Z

From the Etruscan letter 𐌆 (z, “ze”), from the Ancient Greek letter Ζ (Z, “zeta”), derived from the Phoenician letter 𐤆‎ (z, “zayin”), from the Egyptian hieroglyph 𓏭.

Z (lower case z)

1. The twenty-sixth and final letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.

• (Latin script):  Aa  Bb  Cc  Dd  Ee  Ff  Gg  Hh  Ii  Jj  Kk  Ll  Mm  Nn  Oo  Pp  Qq  Rr  Sſs  Tt  Uu  Vv  Ww  Xx  Yy  Zz
• (Variations of letter Z):  Źź  Ẑẑ  Žž  Żż  Ẓẓ  Ẕẕ  Ƶƶ  Ȥȥ  Ⱬⱬ  ᵶ  ᶎ  ʐ  ʑ  ɀ  ᴢ  Ｚｚ  DZDzdz  DZDzdz  DŽDždž  DŽDždž
• ☡, a symbol for caution which resembles Z

Z

1. (metrology) zetta-
2. (physics) the impedance of an electrical circuit
3. (physics, computer graphics) the depth dimension in a 3D environment
4. (physics) atomic number
5. (biochemistry) IUPAC 1-letter abbreviation for either glutamine or glutamic acid

• Letter styles
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase versions of Z, in normal and italic type
• 
  Uppercase and lowercase Z in Fraktur

Other representations of Z:

Name of letter

• (UK, Canada, New Zealand, General Australian) IPA^(key): /zɛd/
• (US) IPA^(key): /zi/
• (Hong Kong) IPA^(key): /iˈzɛd/, /ɪˈzɛd/ (from izzard)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛd, -iː

Z (upper case, lower case z, plural Zs or Z's)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the English alphabet, called zed or zee and written in the Latin script.

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Z (plural Z's or Zs)

1. A member of Generation Z.

   Synonyms: Generation Z, Generation Zer, Gen Z, Gen-Zer, Zer, zoomer

   Alternative form: Zed

   • 2017, Martha M. Ellis, Linda Garcia, Generation X Presidents Leading Community Colleges: New Challenges, New Leaders, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 10:

     Take that a step further for Millennials and Zs by crafting an e-mail subject header that does the same but with even fewer characters; […]

   • 2020, Zerlina Maxwell, The End of White Politics: How to Heal Our Liberal Divide, New York, N.Y.: Hachette Books, →ISBN:

     The current progressive movement—and certainly the Millennials and Zs—understand that the Hyde Amendment is discriminatory […]

   • 2022, Morgen Witzel, editor, Post-Pandemic Leadership: Exploring Solutions to a Crisis, Routledge, →ISBN:

     The current global pandemic is almost certainly a formative moment for younger Millennials and Zs as they navigate through similar challenges.

2. (slang) Z-drug.
   • 2013, Snap Capone (lyrics and music), “Lights Out”, in The Memoir‎, from 0:16:

     I can sell bricks, I don't need to rap
     Buj so peng it makes the fiends collapse
     Cook that coca into crack
     I was selling Zs while you was in your bed

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /zɛt/

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Afrikaans alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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Z (plural Z's, diminutive Z'tjie)

1. Z

• IPA^(key): /z/

Z (lower case z)

1. The thirty-fifth letter of the Albanian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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Z upper case (lower case z)

1. The thirty-second letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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• IPA^(key): /s̻eta/, [s̻e̞.t̪a]

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-seventh letter of the Basque alphabet, called zeta and written in the Latin script.

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• /ts/ is from West Germanic stem-initial, geminated or post-sonorant *t.
• For the origin of /z/, see S.

• (German-based) /ts/
• (Dutch-based) /z/

Z

1. A letter in the German-based alphabet of Central Franconian.
2. A letter in the Dutch-based alphabet of Central Franconian.

• /ts/ may also be represented by ts, tts, ds, dds, mostly when there is an intervening morpheme boundary.
• In the Dutch-based spelling, /ts/ is always represented by ts (or ds). In the German-based spelling, /z/ is represented by s (see there).

Derived from 直 (zhí, “straight”).

Z

1. (Mainland China) A shorthand used to refer to direct express trains.

Z

1. The twenty-sixth and last letter of the Latin alphabet.

Z

1. The twenty-sixth and last letter used in Pinyin.

• 《汉语拼音方案》 defines a standard pronunciation for each letter. However, these pronunciations are rarely used in education; another pronunciation is commonly used instead.
• The pronunciation above are only used while referring to letters in Pinyin. They are not used in other context (such as English).

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /zɛt/

• Audio

  (file)

Z (capital, lowercase z)

1. The twenty-sixth and last letter of the Dutch alphabet.

Z

1. Abbreviation of zuid; south

• Previous letter: Y

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /zo/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /z/

• Audio

  (file)

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-eighth letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called zo and written in the Latin script.

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Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-first letter of the Estonian alphabet, called tsett and written in the Latin script.

• Used only in loanwords.

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The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on those of Swedish, German and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value) for information on the development of the glyph itself.

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called tseta or tset and written in the Latin script.

• Used only in loanwords. In more established loanwords replaced with ts.

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• IPA^(key): /tsɛt/

• Audio

  (file)

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-sixth and last letter of the German alphabet.

• Doubling of z generally yields tz, but zz is retained in loanwords (chiefly from Italian).
• In German handwriting, the letter Z very often receives an additional stroke in the middle: Ƶ. A lack of this stroke may even make the letter look "incomplete" to a great deal of language users. However, the corresponding grapheme Ƶ is virtually never used in printing.

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): [ˈz]
• (letter name): IPA^(key): [ˈzeː]

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The thirty-ninth letter of the Hungarian alphabet, called zé and written in the Latin script.

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• Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value). Only in the extended alphabet: Q q W w X x Y y. Commonly used: ch. Also defined: à ë. In surnames (selection): ä aa cz ds eé eö ew oe oó th ts ÿ.

• IPA^(key): /z/

Z (lower case z)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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• (letter name) IPA^(key): ^*/ˈd͡zɛ.ta/, ^*/ˈd͡ze.ta/[1]
  • Rhymes: -ɛta, -eta
• (phonemic realization) IPA^(key): ^*/t͡s/^*, ^*/d͡z/^*
  • Z is spelt single stem-initially and after consonants. The pronunciation is not predictable and may be /t͡s/ or /d͡z/, though after -l- and -r- it is mostly /t͡s/. It is also spelt single post-vocalically before [j], where the pronunciation is mostly /tt͡s/.
  • Between true vowels it is usually doubled as zz. The pronunciation, again, is not predictable and may be /tt͡s/ or /dd͡z/. Chiefly in learned words it may be spelt single, in which case it is predominantly /dd͡z/.

Z f or m (invariable, upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-first letter of the Italian alphabet, called zeta and written in the Latin script.

Z

1. the letter zeta in the Greek alphabet

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• Italian alphabet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Kashubian alphabet article on Wikipedia for more, and Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value) for development of the glyph itself.

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The thirty-second letter of the Kashubian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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The letter descended from the Old Italic letter 𐌆 (z) in the Old Latin period, but had long fell into native disuse by the Classical period, when it came back into use, transcribing the Ancient Greek letter Ζ (Z, “zeta”), which had formerly been transcribed S in initial position and SS in medial position. In writings of the Late Latin period, Z frequently takes the place of S and in the third and fourth centuries often represented word-initial prevocalic di.

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /z/, [z̪]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /d͡z/, [d̪͡z̪]

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-third letter of the Classical Latin alphabet, called zēta.

• “Z, z”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Z in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1,700/1
• “Z, z” on page 2,125/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

• IPA^(key): [z]

Z

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The thirty-second letter of the Latvian alphabet, called zē and written in the Latin script.

• Letters of the Latvian alphabet:

  burti: Aa, Āā, Bb, Cc, Čč, Dd, Ee, Ēē, Ff, Gg, Ģģ, Hh, Ii, Īī, Jj, Kk, Ķķ, Ll, Ļļ, Mm, Nn, Ņņ, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Šš, Tt, Uu, Ūū, Vv, Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value)z, Žž

• IPA^(key): /z/

Z (lower case z)

1. The thirty-second letter of the Lower Sorbian alphabet, called zet and written in the Latin script.

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• (obsolete letters) B́ b́, Ė ė, Ḿ ḿ, Ṅ ṅ, Ṕ ṕ, Ṙ ṙ, ſ, ß, Ꞩ ẜ, Ẃ ẃ, Ẇ ẇ, Ż ż

• (Name of letter) IPA^(key): [zɛt̚], [zɛk̚], [zi]
• (Phoneme, Syllable initial) IPA^(key): [z]
• (Phoneme, Syllable final) IPA^(key): [s]

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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Z (upper case Z, lower case z)

1. the 29th letter of the Norwegian alphabet

Only in loan words and foreign names. Also used in old inscriptions and texts instead of s.

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /z/

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Nupe alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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The Polish orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the history of Polish orthography article on Wikipedia for more, and Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value) for development of the glyph itself.

• IPA^(key): /z/, or IPA^(key): /s/ if devoiced

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The thirtieth letter of the Polish alphabet, called zet and written in the Latin script.

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Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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• IPA^(key): /z/

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. (International Standard) The thirtieth letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.
2. (Pan-Vlax) The thirty-first letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

• Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value) International Standard: (À à, Ä ä, Ǎ ǎ), Ć ć, Ćh ćh, (È è, Ë ë, Ě ě), (Ì ì, Ï ï, Ǐ ǐ), (Ò ò, Ö ö, Ǒ ǒ), Rr rr, Ś ś, (Ù ù, Ü ü, Ǔ ǔ), Ź ź, Ʒ ʒ, Q q, Ç ç, ϴ θ. Pan-Vlax: Č č, Čh čh, Dž dž, (Dź dź), Ř ř, Š š, (Ś ś), Ž ž, (Ź ź).

• IPA^(key): /z/

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The thirty-first letter of the Romanian alphabet, called ze, zet, zed, or zî and written in the Latin script.

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Derived from запад (zapad, “west”). The Z sign was initially used for vehicles targeted towards southeastern Ukraine, in a manner similar to invasion stripes used by the Allies in World War II. Later popularised by the Russian government on social media as a rallying symbol.

• IPA^(key): [zɛt]

Z (lower case z)

1. the Roman letter Z, z

   Synonym: зет (zɛt)

2. (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) (politics) A symbol representing support for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

   Synonyms: (all derogatory) полусва́стика (polusvástika), но́вая сва́стика (nóvaja svástika), зва́стика (zvástika), зи́га (zíga)

   • #ZаМир, #ZаПобеду (hashtags using Z by Russian nationalists in support for war against Ukraine)

     #ZaMir, #ZaPobedu

     "for peace", "for victory"

   • ZOV (a symbol combining V and O, more symbols used on Russian tanks, used by the Russian government and some online users in support for war against Ukraine)

     ZOV (may also be interpreted as зов, or "call forth [to war]")

   • Zалупа, роZZия, zвери, Zло, Zомби, пиZдец (derisive online slang terms mocking Russian nationalists)

     Zalupa, roZZija, zveri, Zlo, Zombi, piZdec

     "dickhead", "RuZZia", "beaZts", "evil", "Zombie", "fucked up"

Russian nationalists replace instances of the Cyrillic letter З (Z) and less commonly С (S) with Z in some words and usernames, and their opponents also use Latin Z's in Russian words to mock them.

• Z-бло́гер (Z-blóger, “a Z-blogger, a blogger who supports the invasion of Ukraine”)
• Z-ме́рч (Z-mérč, “Z-merch, merchandise glorifying the invasion of Ukraine”)
• Z-патрио́т (Z-patriót, “a Z-patriot, fanatical Russian nationalist who supports the invasion of Ukraine”)
• зе́тник (zétnik, “a vatnik who uses the Z symbol, a supporter of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine”), зэ́тник (zɛ́tnik)
• зиговать (zigovatʹ, “to use a Nazi salute”), zиговать (zigovatʹ, “to support the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine”)
• zва́стика (zvástika)
• zомби (zombi, “a zombie, a fanatical Russian nationalist who supports the invasion of Ukraine”)
• РоZZия (RoZZija, “RuZZia, Russia as the aggressor during the invasion of Ukraine”)
• ру́ZZкий мир (rúZZkij mir)

• ⇒ English: zwastika (internet slang, usage of Z by Russian nationalists)
• ⇒ English: Ruzzia (internet slang, Russia being militarised during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine)
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• V (“V, another letter used as a pro-war symbol”)
• Еле́нский (Jelénskij, “Elensky, slang term mocking President Zelensky for the ban of the Z letter”)
• З (Z), з (z)
• свои́х не броса́ем (svoíx ne brosájem, “we do not leave our own, pro-war slogan”)
• спецопера́ция (specoperácija, “special operation, official Russian government term for the invasion of Ukraine”)
• денацифици́ровать (denacificírovatʹ, “denazify, another Russian government term used for the same invasion”)

• BBC news article about Latin Z being used as a pro-invasion symbol
• NPR news article about Z as a pro-invasion symbol
• Z combined with O and V

Z

1. The thirty-eighth letter of the Saanich alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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The Silesian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Silesian language article on Wikipedia for more, and Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value) for development of the glyph itself.

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The thirty-second letter of the Silesian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /z/

Z (lower case z)

1. The thirty-third letter of the Skolt Sami alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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Z (capital, lowercase z)

1. The 24th letter of the Slovene alphabet. Preceded by V and followed by Ž.

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. the 27th letter of the Spanish alphabet

From Spanish Z. Each pronunciation has a different source:

• Filipino alphabet pronunciation is influenced by Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value).
• Abecedario pronunciation is from Lua error in Module:utilities at line 142: attempt to perform arithmetic on local 'h' (a nil value).

• Hyphenation: Z
• (letter name, Filipino alphabet):
  • IPA^(key): /zi/, [zɪ]
  • IPA^(key): /si/, [sɪ]
• (letter name, Abecedario):
  • IPA^(key): /ˈzeta/, [ˈzɛ.tɐ]
  • IPA^(key): /ˈseta/, [ˈsɛ.tɐ]
• (phoneme):
  • IPA^(key): /z/, [z]
  • IPA^(key): /s/, [s]
• Rhymes: -i, -eta

Z (upper case, lower case z, Baybayin spelling ᜐᜒ)

1. The twenty-eighth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (Filipino alphabet), called zi and written in the Latin script.

• This letter is mostly used only in proper nouns, unadapted loanwords, or Spanish-based spellings.
• Some purists of Tagalog replace Z in words with S.

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Z (upper case, lower case z, Baybayin spelling ᜐᜒᜆ)

1. (historical) The twenty-eighth letter of the Tagalog alphabet (Abecedario), called zeta and written in the Latin script.

• “Z”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Turkish alphabet, called ze and written in the Latin script.

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Originated from Russian usage of the letter Z as a military symbol, as well as a symbol of support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine (see Z#Etymology_5).

• IPA^(key): [zɛt]

Z (lower case z)

1. the Roman letter Z, z

   Synonym: зет (zet)

2. (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) (politics) a symbol indicating that the user, or the person tagged with it, supports the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
   • РоZZія (derisive online slang term mocking Russian nationalists)

     RoZZija

     "RuZZia"

Often used by Ukrainian Internet users and politicians to mock or deride Russians following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

• РоZZі́я (RoZZíja)

• Z#Russian

Z (upper case, lower case z)

1. The twenty-sixth letter of the Zulu alphabet, written in the Latin script.

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