPA|ꟹ}}) is used in [[extensions to the International Phonetic Alphabet]].<ref name=Pentzlin-2010-04-30/>

{{unichar|107A3|MODIFIER LETTER SMALL CAPITAL OE}} is used as an [[International Phonetic Alphabet#Superscript IPA|IPA superscript letter]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=L2/20-252R: Unicode request for IPA modifier-letters (a), pulmonic|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20252r-mod-ipa-a.pdf|date=2020-11-08|first1=Kirk|last1=Miller|first2=Michael|last2=Ashby}}</ref>

The [[Uralic Phonetic Alphabet]] (UPA) includes {{Unichar|1D14|LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED OE}}.<ref name=Everson-etal-2002-03-20/>

The [[Teuthonista]] phonetic transcription system uses several related symbols:<ref name=Everson-Dicklberger-Pentzlin-WandlVogt-2011-06-02/>
* {{math|ꭀ}} {{Unichar|AB40|Latin small letter inverted OE}}
* {{math|ꭁ}} {{Unichar|AB41|Latin small letter turned OE with stroke}}
* {{math|ꭂ}} {{Unichar|AB42|Latin small letter turned OE with horizontal stroke}}

The [[Voice Quality Symbol]] for [[esophageal speech|oesophageal speech]] is Œ.

== Encodings ==
In [[Unicode]], the characters are encoded at {{unichar|0152|LATIN CAPITAL LIGATURE OE|html=}} and {{unichar|0153|LATIN SMALL LIGATURE OE|html=}}. In [[ISO-8859-15]], ''Œ'' is 0xBC and ''œ/ɶ'' 0xBD. In [[Windows-1252]], at positions 0x8C and 0x9C. In [[Mac-Roman]], they are at positions 0xCE and 0xCF.

''Œ'' and ''œ/ɶ'' were omitted from [[ISO-8859-1]] (as well as derived standards, such as [[IBM]] [[code page 850]]), which are still widespread in [[internet protocols]] and applications. Œ is the only character in [[modern French]] that is not included in ISO-8859-1, and this has led to it becoming replaced by 'oe' in many computer-assisted publications (including printed magazines and newspapers). This was due, in part, to the lack of available characters in the French [[ISO/IEC 646]] version that was used earlier for computing. Another reason is that ''œ'' is absent from most [[French keyboard]]s, and as a result, few people know how to input it.

The above-mentioned small capital of the International Phonetic Alphabet is encoded at {{unichar|0276|LATIN LETTER SMALL CAPITAL OE|html=|nlink=Open front rounded vowel}}.

== See also ==
{{div col |colwidth=30em |content=
* [[Å]]
* [[Ä]]
* [[Ø]]
* [[Ö]]
* [[Æ]]
* [[List of Latin-script digraphs#O|Oe (digraph)]]
* [[list of English words that may be spelled with a ligature]]

}}

== Footnotes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist|25em|refs=

<ref name=deWilde-etal-AnglNormDict>
{{cite book
 |editor1-last=de Wilde |editor1-first=G.
 |display-editors=etal
 |title=Anglo-Norman Dictionary
 |edition=online
 |url=http://www.anglo-norman.net/
 |access-date=4 April 2017
}}
</ref>

<ref name=Everson-Dicklberger-Pentzlin-WandlVogt-2011-06-02>
{{cite web
 |first1=Michael |last1=Everson
 |first2=Alois   |last2=Dicklberger
 |first3=Karl    |last3=Pentzlin
 |first4=Eveline |last4=Wandl-Vogt
 |date=2011-06-02
 |title=Revised proposal to encode "Teuthonista" phonetic characters in the UCS
 |id=L2/11-202
 |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2011/11202-n4081-teuthonista.pdf
}}
</ref>

<ref name=Everson-etal-2002-03-20>
{{cite web
 |first1=Michael |last1=Everson  |author-link1=Michael Everson
 |display-authors=etal
 |date=2002-03-20
 |title=Uralic Phonetic Alphabet characters for the UCS
 |id=L2/02-141
 |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2002/02141-n2419-uralic-phonetic.pdf
}}
</ref>

<ref name=Jordan-1925>
{{cite book
 |last=Jordan |first=Richard
 |year=1925
 |title={{lang|de|Handbuch der mittelenglischen Grammatik}}
 |trans-title=Handbook of Middle English Grammar
 |volume=I: Lautlehre
 |at=§230, especially the last paragraph of p.&nbsp;204
 |place=Heidelberg, DE
 |publisher=Carl Winter's Universitätsbuchhandlung
}}
</ref>

<ref name=Murray-etal-1887-1933>
{{cite book
 |editor1-last=Murray |editor1-first=James A.H.
 |display-editors=etal
 |year=1887–1933
 |title=A New English Dictionary Founded on Historical Principles: Founded mainly on the materials collected by the Philological Society
 |place=London, UK
 |publisher=Henry Frowde
 |volume=4 |page=188
 |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.31135/2015.31135.A-New-English-Dictionary-On-Historical-Principlesfounded-Mainly-On-The-Materials-Collected-By-The-Philological-Society-Vol4#page/n188/mode/1up
 |via=Internet Archive
}}
</ref>

<ref name=Pentzlin-2010-04-30>
{{cite web
 |first=Karl |last=Pentzlin
 |date=2010-04-30
 |title=Proposal to encode two missing modifier letters for extended IPA
 |id=L2/10-161
 |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2010/10161-ipa-additions.pdf
}}
</ref>

}} <!-- end "refs=" -->

==Bibliography==
* De Wilde, G. et al., eds.  "[http://www.anglo-norman.net/ Anglo-Norman Dictionary]".  Accessed 4 April 2017.
* Dobson, E. J.  ''English Pronunciation 1500-1700''.  2 vols.  Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1957; 2nd ed., 1968.
* Jordan, Richard.  ''{{lang|de|Handbuch der mittenglischen Grammatik, I. Teil: Lautlehre}}''.  Heidelberg: Carl Winter's {{lang|de|Universitätsbuchhandlung}}, 1925.
* Murray, James A. H. et al., eds.  ''A New English Dictionary Founded on Historical Principles: Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by the Philological Society''.  10 vols + an 11th which contains "Introduction, Supplement, and Bibliography".  London: Henry Frowde, 1887–1933.

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|Category:English terms spelled with Œ}}

* {{cite web
 |last=Reimer  |first=Stephen R.
 |orig-year=2 December 1998   |date=30 May 2015
 |title=Special characters in English manuscripts
 |series=Paleography
 |type=course notes
 |publisher=University of Alberta
 |place=Edmonton, AB
 |url=https://www.ualberta.ca/~sreimer/ms-course/course/eng-chrs.htm
 |access-date=2021-08-27   }}
{{Latin script}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oe}}
[[Category:Latin-script ligatures]]
[[Category:Phonetic transcription symbols]]
[[Category:British English]]
[[Category:Old Norse]]
[[Category:French language]]