Why ‘O’ Is Considered to Be the Oldest Letter in the Latin Alphabet

Patrick FooteofName Explain dove into the linguistic history behind the oldest letter in the Latin alphabet, which he determined to be the letter O", noting that there are several caveats behind his assessment.

With just how innate the sound and shape of the letter O is, it's easy to see why it's considered the oldest letter of the alphabet. And by the way, when I say that, I mean the Latin alphabet specifically. ...I think calling O the oldest letter should really come with a huge asterisk.

Foote explained his methodology for making this determination.

In my estimation, a letter is composed of three key elements. The sound it makes, the name of the letter itself, and the shape of the symbol. So what one of these elements makes it so old? First off, the name isn't that old. The symbol being called an O only really dates back to the Romans and the Latins, which yes, was a long time ago, but we can go further than that.

It turns out that the shape of the O" or a circle at the very least, was found in the ancient Phoenician alphabet, which led to the modern version of the letter.

Their language of Phoenician is seen to have come into being around 1300 BC. and the symbols they used to represent their language in written form drew inspiration from the hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt. ...But among these strange and ancient symbols, you will probably spot a simple little circle. This guy is the precursor to the letter we know as O today. And from its inception in the Phoenician alphabet well over 3,000 years ago, its shape has never changed.

Guinness World Records agrees with Foote's assessment regarding the letter O".

The letter O' is unchanged in shape since its adoption in the Phoenician alphabet c. 1300BC. Information from Archives (e.e. 1996).

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