M
The letter
M is the thirteenth letter in the
Latin alphabet. Its name in
English is
em .
The letter
M derives its shape from the
Phoenician Mem, via the
Greek Mu (Μ, μ). Semitic Mem originally pictured water, in all probability. It is speculated that Semitic people working in Egypt c. 2000 BC borrowed a hieroglyph for Water that was first used for the sound '
N', because of the Egyptian word for Water, "n-t". This same symbol became used for M in Semitic, because their word for water began with that sound.
| Egyptian hieroglyph "N" | Proto-Semitic M | Phoenician M | Etruscan M! Greek Mu |
|---|
| n | | | | |
The letter M represents the
bilabial nasal consonant sound,
IPA , in Classical languages as well as the modern
languages. The
Oxford English Dictionary (first edition) says that 'm' is sometimes a
vowel in words like
spasm and in the
suffix -ism. In modern terminology, this would be described as a
syllabic consonant — IPA .
).
* M would stand for
Mars, in the
provisional designation of any ring or natural satellite discovered around it.
Biochemistry
* In
biochemistry, M is the symbol for
methionine.
Chemistry
M is the symbol for the
molarity of solutions.
*m is the symbol for the
sample mass of compounds.
m is also the symbol for the
molality of the compound.
Colour
* In the
CMYK color model, M stands for the colour
magenta.
Computing
*
M, when used as a
binary prefix, means 2
20 = 1,048,576 (
cf. M as a metric prefix below, and the prefix
mebi: Mi).
*
M is another name for the computer programming language
MUMPS.
Mathematics
*
m is used to denote
slope in
slope-intercept form. An M-set is the opposite of a
set of uniqueness.
* Script capital
M (Unicode 0x2133 ℳ) denotes a
matrix.
* In the 1973
Handbook of Integer Sequences (a printed predecessor of the
OEIS) sequences were numbered in lexicographic order prefixed by the letter
M. Some older mathematical papers use these M numbers.
Measurement (SI system)
*M (
mega) is an
SI prefix denoting 10
6 = 1,000,000 (one
million) (cf. M in computing above)
*m (
milli) is an SI prefix meaning 1/1000.
**m denotes
metre (or meter), the
SI base unit for length.
Physics
*
M-theory is a proposed solution for problems in
superstring theories.
* Script capital M (Unicode 0x2133 ℳ) denotes a
torque.
Printing
* A capital M with a strikethrough (
M) is used in the printing industry to denote one thousand, as in run quantity. For example, 4
M is the equivalent of 4,000.
Automotive
*M is the symbol for the high end performace BMW cars: M3, M5, M6,and the new MZ4
* In the
Roman naming convention,
M is the abbreviation for the
praenomen Marcus, and
M' stands for
Manius.
* In
Roman numerals,
M denotes
one thousand, from
mille in
Latin (there are also separate
Unicode characters for this number, 0x216F "Ⅿ" and 0x217F "ⅿ").
* In
theology and
higher criticism,
M is an abbreviation for "
M Gospel"
