Q

Q, 17th letter of the alphabet, can be traced back to the letter koph in the Semitic alphabet and koppa in ancient Greek, on through the Etruscan alphabet, taking its modern form in Latin, usually followed by u. As an abbreviation, a capital Q is used for “Quebec” and for “queen” in titles such as Q.C. (Queen's Counsel). A lower-case q may stand for “quart,” “question,” and is part of q.v. for the Latin phrase quod vide (which see), meaning “refer to.”