i. [ar. is.] “و ve” harfinin ism-i müştereki.

The twenty ninth letter of the Turkish and Persian alphabets, twenty sixth of the Arabic. Its phonetic value, as a consonant, is usually that of V, sometimes that of W; sometimes it has a peculiar sound of its own, that begins as a V and than becomes converted into a W. But this letter is also a vowel, always long in Arabic and Persian words, with the value of û. In Turkish and foreign words the vowel is generally, if not always, short, and may have the value of o, u, ü, ö. This last value is given to it even in the Persian word كور kör, become vernacular in Turkish. It represents the numeral 6 in chronograms and mathematical formulae. When, in an Arabic word, a consonantal hemze is movent with an uturu vowel, it is written as a و with the hemze sign over it; as, تفؤل tefe’’ül, رؤوس rü’ûs. The long vowel و following such hemze is frequently omitted; as, رؤف re’ûf (for رؤوف). If final in a word, after a quiescent consonant, the hemze alone is sometimes figured; as, جزء cüz’ü (for جزؤ); and this final hemze is generally suppressed when such words pass into Turkish; as, جز cüz (for جزؤ), etc. But, if the preceding consonant be movent with uturu, the final ؤ is retained; as تجزؤ tecezzü’. The same change takes place when the consonant preceding the hemze is movent with uturu; as, مؤمن mü’min; unless such preceding consonant be followed by a long vowel و; when the hemze takes its own form; as, مقروء makrû’e.