# The Odd Letter W: A History of the Alphabet > How the letter W emerged from Roman collapse to shape English spelling. - Title: The Odd Letter W: A History of the Alphabet · Literary Hub - Summary: How the letter W emerged from Roman collapse to shape English spelling. The letter W evolved from medieval scribes doubling U to spell Germanic /w/ sounds… - Keywords: latin, germanic, english, spelling, history, alphabet, linguistics, vowel, consonant, medieval, roman empire, Odd - Source: Literary Hub — https://lithub.com/a-necessary-history-of-the-oddest-letter-w - Published: 2026-06-25T09:09:02+00:00 - Read time: 1 min - Topics: w, latin, germanic, english, spelling, history, alphabet, linguistics, vowel, consonant, medieval, roman empire ## W's birth W began as doubled U in sixth century Francia. > From the sixth century onwards, likely starting in the powerful kingdom of Francia ## Roman collapse Western Roman Empire fell in 476 ce. > The western half of the roman empire disintegrated into a patchwork of new kingdoms ## Germanic names Kings like Clovis had names with /w/ sounds. > One of these incoming tongues was the ancestor of the language you are reading right now ## Latin's problem Latin had no letter for /w/ sounds. > The trouble was, the latin alphabet now had no letter for this sound ## First W Scribes doubled U to spell /w/ in texts. > Within latin texts, we find germanically-named individuals like the abbot uu andeberctus ## W vs. U W became standard spelling for /w/ sounds. > Nonetheless, w established itself as a standard way to spell the germanic sound w ## Old English English writers used Ƿ for /w/ sounds. > Known as wynn, the letter Ƿ is extremely common in our old english sources ## Norman impact W replaced Ƿ after norman conquest. > It did survive the norman conquest, but gradually fizzled out during the middle english era ## Spelling shifts W changed English vowel sounds. > W has been brought in to tell the reader that the ow in town is a greatly shifted diphthong ## Rhyme effect W causes words to rhyme differently. > The third word, i think you will agree, does not rhyme with the previous two ## Shakespeare Shakespeare rhymes W-words. > was with glass, and warmed with disarmed ## Byron Byron uses W-words in rhymes. > as from the stroke of the enchanter's wand ## Modern W W still shapes English spelling today. > We could of course start to write wond instead of wand ## Why W? W is a rare survivor of ancient /w/ sounds. > The english consonant w is actually a rare survivor ## W's legacy W influences vowel and consonant spelling. > W has been brought in to tell the reader that the ow in town is a greatly shifted diphthong ## What next? English spelling continues to evolve with W. > For the moment at least, english readers and writers know to be cautious around the english letter w ## Key takeaway The letter W evolved from medieval scribes doubling U to spell Germanic /w/ sounds, later influencing English spelling and pronunciation shifts.