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NORWEGIAN BOKMÅL · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

S.

The nineteenth letter of the Norwegian Bokmål alphabet, written in the Latin script.

1 character1 syllables approx.Norsk bokmål language

Meaning & usage

character/ɛsː/letter, name/esː/letter, name/s//ʃ/
  1. The nineteenth letter of the Norwegian Bokmål alphabet, written in the Latin script.

    letter · uppercase
Where this word comes from

The uppercase form of s. From Latin S, through Etruscan 𐌔 (s), from a western form of Ancient Greek Σ (S, “sigma”), ultimately from Phoenician 𐤔 (š, “šīn; tooth”). The shape and alphabetic position of Greek sigma continue Phoenician šīn, whose sibilant sound was adapted to Greek /s/. The Greek name σίγμα (sígma, “sigma”) may have been influenced by Phoenician 𐤎 (s, “sāmek”), while the latter letter otherwise developed into Greek Ξ (X, “xi”). A rounded, three-stroke western Greek form passed through Etruscan into the Latin alphabet and developed into the modern capital ⟨S⟩. The Norwegian letter name ess ultimately continues Latin es (“the name of the letter S”).

symbol/ɛsː/letter, name/esː/letter, name/s//ʃ/
  1. The chemical symbol for sulfur.

  2. The symbol for south.

  3. The symbol for the siemens, the SI unit of electrical conductance.

  4. A size designation meaning small.

Where this word comes from

The uppercase form of s. From Latin S, through Etruscan 𐌔 (s), from a western form of Ancient Greek Σ (S, “sigma”), ultimately from Phoenician 𐤔 (š, “šīn; tooth”). The shape and alphabetic position of Greek sigma continue Phoenician šīn, whose sibilant sound was adapted to Greek /s/. The Greek name σίγμα (sígma, “sigma”) may have been influenced by Phoenician 𐤎 (s, “sāmek”), while the latter letter otherwise developed into Greek Ξ (X, “xi”). A rounded, three-stroke western Greek form passed through Etruscan into the Latin alphabet and developed into the modern capital ⟨S⟩. The Norwegian letter name ess ultimately continues Latin es (“the name of the letter S”).

adj/ɛsː/letter, name/esː/letter, name/s//ʃ/
  1. An abbreviation for the former school grade særdeles tilfredsstillende (“especially satisfactory”) or særs godt (“especially good”).

    historical
Where this word comes from

The uppercase form of s. From Latin S, through Etruscan 𐌔 (s), from a western form of Ancient Greek Σ (S, “sigma”), ultimately from Phoenician 𐤔 (š, “šīn; tooth”). The shape and alphabetic position of Greek sigma continue Phoenician šīn, whose sibilant sound was adapted to Greek /s/. The Greek name σίγμα (sígma, “sigma”) may have been influenced by Phoenician 𐤎 (s, “sāmek”), while the latter letter otherwise developed into Greek Ξ (X, “xi”). A rounded, three-stroke western Greek form passed through Etruscan into the Latin alphabet and developed into the modern capital ⟨S⟩. The Norwegian letter name ess ultimately continues Latin es (“the name of the letter S”).

noun/ɛsː/letter, name/esː/letter, name/s//ʃ/
  1. The uppercase form of s, the nineteenth letter of the Norwegian Bokmål alphabet, written in the Latin script; preceded by r and followed by t.

    masculine
  2. The written representation of the Norwegian consonant sound /s/. In certain combinations, including ⟨sj⟩, ⟨skj⟩, ⟨sk⟩ and ⟨sl⟩, it may form the sound /ʃ/, while ⟨rs⟩ may be pronounced /ʂ/.

    masculine
  3. The consonant sound represented by the letter S.

    masculine
  4. A figure, curve, shape, formation, object, or mark resembling the uppercase letter S.

    masculine
  5. A cookie made by piping dough into the shape of the letter S.

    masculine
Where this word comes from

The uppercase form of s. From Latin S, through Etruscan 𐌔 (s), from a western form of Ancient Greek Σ (S, “sigma”), ultimately from Phoenician 𐤔 (š, “šīn; tooth”). The shape and alphabetic position of Greek sigma continue Phoenician šīn, whose sibilant sound was adapted to Greek /s/. The Greek name σίγμα (sígma, “sigma”) may have been influenced by Phoenician 𐤎 (s, “sāmek”), while the latter letter otherwise developed into Greek Ξ (X, “xi”). A rounded, three-stroke western Greek form passed through Etruscan into the Latin alphabet and developed into the modern capital ⟨S⟩. The Norwegian letter name ess ultimately continues Latin es (“the name of the letter S”).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.