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Architecture

The Unusual History of Letter Q

The Unusual History of Letter Q

The letter Q is the only letter in the English alphabet that almost never appears without its inseparable partner, the letter U. This iconic duo is a direct result of historical linguistic borrowing.

Originally, the letter Q came from a Semitic symbol that represented a sound not found in Latin. When Romans adopted the alphabet, they used Q specifically to represent the sound before a W-like vowel. Because of this, the letter U was almost always placed immediately after it to complete the sound. Even today, almost every English word starting with Q follows this ancient pattern.

Source: Q

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