M

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M (minuscule: m) is the thirteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of several Western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is em (pronounced /ˈɛm/ <phonos file="LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-M.wav"></phonos>), plural ems.[1]

History

Egyptian hieroglyph
"n" 		Phoenician
Mem 		Western Greek
Mu 		Etruscan
M 		Latin
M
<hiero>n</hiero> Latin M

The letter M is derived from the Phoenician Mem via the Greek Mu (Μ, μ). Semitic Mem is most likely derived from a "Proto-Sinaitic" (Bronze Age) adoption of the "water" ideogram in Egyptian writing. The Egyptian sign had the acrophonic value Script error: No such module "IPA"., from the Egyptian word for "water", nt; the adoption as the Semitic letter for Script error: No such module "IPA". was presumably also on acrophonic grounds, from the Semitic word for "water", *mā(y)-.[2]

Use in writing systems

Pronunciation of ⟨m⟩ by language
Orthography Phonemes
Catalan /m/
Template:Nwr /m/
English /m/, silent
French /m/, /◌̃/
German /m/
Portuguese /m/, /◌̃/
Spanish /m/, /n/
Turkish /m/

English

In English, ⟨m⟩ represents the voiced bilabial nasal Script error: No such module "IPA"..

The Oxford English Dictionary (first edition) says that ⟨m⟩ is sometimes a vowel, such as in words like spasm and in the suffix -ism. In modern terminology, this is described as a syllabic consonant (IPA: Script error: No such module "IPA".).

The digraph, "mn," when used in the beginning of words, such as mnemonic, is pronounced as /n/. This digraph is the only instance where the letter ⟨m⟩ is silent.

M is the fourteenth most frequently used letter in the English language.

Other languages

The letter ⟨m⟩ represents the voiced bilabial nasal Script error: No such module "IPA". in the orthography of Latin as well as in those of many modern languages. In Spanish, final ⟨m⟩ is rare and mostly corresponds to Script error: No such module "IPA"., with Script error: No such module "IPA". being a foreign pronunciation applied only by some speakers in loanwords.

In Washo, lower-case ⟨m⟩ represents a voiced bilabial nasal Script error: No such module "IPA"., while upper-case ⟨M⟩ represents a voiceless bilabial nasal Script error: No such module "IPA"..

Other systems

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, ⟨m⟩ represents the voiced bilabial nasal Script error: No such module "IPA"..

Other uses

Template:Main article

Styled letter M in the coat of arms of Miehikkälä
  • The Roman numeral M represents the number 1000, though it was not used in Roman times. There is, however, scant evidence that the letter was later introduced in the early centuries A.D. by the Romans.[3]
  • Unit prefix M (mega), meaning one million times, and m (milli) meaning one-thousandth.[4][5]
  • m is the standard abbreviation for metre (or meter) in the International System of Units (SI).[4] However, m is sometimes also used as an abbreviation for mile.[5]
  • M is used as the unit abbreviation for molarity.[4]
  • With money amounts, m or M is ambiguous. In the finance industry,[6] m or M means 1,000. In this context, five million dollars is written $5mm or $5MM. Outside of finance, some people use M like the metric system "mega-" to mean one million and write $5M.[4][5]
  • M often represents male or masculine, especially in conjunction with F for female or feminine.[4][5]
  • In typography, an em dash is a punctuation symbol whose width is similar to that of a capital letter M.
  • M is used as a logo by many rapid transit systems, standing for "Metro" (or equivalents in other languages.)

Ancestors and siblings in other alphabets

Ligatures and abbreviations

Other representations

Computing

Other

Template:Letter reps

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ "M" Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition (1989); Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (1993); "em," op. cit.
  2. ^ See F. Simons, "Proto-Sinaitic — Progenitor of the Alphabet" Rosetta 9 (2011): Figure Two: "Representative selection of proto-Sinaitic characters with comparison to Egyptian hieroglyphs", (p. 38) Figure Three: "Chart of all early proto-Canaanite letters with comparison to proto-Sinaitic signs" (p. 39), Figure Four: "Representative selection of later proto-Canaanite letters with comparison to early proto-Canaanite and proto-Sinaitic signs" (p. 40). See also: Goldwasser (2010), following Albright (1966), "Schematic Table of Proto-Sinaitic Characters" (fig. 1 Script error: No such module "webarchive".).
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gordon, Arthur E. (1983). Illustrated Introduction to Latin Epigraphy. University of California Press. pp. 45. ISBN 9780520038981. Retrieved October 3, 2015. roman numerals.
  4. ^ a b c d e Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."What does M stand for?". The Free Dictionary. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."M definition and meaning". Collins English Dictionary. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."MM (Millions)". corporatefinanceinstitute.com. corporate finance institute. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Constable, Peter (September 30, 2003). "L2/03-174R2: Proposal to Encode Phonetic Symbols with Middle Tilde in the UCS" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  8. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Everson, Michael; et al. (March 20, 2002). "L2/02-141: Uralic Phonetic Alphabet characters for the UCS" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 19, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Ruppel, Klaas; Aalto, Tero; Everson, Michael (January 27, 2009). "L2/09-028: Proposal to encode additional characters for the Uralic Phonetic Alphabet" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  10. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Everson, Michael; Dicklberger, Alois; Pentzlin, Karl; Wandl-Vogt, Eveline (June 2, 2011). "L2/11-202: Revised proposal to encode "Teuthonista" phonetic characters in the UCS" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Constable, Peter (April 19, 2004). "L2/04-132 Proposal to add additional phonetic characters to the UCS" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
  12. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Perry, David J. (August 1, 2006). "L2/06-269: Proposal to Add Additional Ancient Roman Characters to UCS" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on June 14, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2018.

Template:Latin alphabet

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