M

M, or 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 Template:IPAc-en), plural ems.<ref>"M" Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition (1989); Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (1993); "em," op. cit.</ref>

History

Egyptian hieroglyph "n"	Phoenician Mem	Western Greek Mu	Etruscan M	Latin M
<hiero>n</hiero>	File:PhoenicianM-01.svg	File:Greek Mu 04.svg	File:EtruscanM-01.svg	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 {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, from the Egyptian word for "water", nt; the adoption as the Semitic letter for {{#invoke:IPA|main}} was presumably also on acrophonic grounds, from the Semitic word for "water", *mā(y)-.<ref>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 Template:Webarchive).</ref>

Use in writing systems

English

In English, Template:Angbr represents the voiced bilabial nasal {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.

The Oxford English Dictionary (first edition) says that Template:Angbr 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: {{#invoke:IPA|main}}).

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

Other languages

The letter Template:Angbr represents the voiced bilabial nasal {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in the orthography of Latin as well as in those of many modern languages.

In Washo, lower-case Template:Angbr represents a voiced bilabial nasal {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, while upper-case Template:Angbr represents a voiceless bilabial nasal {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.

Other systems

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, Template:Angbr represents the voiced bilabial nasal {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.

Other uses

File:Miehikkala.vaakuna.svg

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Unit prefix M (mega), meaning one million times, and m (milli) meaning one-thousandth.<ref name="freedict">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="collins">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• m is the standard abbreviation for metre (or meter) in the International System of Units (SI).<ref name="freedict"/> However, m is also used as an abbreviation for mile.<ref name="collins"/>
• M is used as the unit abbreviation for molarity.<ref name="freedict" />
• With money amounts, m or M is ambiguous. In the finance industry,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="freedict"/><ref name="collins"/>

• M often represents male or masculine, especially in conjunction with F for female or feminine.<ref name="freedict"/><ref name="collins"/>
• 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.)

Related characters

Descendants and related characters in the Latin alphabet

• M with diacritics: Ḿ ḿ Ṁ ṁ Ṃ ṃ M̃ m̃ ᵯ<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• IPA-specific symbols related to M: Template:IPA link Template:IPA link
• Ɱ : Capital M with hook
• Uralic Phonetic Alphabet-specific symbols related to M:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• • Template:Unichar
  • Template:Unichar
  • Template:Unichar
  • Template:Unichar
  • Template:Unichar
• Some symbols related to M were used by the Uralic Phonetic Alphabet prior to its formal standardization in 1902:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• • Template:Unichar
  • Template:Unichar
• The Teuthonista phonetic transcription system uses Template:Unichar<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Other variations used for phonetic transcription:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> ᶆ ᶬ ᶭ

• Ɯ ɯ : Turned M
• ꟽ : Inverted M was used in ancient Roman texts to stand for mulier (woman)<ref name="L206269">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• ꟿ : Archaic M was used in ancient Roman texts to abbreviate the personal name 'Manius' (A regular capital M was used for the more common personal name 'Marcus')<ref name="L206269"/>
• ℳ : currency symbol for Mark

Ancestors and siblings in other alphabets

• 𐤌 : Semitic letter Mem, from which the following symbols originally derive:
  • Μ μ : Greek letter Mu, from which M derives
    • Template:Script : Coptic letter Me, which derives from Greek Mu
    • М м : Cyrillic letter Em, also derived from Mu
    • 𐌌 : Old Italic M, which derives from Greek Mu, and is the ancestor of modern Latin M
      • Template:Script : Runic letter Mannaz, which derives from old Italic M
    • Template:Script : Gothic letter manna, which derives from Greek Mu

Ligatures and abbreviations

• ₥ : Mill (currency)
• Template:Not a typo : Trademark symbol
• Template:Not a typo : Service mark symbol

External links

• Template:Commons-inline
• Template:Wiktionary-inline
• Template:Wiktionary-inline