Words with C

History of the letter C

Its form can be traced back to the Phoenician alphabet, where it represented a hunting stick or club, and was known as "gimel." This evolved into the Greek "gamma," but in the Etruscan and later the Roman alphabets, it took on the sound value of both "g" and "k" before the letter "G" was introduced to represent the voiced velar stop. In English, "C" has a flexible role, sounding as a "k" before "a," "o," "u," or consonants (as in "cat" or "cliff") and as an "s" before "e," "i," or "y" (as in "cent" or "cylinder"). This dual pronunciation makes "C" a unique letter that can generate confusion in spelling and pronunciation, leading to certain spelling reforms and rules. Additionally, "C" has taken on significant symbolic meanings and functions in various fields; for example, it represents the speed of light in physics and is a common symbol for the Celsius temperature scale. Through its diverse applications and historical evolution, "C" illustrates the complexity and adaptability of the alphabet in representing human thought and language.

Words that start with C