Vn.

the 22nd letter of the modern English and the 20th of the ancient Roman alphabet, was in the latter an adoption of the early Greek vowel-symbol V, now also represented by U and Y, but in Latin was employed also with the value of the Greek digamma (viz. w), to which it corresponds etymologically. When not purely vocalic, it still denoted this sound at the time when the earliest Latin loanwords were adopted in the Teutonic languages; consequently such words beginning with v appear in Old English with w. Under the Empire, however, the semi-vocalic sound gradually changed to a bilabial consonant, and finally became the labio-dental voiced spirant now denoted by the letter in English and various other languages. This development did not take place in Old English; and no v, whether bilabial or labio-dental, occurred initially in the older Teutonic languages, although the sound was common in other positions (in Old English denoted by f, in early texts by b). In Old English dictionaries there is thus no set of words with initial V, one or two Latin words adopted at a late period usually appearing with f, as fann, fers (but also vers), from Latin vannus, versus. The first appearance of V-words is found in those Middle English texts which begin to show a distinct French influence, as the Ancren Riwle; even early writers like Orm and Laȝamon, while not free from the use of French words, do not employ any beginning with v. The number of such words steadily increases in later texts, and is subsequently greatly reinforced by direct adoptions from Latin, by new formations on Latin stems, and by adoptions from other Romanic languages. The other sources of initial V are of minor importance. The change of w to v, which took place in the middle period of the Scandinavian languages, is represented in a few words, as Valhalla, valkyrie, viking, but otherwise the words with this initial are chiefly derived from languages not directly related to English. A small number of words, however, as vat, vixen, exemplify the voicing of f- peculiar to southern (now only south-western) dialects. This change is not indicated in Old English spelling, and how far it had developed in speech is uncertain, but in southern Middle English texts all native words (rarely those of French or Latin origin) beginning with f may appear with v- (or its equivalent u-); the more important variant forms due to this cause are entered in their places below. Conversely words properly having v- are occasionally written with f-, and there is evidence that this is not merely graphic, but represents an actual pronunciation. (‘Euen so oure Englishmen vse to speake in Essexe, for they say fineger for vineger, feale for veale, & contrary wyse a voxe for a foxe, voure for foure, etc.’ 1546 Langley, tr. Pol. Verg. de Invent. i. vi. 14.)When not initial, v occurs freely in native words as well as in those of Latin or other origin. In the former it represents Old English f when voiced, as in ǽfen even, drífan drive, lufu love. The use of f (or ff) in such words was partly retained in Middle English (and especially in Sc. down to the 16th century); but even in late Old English u is frequently substituted, and in early Middle English (as in medeval Latin and Old French) u and v come into general use to denote the sound in all positions. It was only in the 17th century that these two letters, both of which had been employed in a double function (see U), were finally distinguished as vowel and consonant; and down to the 19th century words beginning with either letter continued to form one series in dictionaries.In some Middle English (chiefly northern) manuscripts, and in many Scottish texts of the 15th and 16th centuries, v is more or less frequently written in place of w, while conversely w is freely written instead of v. These forms are merely graphic, and do not imply a phonetic interchange of w and v (though in modern north-eastern Sc. wr- has become vr-). In south-eastern English dialects the change of v- to w- does occur, and older representations of Cockney speech exhibit a converse change of w- to v-, which recent investigators have been unable to verify as still existent. The latter change is illustrated in the following quotations.Elision of v when not initial has taken place extensively in dialects, especially those of the North and Scotland, as in deil devil, shule shovel, hairst harvest. In standard English this is represented by such words as hawk, head, lark, lord, and is specially indicated in a few archaic or poetic forms, as e'en even, e'er ever, ne'er never, o'er over.

C1.

C2.

I1. Of various Latin words or phrases.

I2. Of English words and phrases: See also (as main entries) VAT n.², VE n., veejay n., V.I.P. n., VJ n.¹, V-sign n.

I4. Of German words: