B is the second letter of the alphabet used for the modern English language. It is also used in a number of other languages, including French, German, and Spanish.
Alone or in pairs, B represents its sound in such words as baby, rib, and bubble. B can also sometimes be silent—for example, in the word thumb. See Pronunciation .
Scholars believe the letter B evolved from an Egyptian hieroglyph (pictorial symbol) that represented a house. Hieroglyphs were adapted to be used for a Semitic language by around 1500 B.C. The alphabet for this Semitic language—the earliest known alphabet—is called Proto-Sinaitic. By 1100 B.C., an alphabet for another Semitic language, Phoenician, had evolved from Proto-Sinaitic. See Semitic languages .
The Phoenician letter that evolved from the Egyptian house hieroglyph is the second letter of the Phoenician alphabet, bayt. The Phoenicians used the letter to represent the beginning B sound of bayt, which was their word for house. Around 800 B.C., when the Greeks adapted the Phoenician alphabet, bayt became beta and was used for the same sound.
The Etruscans adopted the Greek alphabet about 700 B.C. They did not have the B sound in their language, but when they adopted the alphabet, they kept letters they did not need—including beta. By around 650 B.C., when the Romans adopted the alphabet from the Etruscans, beta was available for their B sound.
See also Alphabet .
