View source for F

{{Short description|Sixth letter of the Latin alphabet}}
{{hatnote group|
{{About|the letter of the alphabet}}
{{distinguish|text=the [[long s]], ſ}}
}}
{{Technical reasons|F#|other uses|F-sharp (disambiguation){{!}}F-sharp|and|Fuccbois{{!}}''Fuccbois''|and|Fu@K I Love U{{!}}''Fu@K I Love U''|prefix=yes}}
{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{pp-move|small=yes}}
{{Infobox grapheme
|name  = F
|letter = F f
|variations=
|boxsize=
|script=[[Latin script]]
|type=[[Alphabet]]
|typedesc=ic
|language=[[Latin language]]
|phonemes={{flex list|[{{IPAlink|f}}]|[{{IPAlink|ɸ}}~[[Japanese phonology|h]]]|[{{IPAlink|v}}]|[{{IPAlink|ʍ}}~{{IPAlink|ʍ|xʷ}}]|{{IPAc-en|ɛ|f}}}}
|unicode=U+0046 U+0066
|alphanumber=6
|number=6, 15
|fam1=<hiero>T3</hiero>
|fam2=[[File:Proto-semiticW-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Waw]]
|fam3=[[File:PhoenicianW-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px]]
|fam4=[[File:Phoenician waw.svg|class=skin-invert-image|20px|Waw]]
|fam5=[[Digamma|Ϝ ϝ ϛ]]
|fam6=[[𐌅]]
|usageperiod = {{circa}} 700 BCE to present
|children={{flex list|[[Ḟ]]|[[₣]]|{{not a typo|[[℉]]}}|[[ꟻ]]|[[ꬵ]]||[[𝆑]]}}
|sisters={{flex list|[[U]]|[[V]]|[[W]]|[[Y]]|[[Ʊ]]|[[Ϝ]]|[[У]]|[[Ў]]|[[Ұ]]|[[Upsilon|Υ]]|[[Waw (letter)|<span>ו</span>, <span>וּ</span>, <span>וֹ</span>, <span>ﻭ</span>, <span>ۋ</span>, <span>ܘ</span>]]|[[ࠅ]]|[[𐎆]]|[[𐌖]]|[[wikt:Վ|Վ]] [[wikt:վ|վ]]|[[wikt:Ո|Ո]] [[wikt:ո|ո]]|[[wikt:Ւ|Ւ]] [[wikt:ւ|ւ]]|[[wikt:և|և]]}}
|equivalents={{flex list|[[U]]|[[V]]|[[W]]|[[Y]]}}
|associates=[[List of Latin-script digraphs#F|f(x)]]
|direction=Left-to-right
|image=File:Latin_letter_F.svg
|imageclass=skin-invert-image
}}
{{Latin letter info|f}}

'''F''', or '''f''', is the sixth [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]] of the [[Latin alphabet]] and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the [[English alphabet|modern English alphabet]] and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is [[English alphabet#Letter names|''ef'']]{{efn|Spelled ''eff'' when used as a verb.}} (pronounced {{IPAc-en|'|ɛ|f|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-F.wav}}), and the plural is ''efs''.<ref>"F", ''Oxford English Dictionary,'' 2nd edition (1989); "ef", "eff", "bee" (under "bee eff"), ''op. cit.''</ref>

== History ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|- 
! Proto-Sinaitic
! Phoenician<br />[[Waw (letter)|waw]]
! Western Greek<br />[[Digamma]]
! Etruscan<br />V or W
! Latin<br />F
|-
| [[File:Proto-semiticW-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|40px]]
| [[File:PhoenicianW-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|frameless|40x40px]]
| [[File:Greek_Digamma_02.svg|class=skin-invert-image|40px]]
| [[File:EtruscanF-01.svg|class=skin-invert-image|30px]]
| [[File:Capitalis monumentalis F.svg|class=skin-invert-image|x30px|Latin F]]
|}

The origin of ⟨F⟩ is the [[History of the alphabet#Semitic alphabet|Semitic]] letter ''[[Waw (letter)|waw]]'', which represented a sound like {{IPA|/v/}} or {{IPA|/w/}}. It probably originally depicted either a hook or a club. It may have been based on a comparable [[Egyptian hieroglyph]] such as [[List of Egyptian hieroglyphs by common name: M-Z#M|that which represented the word ''mace'']] (transliterated as ḥ(dj)): <hiero>T3</hiero>

The [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]] form of the letter was adopted into Greek as a vowel, ''[[upsilon]]'' (which resembled its descendant ⟨[[Y]]⟩ but was also the ancestor of the Roman letters ⟨[[U]]⟩, ⟨[[V]]⟩, and ⟨[[W]]⟩); and, with another form, as a consonant, ''[[digamma]]'', which indicated the pronunciation {{IPA|/w/}}, as in Phoenician. Latin ⟨F⟩, despite being pronounced differently, is ultimately descended from [[digamma]] and closely resembles it in form.

After sound changes eliminated {{IPA|/w/}} from most dialects of Greek (Doric Greek retained it), ''[[digamma]]'' was used only as a numeral. However, the Greek alphabet also gave rise to other alphabets, and some of these retained letters descended from digamma. In the [[Etruscan alphabet]], ⟨F⟩ probably represented {{IPA|/w/}}, as in Greek, and the [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscans]] formed the [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]] ⟨FH⟩ to represent {{IPA|/f/}}. (At the time these letters were borrowed, there was no Greek letter that represented /f/: the Greek letter [[phi]] ⟨Φ⟩ then represented an aspirated [[voiceless bilabial plosive]] {{IPA|/p<sup>h</sup>/}}, although in [[Modern Greek]] it has come to represent {{IPA|/f/}}.) The Etruscan digraph may have been inspired by the rare use of ⟨ϜΗ⟩ in archaic Greek inscriptions for a dialectal sound like {{IPAblink|ʍ}}, e.g. in the reflexive pronoun ϜΗΕ, which corresponds to Classical ἕ ''hé'' (see {{slink|Ancient Greek phonology|Semivowels}}).<ref>Compare: {{cite book |last1=Bartoněk |first1=Antonín |title=Development of the consonantal system in ancient Greek dialects |date=1961 |page=142 |url=https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/node/54382}}</ref>

When the Romans adopted the alphabet, they used ⟨V⟩ (from Greek ''[[upsilon]]'') not only for the vowel {{IPA|/u/}}, but also for the corresponding semivowel {{IPA|/w/}}, leaving ⟨F⟩ available for {{IPA|/f/}}. Initially, ⟨FH⟩ was also used for this sound in Latin, but the ⟨H⟩ was soon dropped. And so out of the various ''vav'' variants in the Mediterranean world, the letter F entered the Roman alphabet attached to a sound which the Greeks did not have. The Roman alphabet forms the basis of the alphabet used today for English and many other languages.

The [[lowercase]] ⟨f⟩ is not related to the visually similar [[long s]], ⟨ſ⟩ (or [[medial s]]). The use of the ''long s'' largely died out by the beginning of the 19th century, mostly to prevent confusion with ⟨f⟩ when using a short mid-bar.

== Use in writing systems ==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|+ Pronunciation of {{angbr|f}} by language
! Orthography
! Phonemes
|-
! {{nwr|[[Standard Chinese]]}} ([[Pinyin]])
| {{IPAslink|f}}
|-
! [[English orthography|English]]
| {{IPAslink|f}}, {{IPAslink|v}}
|-
! [[French orthography|French]]
| {{IPAslink|f}}, silent
|-
! [[German orthography|German]]
| {{IPAslink|f}}
|-
! [[Portuguese orthography|Portuguese]] 
| {{IPAslink|f}}
|-
! [[Spanish orthography|Spanish]]
| {{IPAslink|f}}
|-
! [[Turkish alphabet|Turkish]]
| {{IPAslink|f}}
|}

=== English ===
In [[English orthography|the English writing system]] {{angbr|f}} is used to represent the sound {{IPAc-en|f}}, the [[voiceless labiodental fricative]]. It is often doubled at the end of words. Exceptionally, it represents the [[voiced labiodental fricative]] {{IPAc-en|v}} in the common word "of" and its derivatives.

F is the [[Letter frequency|eleventh least frequently used letter]] in the English language (after [[G]], [[Y]], [[P]], [[B]], [[V]], [[K]], [[J]], [[X]], [[Q]], and [[Z]]), with a frequency of about 2.23% in words.

=== Other languages ===
In the writing systems of other languages, {{angbr|f}} commonly represents {{IPA|/f/}}, {{IPA|[ɸ]}} or {{IPA|/v/}}.
* In [[French orthography]], {{angbr|f}} is used to represent {{IPA|/f/}}. It may also be silent at the end of words.
* In [[Spanish orthography]], {{angbr|f}} is used to represent {{IPA|/f/}}. 
* In [[Esperanto orthography]], {{angbr|f}} is used to represent {{IPA|/f/}}. 
* In the [[Hepburn romanization]] of [[Japanese language|Japanese]], {{angbr|f}} is used to represent {{IPA|[ɸ]}}. This sound is usually considered to be an [[allophone]] of {{IPA|/h/}}, which is pronounced in different ways depending upon its context; Japanese {{IPA|/h/}} is pronounced as {{IPA|[ɸ]}} before {{IPA|/u/}}.
* In [[Welsh orthography]], {{angbr|f}} represents {{IPA|/v/}} while {{angbr|ff}} represents {{IPA|/f/}}.
* In [[Slavic language]]s, {{angbr|f}} is used primarily in words of foreign (Hellenic, Romance, or Germanic) origin.
* In spoken [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], {{angbr|f}} in the middle of a word is often voiced to {{IPA|[v]}} (e.g., Að sofa – to sleep).

=== Other systems ===
The [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] uses {{angbr IPA|f}} to represent the [[voiceless labiodental fricative]].

== Other uses ==
{{main article|F (disambiguation)}}
* In the [[hexadecimal]] (base 16) numbering system, F is a number that corresponds to the number 15 in [[decimal]] (base 10) counting.
* The italic letter {{mvar|f}} is conventionally used to denote an arbitrary [[function (mathematics)|function]]. Closely on [[f with hook]] (ƒ).
* A bold italic letter {{serif|'''''f'''''}} is used in [[musical notation]] as a [[Dynamics (music)|dynamic indicator]] for "loud or strong". It stands for the [[Italian language|Italian]] word ''forte''.<ref name="harvard">{{cite book |first = Don Michael |last = Randel |author-link = Don Michael Randel |publisher = Harvard University Press Reference Library |location = Cambridge, MA |year = 2003 |title = The Harvard Dictionary of Music |edition = 4th }}</ref><ref name="vtf">{{cite web |title = Forte |work = Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary |url = http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/textf/Forte.html |access-date = 19 March 2012 |archive-date = 20 October 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141020105236/http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/textf/Forte.html |url-status = dead }}</ref>
* In countries such as the [[United States]], the letter "F" is defined as a failure in terms of [[Academic grading in the United States|academic evaluation]]. Other countries that use this system include Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and the Netherlands.
* The letter F has become an [[Internet meme]], where it is [[Press F to pay respects|used to pay respects]]. This use is derived from the 2014 video game ''[[Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare]]'', where in a quick-time event, protagonist Jack Mitchell must pay his respects to his friend Will Irons who fell in combat in a previous mission, represented by the player pressing F when playing the PC version. People on the Internet use the letter F sometimes in a genuine way to express respect, sadness, or condolences towards other Internet personalities, Internet memes, or other players on certain events.<ref>{{cite news |url = https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/press-f-to-pay-respects |title = Press F to pay respects |newspaper = Know Your Meme |date = 20 December 2014 |access-date = 15 March 2020 }}</ref>

== Related characters ==
<!-- Please only list characters (symbols in a writing system, but not just convenience code points in Unicode) that are actually related in terms of origin to the letter that is the topic of this article. Characters that merely look subjectively similar need not apply. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Identifying_reliable_sources before adding more. -->

=== Ancestors, descendants and siblings ===
* F with [[diacritic]]s:
** [[Ƒ|Ƒ ƒ]]
** [[Dot (diacritic)|Ḟ ḟ]]
** ᵮ <ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2003/03174r2-mid-tilde.pdf |title = L2/03-174R2: Proposal to Encode Phonetic Symbols with Middle Tilde in the UCS |date = 2003-09-30 |first = Peter |last = Constable }}</ref>
** [[ᶂ]]<ref name="L204132">{{cite web |url = https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2004/04132-n2740-phonetic.pdf |title = L2/04-132 Proposal to add additional phonetic characters to the UCS |date = 2004-04-19 |first = Peter |last = Constable }}</ref>
** Ꞙ ꞙ : F with stroke is used in the [[Anthropos (journal)|Anthropos]] phonetic transcription system<ref name="L211202" /><ref>{{cite work |language = de |first = Martin |last = Heepe |title = Lautzeichen und ihre Anwendung in verschiedenen Sprachgebieten |location = Berlin |publisher = Reichsdruckerei |year = 1928 }}</ref> and older [[Ewe language#Orthography|Ewe writing]]<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UA720.pdf |title = Latin Extended-D }}</ref>
* ꬵ : Lenis F is used in the [[Teuthonista]] phonetic transcription system<ref name="L211202">{{cite web |url = https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2011/11202-n4081-teuthonista.pdf |title = L2/11-202: Revised proposal to encode "Teuthonista" phonetic characters in the UCS |date = 2011-06-02 |first1=Michael |last1=Everson |first2=Alois|last2=Dicklberger |first3=Karl |last3=Pentzlin |first4=Eveline |last4=Wandl-Vogt }}</ref>
* <sup>f</sup>: Superscript "f", encoded as {{unichar|1DA0|Modifier letter small f}} in the [[Phonetic Extensions Supplement]] block of [[Unicode]], is used in some forms of the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]].<ref name="L204132" />
* ꜰ : Small capital F was used in the Icelandic [[First Grammatical Treatise]] to mark [[gemination]]<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06027-n3027-medieval.pdf |title=L2/06-027: Proposal to add Medievalist characters to the UCS |date=2006-01-30 |first1=Michael |last1=Everson |first2=Peter |last2=Baker |first3=António |last3=Emiliano |first4=Florian |last4=Grammel |first5=Odd Einar |last5=Haugen |first6=Diana |last6=Luft |first7=Susana |last7=Pedro |first8=Gerd |last8=Schumacher |first9=Andreas |last9=Stötzner }}</ref>
* ꟳ : Modifier letter capital F<ref>{{Cite web|title=L2/20-251: Unicode request for modifier Latin capital letters|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2020/20251-mod-latin.pdf|date=2020-09-25|first1=Kirk|last1=Miller|first2=Craig|last2=Cornelius}}</ref> – Used to mark tone for the [[Chatino language|Chatino]] orthography in Oaxaca, Mexico; Used as a generic transcription for a falling tone; used in para-[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] notation.
* Ꝼ ꝼ : [[Insular script|Insular]] F is used in Norse and Old English contexts<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06266-n3122-insular.pdf |title = L2/06-266: Proposal to add Latin letters and a Greek symbol to the UCS |date = 2006-08-06 |first = Michael |last = Everson }}</ref>
* ꟻ : Reversed F was used in ancient Roman texts to stand for {{lang|la|filia}} (daughter) or {{lang|la|femina}} (woman)<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06269-add-roman.pdf |title = L2/06-269: Proposal to Add Additional Ancient Roman Characters to UCS |date = 2006-08-01 |first = David J. |last = Perry }}</ref>
* Ⅎ ⅎ : [[Claudian letters]]<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2005/05193r2-n2960r2-claudian.pdf |title = L2/05-193R2: Proposal to add Claudian Latin letters to the UCS |date = 2005-08-12 |first = Michael |last = Everson }}</ref>
* 𐤅: [[Phoenician alphabet|Semitic]] letter [[Waw (letter)|Waw]], from which the following symbols originally derive:
** Ϝ ϝ : [[Greek alphabet|Greek]] letter [[Digamma]], from which F derives:
*** 𐌅 : [[Old Italic script|Old Italic]] V/F (originally used for V, in languages such as Etruscan and Oscan), which derives from Greek Digamma, and is the ancestor of modern Latin F
*** Y y : Latin letter [[Y]], sharing its roots with F
*** V v : Latin letter [[V]], also sharing its roots with F
**** U u : Latin letter [[U]], which is descended from V
**** W w : Latin letter [[W]], also descended from V

=== Ligatures and abbreviations ===
* ₣ : [[French franc]], Latin capital letter F with stroke
* {{not a typo|℉}} : [[Fahrenheit|degree Fahrenheit]]
* F : [[Fluorine]], a chemical element uses the symbol F

== Other representations ==
=== Computing <span class="anchor" id="Computing codes"></span> ===
These are the [[code point]]s for the forms of the letter in various systems:
{{charmap
| 0046 | 0066 | name1 = Latin Capital Letter F | name2 = Latin Small Letter F
| FF26 | name3 = FULLWIDTH LATIN CAPITAL LETTER F
| FF46 | name4 = FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER F
| map1 = [[EBCDIC]] family | map1char1 = C6 | map1char2 = 86
| map2 = [[ASCII]]{{efn|Also for encodings based on ASCII, including the DOS, Windows, ISO-8859 and Macintosh families of encodings.}} | map2char1 = 46 | map2char2 = 66
}}

=== Other ===
{{Letter other reps
|NATO = Foxtrot
|Morse = ··–·
|Character = F6
|Braille = ⠋
|fingerspelling = F
}}

{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|F}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|f}}

{{Latin alphabet|F|}}

[[Category:ISO basic Latin letters]]