D.

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Dd

D or d (pronounced: [ deː ]) is the fourth letter of the classical and modern Latin alphabet . It's a consonant . The letter D has an average frequency of 5.09% in German texts. This makes it the eighth most common letter in German texts .

The letter D is in the finger alphabet

The finger alphabet for the deaf or hard of hearing represents the letter D with the index finger pointing upwards and the thumb and remaining fingers forming a closed circle.

origin

Fish (protosinaitic) Door (protosinaite) Phoenician Dâlet Greek delta Etruscan D Latin D
Fish (protosinaitic) Door (protosinaite) Phoenician Dâlet Greek delta Etruscan D Latin D

The Protosinaitic original form of the letter lies in the dark. Scientists are currently assuming the symbol for fish or a symbol for door . The door symbol symbolizes the entrance door of a tent hung with a curtain. From the tail fin of the fish or the door symbol, the letter in the Phoenician alphabet developed into a triangle with a tip. The reconstructed name of this letter is Dâlet , which means door . The Phoenicians gave the letter the sound value [d]. Also in the Hebrew alphabet, the letter with the corresponding sound value Dalet is called "דּ". There is a certain relationship to the T, as both sounds are very similar

The Greeks adopted the letter as a delta . The approach of the triangle has been omitted. In the pre-classical period, the triangle was sometimes also shown rounded, depending on the particular writing tool. The Etruscans adopted the rounded shape of the delta. Since the Etruscan language did not have voiced consonants like [d], the letter was rarely used, although it was retained. The Romans took over the letter from the Etruscans, closed it off with the base line and used it again to represent the [d] sound present in Latin .

Quote

D conveys the thin and sharp loud T with the breathy TH. It takes fourth place in the Greco-Latin alphabet between G and E or C and E: it does not appear in the Old Rune alphabet, which consists of only sixteen letters and has its own very different order, because Þ and T are sufficient for it ... (from Grimm's dictionary )

See also

  • د , the Arabic letter Dāl
  • ד , the Hebrew letter Daleth

Web links

Commons : D  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: d  - Explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Wiktionary: D  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations