Q (kū), the seventeenth letter of the
English alphabet, has but one sound (that of k), and
is always followed by u, the
two letters together being sounded like kw, except in some words in which the u is silent. See Guide to Pronunciation, §
249. Q is not
found in Anglo-Saxon, cw being used instead of qu; as in cwic, quick; cwen,
queen. The name (kū) is from the French ku, which is from the Latin name of
the same letter; its form is from
the Latin, which derived it, through a Greek alphabet, from the Phœnician, the ultimate origin being Egyptian.
Etymologically, q or
qu is most nearly related to a (ch, tch), p, q, and wh; as in cud, quid, L. equus, ecus, horse, Gr. &?;, whence E. equine, hippic; L. quod which, E. what; L. aquila, E. eaqle; E. kitchen, OE. kichene, AS. cycene, L. coquina.
Hear it pronounced