ß

ß U+00DF, ß LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S ← Þ [U+00DE] Latin-1 Supplement à → [U+00E0]

See also: ẞ, β, 阝, B, Ꟗ, ꟗ, Ss, ss, SS, and Appendix:Variations of "S"

Translingual

Alternative forms

• ſs, ss

Etymology

Abbreviation of Latin sēmis (“half”)

Symbol

ß

1. (pharmacy) Apothecary symbol for half.
   • 1583, Philip Barrough [i.e., Philip Barrow], “Of Making Bolus”, in The Methode of Phisicke, Conteyning the Causes, Signes, and Cures of Inward Diseases in Mans Body from the Head to the Foote. […] (in English), London: […] Thomas Vautroullier […], →OCLC, book VI, page 288:

     BOlvs in Engliſh is called a morſell. It is a medicine laxatiue, in forme & faſhion it is meanely whole, & it is ſwallowed by litle gobbets. […] ℞. medulla caſiæ fiſtulæ newly drawen. ℥. j. or ʒ. x. the graines (that is the kernelles) of barbaries. ℈. ß. and with ſugar roſet [sugar compounded with rose petals] make a bole.

English

Symbol

ß

1. Occasionally used in loanwords from German.

   You're full of scheiße!

2. (obsolete, rare) A ligature representing <ss> in italic text.
   • 1557, Robert Recorde, The Whetstone of Witte […], London: […] Jhon Kyngſtone, unnumbered page:

     As in nombers Abſtracte, euery nomber is not a rooted nomber, but ſome certaine only emongeſt theim, ſo in nombers Coßike, all nombers haue not rootes: but ſoche onely emongeſt ſimple Coßike nombers are rooted, whoſe nomber hath a roote, agreable to the figure of his denomination.

   • 1664, John Newburgh, “[Pomona, or An Appendix Concerning Fruit-trees, in Relation to Cider, […].] Observations Concerning the Making and Preserving of Cider.”, in J[ohn] E[velyn], Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC, page 43:

     I am alſo aſſured by a Neighbour of mine, that a Brother of his, who is a great Cider Merchant in Devonſhire, is by frequent experience ſo well ſatisfied with the harmleſneſs of rotten Apples, that he makes no ſcruple of exchanging with any one that comes to his Cider-preß, a Buſhel of ſound-apples for the ſame meaſure of the other.

   • 1665, R[obert] Hooke, “To the Royal Society”, in Micrographia: Or Some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses. […], London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, […], →OCLC:

     After my Addreß to our Great Founder and Patron, I could not but think my ſelf oblig'd, in conſideration of thoſe many Ingagements you have laid upon me, to offer theſe my poor Labours to this MOST ILLUSTRIOUS ASSEMBLY.

   • 1665, Joseph Glanvill, chapter XXVII, in Scepsis Scientifica: Or, Confest Ignorance, the Way to Science; […], London: […] E. C[otes] for Henry Eversden […], →OCLC, page 168:

     And vvhat happineſs is there in a ſtorm of paſſions? On this account the Scepticks affected an indifferent æquipondious neutrality as the only means to their Ataraxia, and freedom from paßionate diſturbances.

   • [1699], B. E., “Paß”, in A New Dictionary of the Terms Ancient and Modern of the Canting Crew, […], London: […] W. Hawes […], P. Gilbourne […], and W. Davis […], →OCLC, column 2; reprinted [London]: [Smith, Kay & Co.], 1899, →OCLC, signature I2, verso:

     Paß, a VVay, Lane, River, Leave; alſo condition. VVhat a Sad Paß things are come to? In vvhat an ill State they are. That Shamm vvon't Paß, that Trick vvwon't take.

See also

• Category:English terms spelled with ẞ

Further reading

• “During what period of history did English use "ß", the "sharp s" ligature?”, in Stack Exchange‎^[1], 2 January 2013, archived from the original on 7 May 2021

Central Franconian

Etymology

• /s/ is from West Germanic post-vocalic *t and *ss.

Pronunciation

• /s/

Letter

ß (lower case, upper case SS)

1. A letter of the Central Franconian alphabet (German-based), written in the Latin script.

Usage notes

• Doubling of ß yields ss, see S.
• In the Dutch-based spelling, /s/ is always represented by s.

German

Origins of ß.

Alternative forms

• ss (Switzerland, Liechtenstein)
• ſs, sz, ſz (obsolete, rare)

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /s/
• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ɛsˈtsɛt/ (Eszett, usual)
• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ˈʃarfəs ˈɛs/ (scharfes S, less desirable because it also refers to the sound /s/ regardless of its spelling)

Letter

ß n (lower case, no upper case, all caps ẞ or (especially formerly) SS or (formerly in a few words) SZ)

1. A letter of the German alphabet, called Eszett or scharfes S and written in the Latin script; a German letter based on a ligature of ſ (long s) and z.

Usage notes

In alphabetic ordering, ß is equivalent to the string ss. For example, one would order: Maske, Maß, Masse, Maße, Massen, Maßen, Mast. The letter also alternates with ss in inflections and derivatives, e.g. lassen → past tense ließ.

The current rules for the choice between ß and ss were introduced in 1996. They follow the simple principle that ss is used after short vowels and ß otherwise (i.e. after long vowels and diphthongs). Hence Masse /ˈmasə/ is distinguished from Maße /ˈmaːsə/. The earlier rules were more complicated and less phonetic. They prescribed that ß was additionally used in the syllable coda regardless of vowel length. Thus küssen, but er küßt, and Faß, but Fässer (modern spelling küsst, Fass). The older spelling has become rare, but is still used by some older language users.

In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the letter ß is not used at all. So Straße is spelt Strasse, and the above distinction between Maße and Masse is lost in favour of the latter. This use is also often seen in Luxembourg and occasionally in South Tyrol, but ß is standard in both of these areas. Moreover one encounters the same spelling in German books printed in antiqua script until the early 20th century, because an antiqua ß did not yet exist. A rarer alternative was to replace ß with sz.

It is standard to replace ß with SS in all caps: STRASSE. However, in 2017 a new uppercase ẞ was introduced, so it is now also correct to spell STRAẞE. The use of a lowercase ß (STRAßE) is sometimes seen, but is proscribed. In capitalizing a few words which would become ambiguous if ß were changed to SS, SZ may be used instead, hence MASZE (Maße) may be kept distinct from MASSE (Masse), BUSZE (Buße) from BUSSE (Busse). As of 2024, the primary spelling for all caps is with ẞ and alternatively with SS.

Synonyms

• Buckel-S
• Doppel-S
• Dreierles-S
• Eszett
• Ringel-S
• Rucksack-S
• scharfes S
• Straßen-S

Further reading

• ß on the German Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^de
• ß on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Lower Sorbian

Letter

ß (lower case, upper case SS)

1. (obsolete) A letter formerly used to represent the sound /s/, now replaced by s.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) pismik; A a, B b, C c, Č č, Ć ć, D d, E e, Ě ě, F f, G g, H h, Ch ch, I i, J j, K k, Ł ł, L l, M m, N n, Ń ń, O o (Ó ó), P p, R r, Ŕ ŕ, S s, Š š, Ś ś, T t, U u, W w, Y y, Z z, Ž ž, Ź ź
• (obsolete letters) B́ b́, Ė ė, Ḿ ḿ, Ṕ ṕ, ſ, ß, Ꞩ ẜ, Ẃ ẃ

Swedish

The name RIEßLER with ß on a Finnish and Swedish bilingual ID card issued in Finland.

Symbol

ß

1. (obsolete, rare) A ligature representing <ss>.
   • 1740, Carl Gyllenborg, Svenska Sprätthöken, page 1:

     Går allena på Theatern up och ner, sprätter med benen, ajusterar och ser sig på alla kanter, hwißlar och siunger om hwarandra.

     Walking alone at the theater, moving up and down, kicking with the legs, adjusting and looking in all directions, whistling and singing alternately.

   • 1831, Fredrik Cederborgh, Berättelse om Den, först rike och ansedde, sedermera fattige och föraktade John Hall‎^[2], page 5:

     För att kunna åtkomma dylikt, wäl rätt artigt men föga räntegifwande kram, beslöt han, att, med en särdeles wäl försedd kaßa, resa till Danmarks hufwudstad, ungefär trettio mil aflägsen från deß födelseort Götheborg.

     In order to be able to access such, indeed quite proper trinkets but not paying much interest, he decided, with a particularly well-stocked coffer, to travel to Denmark's capital city, about thirty miles distant from his birthplace, Gothenburg.

   • 1899 January 7, “Wälgörenhet [Charitable deeds]”, in Oscarshamnsposten, page 4:

     Kriſtliga ynglingaföreningen i Mönſterås har till gångna julhelgen utdelat, förutom åtſkilliga goda ſkodon och fotbeklädnadsperſedlar åt behöfwande barn, deßutom äfwen kontanta penningebelopp till ſamtlige de meſt ålderſtigne och behöfwande qwinnor inom ſåwäl köpingen som en del af ſocknen.

     The Christian Youth Association in Mönsterås hath, during the past Yule season, bestowed not only sundry good shoes and footwear to needy children, but also provided monetary sums to all the most elderly and destitute women within both the town and a portion of the parish.

Usage notes

• Became increasingly scarce by the late 18th century, but could still be found in certain blackletter newspapers up until the late 19th century.
• Also know as dubbel-s (“double S”) and tyskt s (“German S”).

See also

• Category:Swedish terms spelled with ẞ