Combining Latin Small Letter I

It attaches a small i above the preceding character. In tͥ, t is the base and ͥ is the dependent mark. By itself, the mark has no ordinary letter position and does not make a word.

In medieval manuscripts, small letters written above a base saved space by standing for omitted letters, such as a word ending or part of a word. Manuscript editions can preserve that visible abbreviation instead of silently expanding it.

Its historical context includes medieval Germanic writing traditions that used small letters above a base. The mark’s reading depends on the base and local scribal convention. Medieval Latin transcriptions place it over different letters for expansions including tibi (“to you”), mihi (“to me”), sibi (“to oneself”), and christi (“of Christ”), as well as the sequence pri. Related superscript-letter marks for a, e, o, u, c, d, h, m, r, t, v, and x belong to the same historical family; some were used as late as the 19th century in some languages.

How do I use a combining i mark?

Put it immediately after the character it modifies. In HTML, write ͥ after the base letter. In a Unicode-aware editor, insert the mark after its base and keep the pair together while editing.

A standalone superscript i occupies its own character position; this mark attaches to the preceding base instead.

Font and text-layout support determine alignment. Weak support can shift or hide the mark, so inspect the base-plus-mark sequence before assuming the text itself changed.