digamma

ancient Greek letter

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June 25, 2026

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Digamma was a letter in the original Greek alphabet that represented a sound similar to the English 'w'. This letter, also known as vau, fell out of use early in most Greek dialects but was retained in some western dialects and for numerical notation, where it represented the number 6. Its symbol is F or Ϡ. The name "digamma" comes from Greek, meaning "double gamma," due to its resemblance to two capital gammas stacked on top of each other. The letter F in the Latin alphabet is derived from this Greek digamma.12

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Richard Bentley
…some Greek dialects by the digamma, a letter not used in the modern Greek alphabet) was present in certain Homeric Greek words, though not represented by any letter when the words were written.
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…some Greek dialects by the digamma, a letter not used in the modern Greek alphabet) was present in certain Homeric Greek words, though not represented by any letter when the words were written.
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Homer
Modern inferences
…the disappearance of the semivowel digamma (a letter formerly existing in the Greek alphabet) are the most significant indications of this. At the other end of the time scale the development in the poems of a true definite article, for instance, represents an earlier phase than is exemplified in the…
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…the disappearance of the semivowel digamma (a letter formerly existing in the Greek alphabet) are the most significant indications of this. At the other end of the time scale the development in the poems of a true definite article, for instance, represents an earlier phase than is exemplified in the…
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