U

From Thesaurus Inscriptionum Raeticarum
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Character
Customary name: y psilon
Represents: u

Variants and attestation

Transliteration Sinistroverse Dextroverse
  Glyph Number Glyph Number
U U.png 31 Ud.png 8
U2 U2.png 86 U2d.png 5
U3 U3.png 5 U3d.png 3
U4 U4.png 7 U4d.png 0
U5 U5.png 8 U5d.png 5

Commentary

Upsilon is one of the letters (together with Lambda and Pi) which serve as a basis for distinguishing the Magrè and Sanzeno alphabets (see Script): The "inverted" variant U s (U3 s, U5 s), sometimes termed "Venetoid" in the TIR, is attributed to the Magrè alphabet, while U2 s (U4 s), typical for the Etruscan and Lugano alphabets, is used in the Sanzeno alphabet. The choice between a symmetrical form and a rarer one with a straight hasta appears to be one of style – the form of Alpha (A s/A5 s) usually corresponds to that of Upsilon. The curved variant U5 s (again, together with curved Alpha) appears only in rock inscriptions and the possibly archaic PU-1, as well as in the Trissino (not yet autopsied).

In addition to Raetic /u/, Upsilon may have been employed to write foreign middle back rounded vowel phones ([o] or similar). See The Raetic language for a discussion.