zed

¹ American  

[zed] / zɛd /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. the letter Z or z.

2. a Z-bar.

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Zed ² American  

[zed] / zɛd /

noun

1. a male given name, form of Zedekiah.

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zed British  

/ zɛd /

noun

1. US word: zee.  the British spoken form of the letter z

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Etymology

Origin of zed

1400–50; late Middle English < Middle French zede < Latin zēta < Greek zêta zeta

Explanation

In Britain, the last letter of the alphabet is known as zed. If your name is Lizzie, you spell it with two zeds. If you're from England, Canada, or New Zealand, the alphabet ends with zed, while in the U.S. it's pronounced zee. In most of the English-speaking world, comprehending a subject completely means understanding it from A to zed. Zed, from the Greek zēta, was originally one of many words for Z, which included izzard, uzzard, and zod. Americans may have chosen to use zee in the 1600s as a way of differentiating themselves from the British.

Example Sentences

While zed in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet is written differently - and looks like a 3 - most Russians recognise Latin letters.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2022

He took us past Zebra, and way beyond zed.

From New York Times • Jul. 19, 2015

We are an experiment going right for a change, with influences that range from a to zed.

From Reuters • Feb. 13, 2010

Then she laughed and zed I wur a fool not to be revenged on Farmer Jory, and not to make 'im suffer more'n I'd suffered.

From Roger Trewinion by King, Gunning

Well, sur, you see, when a young fella's mawther sweers to 'im there can't be much more zed.

From Roger Trewinion by King, Gunning