N (en),
the fourteenth letter of English alphabet, is a vocal consonent, and, in allusion to its mode of formation, is called the dentinasal or linguanasal consonent. Its commoner sound is that heard in ran, done; but when immediately followed in the same word by the sound of g hard or k (as in single, sink, conquer), it usually represents the same sound as the digraph ng in sing, bring, etc. This is a simple but related sound, and is called the gutturo-nasal consonent. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 243-246.
The letter N came into English through the Latin and Greek from the Phenician, which probably derived it from the Egyptian as the ultimate origin. It is etymologically most closely related to M. See M.
© Webster 1913.
N, n. Print.
A measure of space equal to half an M (or em); an en.
© Webster 1913.