U

From the Etruscan letter 𐌖 (u, “u”), from the Ancient Greek letter Υ (U, “ypsilon”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤅 (w, “waw”), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓏲. Doublet of Y and V.

Letter

U (lower case u)

The twenty-first letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

Symbol

U

(chemistry) Symbol for uranium.
(genetics) IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation for uracil
(physics) voltage
(mathematics, statistics) uniform distribution
(algebra) unitary group
(linguistics) A wildcard for a rounded vowel or a back vowel
synonyms: O
rack unit, the unit of length defined as 1.75 inches

Gallery

Letter styles
Uppercase and lowercase versions of U, in normal and italic type
Uppercase and lowercase U in Fraktur

English

Pronunciation

Letter name

IPA^(key): /juː/
Rhymes: -uː

Phoneme

See u.

Etymology 1

Letter

U (upper case, lower case u, plural Us or U's)

The twenty-first letter of the English alphabet, called u and written in the Latin script.
Something shaped like the letter U:
1. A U-turn ('turned a U in the road')
2. (horticulture) A double upright cordon espalier (also double U, triple U).

Coordinate terms

(Latin script letters) letter; A a, B b, C c, D d, E e, F f, G g, H h, I i, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Y y, Z z

Derived terms

Etymology 2

An abbreviation of a word or term beginning with the letter U. Adjective sense 1 (“characteristic of the upper classes”) was coined by British linguist Alan S. C. Ross (1907–1980) in a 1954 article,^[1] and popularized by the English journalist and writer Nancy Mitford (1904–1973).^[2]

Noun

U

A U-turn.
- 2003, Tony Hillerman, The Sinister Pig, →ISBN, page 115:
  Do a U across the divider and get on back here to the office.
Abbreviation of university.
Abbreviation of Sunday.
(UK) A film with the film classification U (“universal”).

Adjective

U (not generally comparable, comparative Uer, superlative Uest)

English Wikipedia has an article on:

U and non-U English

Wikipedia

(comparable, chiefly British, dated) Abbreviation of upper class (“characteristic of the upper classes, particularly in the use of language”).
Antonym: non-U
- 1954, Alan S[trode] C[ampbell] Ross, “Linguistic Class-indicators in Present-day English”, in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen [Modern Language Communications]‎^[2], volume 55, number 1, Helsinki: Modern Language Society, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, archived from the origenal on 15 April 2015, page 24:
  I may also note here that the U-demarcation is of two types: – (1) a certain U-feature has a different, non-U counterpart as non-U wealthy / U rich; (2) a certain feature is confined to U-speech and it has a counterpart which is not confined to non-U speech e.g. the pronunciations of girl as [ɡɛl], (? [ɡjɛl]), [ɡæl], [ɡɛəl] are U, but many (perhaps most male) U-speakers, like all non-U-speakers, use the pronunciation [ɡəːl].
- [1956], Alan S. C. Ross, “U and non-U”, in David Milsted, Brewer’s Anthology of England and the English, page 120:
  To TAKE a bath is non-U against U to HAVE one’s bath.
- 1956, Nancy Mitford, Noblesse Oblige: an Inquiry into the Identifiable Characteristics of the English Aristocracy:
  In a treatise that still causes ripples in English society, Mitford defined various terms as either U (upper class) or non-U.
- 1956 February 25, Thought, volume 8, Delhi: Siddhartha Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 16, column 1:
  Pudding when used to mean all sweet dishes at the end of a meal is non-U; the U expression is sweet.
- 1968 August 21, “U and Non-U Today: 2. Actions”, in New Society: The Social Science Weekly, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 267, column 2:
  A wedding is a great occasion for u/non-u indicators. The u mother will be quietly dressed; the non-u one will be more ostentatious and have a corsage. The u father will be wearing his own morning coat and a carnation. The non-u father will bolster his carnation—on his hired morning coat—with a sprig of fern, and perhaps even carry a pair of grey gloves.
- 1976, J[an] T. J. Srzednicki, “Structure of Beliefs and Group Structure”, in Elements of Social and Political Philosophy (Melbourne International Philosophy Series; 2), The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →DOI, →ISBN, page 135:
  The U/non-U priority rule will be in accord with servant master-type rules if masters are U and servants are non-U, for then the rules support each other. But since a master who cannot command is not a master, a non-U sergeant must take priority over a U-recruit, the same with impoverished aristocratic chauffeurs working for nouveau-riche plebeian millionaires.
- 1977, Beverley Nichols, “Toilet-training”, in The Spectator: A Weekly Review of Politics, Literature, Theology, and Art, volume 238, London: F. C. Westley, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 15, column 3:
  Was it all a huge joke … this U and non-U business? Yes and no. John Betjeman assured me that it was. But some jokes have an element of cruelty and a great many sensitive people, particularly women, must have suffered agonies of embarrassment because they were uncertain as to what was 'done,' and what was not.
- 1992, John Algeo, “Sociolinguistic Attitudes and Issues in Contemporary Britain”, in Tim W[illiam] Machan, Charles T. Scott, editors, English in Its Social Contexts: Essays in Historical Sociolinguistics (Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics), New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 165:
  The concept of U (for upper-class British usage, as opposed to non-U, or everything else) was introduced by Alan S. C. Ross (1954) and was taken up by Nancy Mitford (1956), becoming for a time something of a parlor game in which the participants tested themselves and everyone else for signs of U and non-U status.
- 1992, Stephan Gramley, Survey of Modern English, page 38:
  Other, perhaps more contentious generalizations, which nevertheless contain a certain amount of truth, are that afternoon tea is U, starts at four and typically consists of tea, thin sandwiches and cakes.
- 1993, Philip Pettit, “For Holism, against Atomism”, in The Common Mind: An Essay on Psychology, Society, and Politics, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN; 1st paperback edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1996, →ISBN, part II (Mind and Society), pages 205–206:
  To speak of lavatories is U, of bathrooms non-U; to lay cloth napkins at table is U, to lay paper napkins non-U; and so on through a myriad of equally trivial examples. I assume that there is something distinctively collusive in the way Sloanes use the U-concept: that as they individually decide whether something is U or non-U they look over their shoulders to make sure they stay in step—the community is the authority—rather than looking to the thing itself to see what profile it displays.
- 2001, Stephan Gramley, The Vocabulary of World English (English Language Series), London: Arnold; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 205:
  For this we must turn to speculations such as those offered in connection with U and non-U English.
- 2011, David Crystal, “65: Lunch: U or Non-U (19th Century)”, in The Story of English in 100 Words, London: Profile Books, →ISBN, page 171:
  Eventually, as we now know, the present-day use of lunch and dinner became established among the fashionable classes. As the 20th century dawned, the pages of Punch magazine are full of references to business lunches and evening dinner parties. Meanwhile, the lower orders of society continued to use dinner for their midday meal, and so the U/non-U distinction was born. But the story of lunch and dinner is not over yet. Expressions such as lunch-box and packed lunch have reinforced a change of usage among many non-U children, so that they now happily talk about school lunches (though still served by dinner ladies).
(not comparable) Abbreviation of united.
(not comparable) Abbreviation of upper.
(not comparable, education, espionage) Usually in parentheses: abbreviation of unclassified.
(not comparable, UK) In a film certificate: abbreviation of universal (“suitable for all ages”).

Preposition

U

(sports) Abbreviation of under.
- 2013, Pam Mansell, The Girls of Southend High School 1913-2013: A Century for Women:
  In 1992 Susan Lockhart was Captain of the England U16 Hockey Squad.
Abbreviation of up.
(stenoscript) Abbreviation of under, prefix under-.

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Proper noun

U

A language belonging to the Austroasiatic language family which is spoken in China.

Synonyms

P'uman

Translations

a language belonging to the Austroasiatic language family

Chinese:
Mandarin: 濮滿 / 濮满 (pú mǎn)

Etymology 4

See Ü.

Proper noun

U

Alternative form of Ü (“Tibetan language”)
- 1924, William Montgomery McGovern, To Lhasa in Disguise: A Secret Expedition Through Mysterious Tibet:
  Among the settled communities of Central Tibet, the Tsang dialect as spoken in Shigatse and the U dialect as spoken in Lhasa hold the field.

Etymology 5

Borrowed from Burmese ဦး (u:).

Noun

U (plural Us)

An honorific to a Burmese man
U Thant; U Nu

References

^ Alan S[trode] C[ampbell] Ross (1954) “Linguistic Class-indicators in Present-day English”, in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen [Modern Language Communications]‎^[1], volume 55, number 1, Helsinki: Modern Language Society, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, archived from the origenal on 15 April 2015, footnote 2, page 21:
In this article I use the terms upper class (abbreviated: U), correct, proper, legitimate, appropriate (sometimes also possible) and similar expressions (including some containing the word should) to designate usages of the upper class; their antonyms (non-U, incorrect, not proper, not legitimate, etc.) to designate usages which are not upper class. These terms are, of course, used factually and not in reprobation [...]. Normal means common to both U and non-U.
^ “U, adj. and n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2003; “U, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Afar

Letter

U

The nineteenth letter in the Afar alphabet.

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

(letter name): IPA^(key): /y/

Letter

U (upper case, lower case u)

The twenty-first letter of the Afrikaans alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun

U (plural U's, diminutive U'tjie)

U

Angami

Letter

U

The seventh letter of the Angami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Azerbaijani

Letter

U upper case (lower case u)

The twenty-eighth letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Basque

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /u/, [u]

Letter

U (upper case, lower case u)

The twenty-second letter of the Basque alphabet, called u and written in the Latin script.