The letter Þ (minuscule: þ), which is also known as thorn or þorn is a letter in the Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic alphabets. It was also used in medieval Scandinavia, but was later replaced with th. The letter originated from the rune ᚦ, called "thorn" in Anglo-Saxon and thurs (giant) in Scandinavia.
It has the sound of either a voiceless interdental fricative, like 'th' as in the English word "thick", or a voiced dental fricative, like 'th' as in the English word "the". In Icelandic the usage however is restricted to the former; the voic ...
The letter was used in writing Middle English before the invention of the printing press. William Caxton, the first printer in England, brought with him type made in Continental Europe, which lacked thorn, yogh, and eth. He substituted the letter Y in place of thorn. This was not an arbitrary choice on his part: in some manuscripts of the earlier 1400s, such as The Boke of Margery Kempe, the letters Y and thorn were identical. In fact Y in place of thorn is still seen on gravestones and in the stock prefix "Ye olde...". The latter is ...
