View source for Ƒ

{{short description|Latin letter F with hook}}
{{distinguish|ʄ}}
{{about|the letter|the currency sign|Florin sign}}
[[File:Latin letter F with hook.svg|thumb]]
[[Image:F with hook and Florin.svg|thumb|Lowercase F with a hook in regular type on the left and in italic on the right, the florin sign is always in italic.]]
The letter '''F with hook''' (uppercase '''Ƒ''', [[lower case|lowercase]]: '''ƒ''') is a letter of the [[Latin script]], based on the [[italic type|italic]] form of [[f]]; or on its regular form with a [[Hook (diacritic)|descender hook]] added. A very similar-looking letter, {{angbr IPA|ʄ}} (a [[Dotless J|dotless ''j'']] with a hook and a horizontal stroke), is used in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] for a [[voiced palatal implosive]].

== Regular ==
Ƒ is used in writing the [[Ewe language]] in a straight form to represent the sound {{IPAblink|ɸ}}, as distinct from the letter F, which represents an {{IPAblink|f}}. It is also used in the [[Avatime language|Avatime]], [[Lelemi language|Lelemi]], [[Nyangbo-Tafi language|Nyangbo-Tafi]], and [[Waci language|Waci]] languages.

[[File:Algemeen Dagblad price in various currencies (September 1980).jpg|thumb|The non italic f with hook used for the florin sign on the price chart for the ''Algemeen Dagblad'' in 1980.]]

== Italic ==
The minuscule italic ''ƒ'', also called the [[florin sign]], is used as a symbol for several currencies, including the former [[Dutch guilder]], the [[Aruban florin]], and the [[Netherlands Antillean guilder]]. It can be found as italic in non-italic fonts.

The italic ''ƒ'' has been used to denote [[function (mathematics)|mathematical functions]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0180.pdf |title=Latin Extended-B |work=Official Unicode code chart |accessdate=January 17, 2009}}</ref> or to indicate [[f-number|aperture]] in photography (e.g. ƒ/2.8) in place of the more common italic <span style="font-family:serif">''f''</span> (in [[serif font]]s) or oblique ''f'' (in [[sans-serif font]]s).{{citation needed|date=November 2010}} It can be represented with {{unichar|1D453|MATHEMATICAL ITALIC SMALL F}}.

==Appearance in computer fonts==
Older [[typeface|fonts]] and [[character encoding]]s included only the [[Lower case|minuscule]] form for its use as an abbreviation. [[Unicode]] includes both the [[majuscule]] and the minuscule.
Because of its origin, the italic ''ƒ'' (f with a hook) looks exactly like the italic ''f'' (f) in some typefaces.
Ƒ and ƒ occupy code points {{unichar|191|LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F WITH HOOK}} and {{unichar|192|LATIN SMALL LETTER F WITH HOOK}} in [[Unicode]] respectively, and may be entered by appropriate [[Unicode#Input methods|input methods]].

On a computer running [[Microsoft Windows]] and using the [[Windows-1252]] character encoding, the minuscule can be input using {{key press|alt|1}}{{key press|5}}{{key press|9}} or {{keypress|alt|0}}{{key press|1}}{{key press|3}}{{key press|1}}.

The character has been used on the [[Mac (computer)|Macintosh]] to mean [[folder (computing)|folder]], in particular as part of a folder name. For example, the game ''[[Bugdom]]'', when included on some [[Mac OS 9]] installations, was contained in a folder called "Bugdom ƒ". This usage has died out with the advent of [[Mac OS X]]. The [[Macintosh Programmer's Workshop]] also used the character to indicate [[Dependency (computer science)|software dependencies]], from which the folder usage derived (the folder contained the files required to run the program). The character is created on the Macintosh by pressing {{key press|opt|f}}.

The character frequently appears in [[Japanese language|Japanese]] [[mojibake]].  The lead byte 0x83 appears before a [[Katakana]] character in [[Shift JIS]], but if interpreted as [[Windows-1252]] encoding, it becomes the ƒ character.

== See also ==
*[[African reference alphabet]]
*[[Ogonek]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.bisharat.net/Documents/poal30.htm Practical Orthography of African Languages]
{{Latin script}}

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[[Category:Latin letters with diacritics]]