Odia letter O

It writes the independent o vowel.

Use it when a syllable starts with a vowel sound. If a consonant comes first, its o vowel is marked with the separate sign ୋ. That sign may render around the consonant even though it follows it in the text.

The Odia script developed from the Kalinga script, one of the descendants of ancient Brahmi. The earliest known inscription in the Odia language, written in the Kalinga script, dates to 1051.

Why is the Odia script round?

Palm-leaf writing favored curved strokes.

Straight cuts could split a palm leaf, so rounded forms suited the writing surface. Odia palm-leaf manuscripts carried religious, medical, mathematical, literary, and historical works.

The script also writes Khondi, Santali, Kui, Ho, Munda languages, and Sanskrit; this letter alone does not identify which language surrounds it. Its rounded forms developed over time rather than appearing as a single invention.