# Wynn

/ˈwɪn/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/wynn
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. Old English letter

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical · Archaic

a letter from the Old English alphabet (ƿ) that people used to write the 'w' sound.

For teachers: a character of the Old English alphabet, derived from the runic futhark, used to represent the /w/ phoneme before being superseded by the digraph 'uu'.

- The student noticed the letter wynn while looking at a photo of an ancient poem.
- In early medieval manuscripts, the scribe frequently employed the wynn character, which modern readers often mistake for the letter 'p' due to their similar shapes.

Usage: Usually referred to in the context of palaeography or historical linguistics.

Teaching tip: This is a highly specialized term; learners will only encounter it when studying the history of the English language or Old English texts.

## Examples

- The scribe used a wynn to write the word for water.
- Scholars studying Beowulf in its original manuscript must learn to distinguish the letter wynn from the similar-looking thorn and p.
- The transition from the runic wynn to the Latinate 'w' reflects the broader orthographic shifts occurring as Norman scribal traditions began to influence the written English language after the conquest.

---

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.