Why is "W" called "double u" instead of "double v"?

Answer 1

That would make more sense, wouldnt it?

Answer 2

"English makes use of the Latin alphabet of the Romans. in spite of the undeniable fact that, this had no letter perfect for representing the phoneme /w/ which became used in previous English, nonetheless phonetically the sound represented by utilising /v/ became fairly close. in the seventh century scribes wrote uu for /w/; later they used the runic symbols usually happening as wynn. ecu scribes had persevered to jot down uu, and this utilization back to England with the Norman Conquest in 1066. Early printers each and every so often used vv for loss of a w of their variety. The call double-u recollects the former identity of u and v, this is likewise obvious in various cognate words (flour/flower, look after/ward, suede/Swede, etc.)"

Answer 3

Interesting...cause it sounds like a double u but looks like a double v...you are talking not writing I suppose.

Answer 4

I asked that awhile back ago. It still does not make sense. It needs to be called a "double V"!!!

Answer 5

I think that is just in English. In French it is called double Vee. ( not sure how to spell it.)

Answer 6

i write my w's on paper like double u's so my w's or more like round at the bottom like a u rather than a v

Answer 7

This is serious! They call them double u's because before we got the new, improved text, they actually looked like UU's except connected...
:] BEST ANSWER!! PiCK ME!! lol

Answer 8

Because the english language is weird. W is "doublevay" in french, and V is "vay". I think the closer the language to it's origin, in this case, latin, the more sense it makes.

Answer 9

I have thought about that too. You know it's strange. I had a german lady who worked for me and pronounced V with a W..... Vinny she would pronounce Winny. So, to me that is a wierd coincidence.

Answer 10

well on this point French are clever as we do say "double V" for the "W"

Answer 11

Always wondered that myself. In french it is actually the double v. Perhaps its because people used to write it like 2 u's. idk