O

O O ([=o]). 1. O, the fifteenth letter of the English alphabet, derives its form, value, and name from the Greek O, through the Latin. The letter came into the Greek from the Ph[oe]nician, which possibly derived it ultimately from the Egyptian. Etymologically, the letter o is most closely related to a, e, and u; as in E. bone, AS. b[=a]n; E. stone, AS. st[=a]n; E. broke, AS. brecan to break; E. bore, AS. beran to bear; E. dove, AS. d[=u]fe; E. toft, tuft; tone, tune; number, F. nombre. [1913 Webster] The letter o has several vowel sounds, the principal of which are its long sound, as in bone, its short sound, as in nod, and the sounds heard in the words orb, son, do (feod), and wolf (book). In connection with the other vowels it forms several digraphs and diphthongs. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 107-129. [1913 Webster]

2. Among the ancients, O was a mark of triple time, from the notion that the ternary, or number 3, is the most perfect of numbers, and properly expressed by a circle, the most perfect figure. [1913 Webster] O was also anciently used to represent 11: with a dash over it ([=O]), 11,000. [1913 Webster]