T

T, 20th letter in the English alphabet, corresponding with the Semitic letter taw, meaning “mark,” it is represented by an upright cross and is probably derived from an ancient Egyptian symbol for a check mark. The Greeks raised the horizontal cross-stroke to produce a capital T, which they called tau, and which became the 19th letter of the Roman alphabet. The small letter t developed from 6th century Roman script. T is used as an abbreviation for testament, tablespoon, and township, and t for words including teaspoon, tempo, tense, and ton.