Edh

/ɛð/ noun

Definition

a letter of Old English and Icelandic alphabets (ð) representing a voiced dental fricative sound, similar to the 'th' in 'this'.

Etymology

From Old English 'edh' or 'eth', derived from the Runic alphabet; the letter evolved from a Runic symbol and was used in Germanic languages before the Roman alphabet became standard.

Kelly Says

English ditched the letter 'edh' when we switched to the Roman alphabet, but we didn't lose the sound—we just borrowed 'th' from Old English and adapted it, which is why English spelling is so weird!

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