This Entry Has Been Brought to You by the Letter Zed
- June 8th, 2007
I was talking with my friend Ross the other day about the origin of the letter Z (because these are the sorts of things we talk about). We were discussing how in England (where he lives) they say “zed” and we say “zee” and hey, why is that? So, we went on a Google hunt to find the answers.
After doing a little digging, we discovered that apparently all English-speaking countries say “zed” but us, the Americans. In your experience, is this true? As far as primarily English-speaking countries go, the only place I’ve been is England. Everywhere else I’ve traveled, I was mostly concerned with ordering more cerveza and finding the closest baño. My etymological interests tend to taper off after a few Negro Modelos.
Here are the basics of the letter zee:
- Both the British and American versions are derived from the Greek zeta, which makes sense.
- The French apparently use ‘zed’, as well.
- The Germans use ‘zed’, too.
- The first uses of ‘zed’ in British English is in 14-something or other.
- The first use of ‘zee’ in American English is in 1677, in a text book.
This leads me to wonder if this is your typical American snafu. If the primary Anglo population here in that time period was from England and that is really from whence our language stems, if the majority of the English-speaking world uses ‘zed’, and we most likely did as well until 1677, is it possible that zee is merely a typo? Some overzealous typesetter just plopped in the wrong letter? Assuming typesetters of that era didn’t use a QWERTY format and set their type using letters lined up alphabetically, doesn’t it stand to reason that he (or she, but most likely he) grabbed an extra E instead of that D right next to it? Seems reasonable to me!
Of course, if things keep going the way they are, in 500 years we’ll have de-evolved to the point of watching shows like “Ow! My Balls!” and won’t be able to form a complete sentence anyway, let alone worry about the etymology of one letter.
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Canadians say “zed”.
The typo theory is a good thought, but my guess is that such widespread use of “zee” wouldn’t have been transmitted via textbook, not with that timing, anyway.
My hunch is that people started saying it that way, it caught on, and it landed itself into an American textbook.
But what do I know?! I’m just guessing!
We just screw everything up around here
@joz: yeah, that’s another good theory. I’m just not sure why anyone would even start saying ‘zee’ if zed was the common term. it’s definite seems odd. It’s not like ‘zee’ is any shorter than ‘zed’. There’s no real logic behind any of it.
@peggy: not everything, but certainly more than our fair share! haha!
Dude, I gotta say. I immediately went out and told Jaime and Amy about the “Ow My Balls!” theory and now I throw that term around constantly.
@Ms. Pants: you really must rent Idiocracy. It’s hilarious, but sometimes irritating because I find myself getting impatient with all the stupidity. It’s not the finest piece of cinematic work, but it’s pretty accurate and entertaining enough.
But if we use ‘zed’ instead of ‘zee’ the alphabet song won’t be nearly as lyrical.
w..x…y..and zed? No, I think zee makes more sense.
@BJ : haha! I’m inclined to agree.
It stems from periods in US past where anti-British sentiment caused them to want to differ the language from that of the British. Zed to zee was just one such language change. Dropping the U from words like neighbour and colour was another. Fortunately, growing up in Canada so near the US border, I am bilingual, and speak and write proper English and American English fluently.
Indians (from India, not native americans) use Zed too. Whenever I would have them do the “eye chart” at work, they would say Zed.
@Deltus: also perfectly reasonable theories! I’m more inclined to go with that, though the typo wouldn’t surprise me. haha! I’m sort of fond of the superfluous “u”, though.
@Manic Witch: Oh yeah! I recall that. I used to be an optometric tech, so I gave eye tests, too.
I have no idea how it started, but I don’t think it’s likely to be a typo, because they don’t spell it “zed.” The A-Z map books (lifesaving if you have to drive in London), for example, are pronounced “A to Zed” but spelled with a regular Z.
I’m also 99% sure their alphabet song ends with “w, x, y , and zed.”
I never knew the “zed” thing until I was watching The Wiggles. They sing the alphabet song and at the end say something like “and zed…that’s zee for you Americans.”
I was actually grateful the Canadians use “zed,” because when I wrote a story last week about a radio station in Vancouver changing format and dropping their “Z95.3” slogan, I was able to use the headline “Zed’s Dead, Baby … Zed’s Dead.”
Damn, I’m brilliant.
I might be picking nits here, but strictly speaking, the “u” isn’t superfluous. It’s how the word is supposed to be spelled. The vast majority of the English-spelling world can’t be wrong, by definition.
We are grateful, though, for the American addition of “y’all”. I like y’all. It’s a proper contraction, fills a hole in the language, and rolls off the tongue easily. I want to petition the OED and Websters to include it as a standardized English contraction.