# eth

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/eth
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. the letter ð

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a letter (Ð, ð) used in Old English and modern Icelandic to represent the 'th' sound in 'father'.

For teachers: a character (capital Ð, lowercase ð) representing the voiced dental fricative in Old English, Icelandic, and Faroese orthography.

- The word 'then' starts with a sound that is written as an eth in the phonetic alphabet.
- Students of Old English must learn to distinguish between the letters thorn and eth, which were often used interchangeably by medieval scribes.

Usage: In modern linguistics, it specifically represents the voiced dental fricative /ð/.

### 2. phonetic symbol

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) that shows how to pronounce the 'th' sound in 'this'.

For teachers: the symbol /ð/ in the International Phonetic Alphabet used to denote a voiced dental fricative.

- The dictionary uses an eth symbol to show the pronunciation of the word 'breathe'.
- The IPA uses the eth character to represent the voiced dental fricative, contrasting it with the theta symbol used for the voiceless equivalent.

## Examples

- The word 'then' would have used an eth in Old English.
- Students of medieval literature must learn to distinguish between the letters eth and thorn when reading original manuscripts.
- While the letter eth eventually disappeared from the English alphabet in favor of the 'th' digraph, it remains a functional part of the Icelandic orthographic system today.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.