Latin alphabet

The Latin alphabet, also known as the Roman alphabet, is a collection of letters. This alphabet was originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Today, we use it to write the English language, Spanish language, French language, and more.

This alphabet evolved from the Phoenician alphabet.

This alphabet contains the letters A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y and Z.

Latin Alphabet Media

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  The Duenos inscription, dated to the 6th century BC, shows the earliest known form of the Old Latin alphabet.

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  The apices in this first-century inscription are very light. (There is one over the ó in the first line.) The vowel I is written taller rather than taking an apex. The interpuncts are comma-shaped, an elaboration of a more typical triangular shape. From the shrine of the Augustales at Herculaneum.

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  Inscription with triangle-shaped interpunct

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  De chalcographiae inventione (1541, Mainz) with the 23 letters. J, U and W are missing.

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  Jeton from Nuremberg, c. 1553

Related pages

• Latin script