Z with stroke
Ƶ (
through the center.Use in alphabets
Ƶ is used in the Latin version of the
Ƶ was used in the
Ƶ was used in the 1992 Latin Chechen spelling as voiced postalveolar fricative [ʒ]. It was also used in a 1931 variant of the Karelian alphabet for the Tver dialect.
The 1931–1941 Mongolian Latin alphabet used Ƶ to represent [d͡ʒ].
It is used in Unifon, being the last letter representing the voiced alveolar fricative /z/.
It was also used in the Latin script for the Abkhaz language representing the voiced retroflex fricative.
It is sometimes used as the form for the standard Z to distinguish it from the numeral 2.
Use in heraldry
The Ƶ character is similar to the vertical form of the
The Wolfsangel symbol was an early 15th-century symbol of Germanic liberty and freedom that also appears as a mason's mark and was also used as a German medieval forestry boundary marker.[1] The Wolfsangel symbol uses the reversed (mostly, but not exclusively) Ƶ character in both horizontal and vertical forms, and in heraldry, the vertical form is associated with a Donnerkeil (or "thunderbolt").[2]
Appropriation by Nazis
In World War 2, the Wolfsangel symbol was appropriated into Nazi symbolism by both military and non-military groups and now remains listed as a hate symbol by the Anti-Defamation League database.[1][3] In 2020, a trend started of Generation Z users of TikTok tattooing a "Generation Ƶ" symbol on their arm as "a symbol of unity in our generation but also as a sign of rebellion" (in the manner of the 15th-century Germanic peasant's revolts), however, the originator of the trend renounced it when the appropriation of the symbol by the Nazis was brought to her attention.[4]
Use in Ukraine
Allographic variant of Z and Ż
Many people often use Ƶ as a handwritten variant of
In Polish, the character Ƶ is used as an allographic variant of the letter Ż although once used in Old Polish.
In Greek, the character Ƶ is a handwritten form of the letter Xi (ξ), where the horizontal stroke distinguishes it from Zeta, ζ.
Use as a currency symbol
Ƶ was sometimes used instead of Z to represent the
In video games, Ƶ has been used as a fictional currency symbol, particularly in Japanese games where it can stand for
Use in modern runic writing
A 45-degree rotated Ƶ forms the basis of the
Use in computers
The Unicode standard specifies two codepoints:
- U+01B5 Ƶ LATIN CAPITAL LETTER Z WITH STROKE
- U+01B6 ƶ LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH STROKE
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 9780815727583.
- ISBN 978-0760337783.
- ^ "Wolfsangel: General Hate Symbols, Neo-Nazi Symbols". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ Greenspan, Rachel (22 September 2020). "TikTok users recommended a Nazi symbol as a Gen Z tattoo idea to represent 'rebellion'". Insider. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
- ^ "Profile: Who are Ukraine's far-right Azov regiment?". Al Jazeera. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ Schipani, Andres (29 March 2022). "'Don't confuse patriotism and Nazism': Ukraine's Azov forces face scrutiny". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Handwriting alphabet at DuckDuckGo".
- ^ "English Cursive Letters JPG file".