Old Italic Letter De

𐌃 marks the “d” sound in some Old Italic alphabets. Etruscan kept its inherited place despite lacking that sound.

Text symbol

What 𐌃 means

In some ancient Italian alphabets, it marked the “d” sound.

“Old Italic” groups ancient Italian alphabets. Etruscan D kept its Greek-derived place despite lacking a d sound. Oscan D has R-like forms; Umbrian has another shape, and fonts can vary by language.

Where did 𐌃 come from?

Its alphabetic line runs from Greek through Etruscan.

At Ischia and Cumae, Euboean Greek supplied ancient Italy’s alphabets by the eighth century BCE; Etruscan inscriptions survive from around 700 BCE. A vessel conventionally called an “inkwell” bears a full alphabet, including unused D. Latin adopted a southern Etruscan model in the mid-seventh century BCE.

Part of the collection

𐌀

Etruscan, Gothic & Old Permic Alphabets

Who writes 𐌃

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Don't confuse it with

Latin Capital Letter D

𐌃 and Latin D can resemble each other; use Latin D in modern Latin text and 𐌃 for Old Italic.

Questions people ask

Why does 𐌃 show as a box on some devices?

Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.