
- twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet, sixteenth consonant
- phonetic name: "voiceless alveolar plosive"; sound: place your tongue to your alveolar ridge and make a sharp escape of air as you release your tongue (n.b.: T is the phonetic brother of D; D engages the vocal chord and T does not)
- Egyptian hieroglyphs were a loaf of bread and pestle
- Proto-Sinaitic and Phoenician letter was taw (meaning "mark"), both placed at the end of their alphabets; it's glyph was + or x
- Greeks adopted it as their letter tau (uppercase Τ, lowercase τ)
- in Roman, 'T' represents 160
- T is also linked to the Phoenician teth and Greek theta, both loosely translating to "th"
- lower case t did not appear until about 1200 AD (the only letter that was letter was lower case l in about 1400)
- T is the most used letter of all consonants (nb.: most used vowel is E)
- T has a few different sounds (ie.: "tea", "ration", "water", etc.) or can be silent (castle, ballet)
- T is commonly used in the pairing "th", which has 2 pronunciations: voiced (as in "this") and unvoiced (as in "thumb")
- can abbreviate "it" (ie. 'Twas the night before Christmas...")
- associated with earth, tracing, sign
- the T shape can be seen in the Egyptian ankh, which is the symbol for eternal life and health
- lower case t is associated with a crucifix/cross (both as a symbol of tragedy and triumph)
- T is also associated with the biblical story of Cain, where he is marked with a T by God for murdering his brother Abel
- T can be seen to link past and present (left and right), as well as earth and sky (up and down)
- T's shape also resembles the scales of justice, a table, a roof
- T's balanced form invokes stability and equilibrium
- T-square is a drafting tool used to created perfect horizontal lines, vertical lines, and 90 degree angles
- T in T-shirt refers to the shape of the garment; it dates back to the standard-issue WWII cotton undergarments of American servicemen
- T-bone is a thick cut of steak loin containing a T-shaped bone
- "T-bone" is a type of vehicular collision involving a 90 degree side impact
- T-bar is found in construction materials, jewelry, ski lifts, car roofs and shoe straps
- T-storm often abbreviates thunderstorm
- more T-shaped things: T-cushion, T-hinge, T-iron, T-dress, T-joint, T-head (bolt), T-head (pier), T-bevel, T-back bathing suit, T-bolt, T-nut, T-rail, T-plate, T-maze, T-slot, T-tube, T-wrench, T-bandage, T-connector, T-budding, T-ball... etc.
- in weight, t stands for ton / tonne
- in music, T stands for tutti, meaning "all" or "together"
- in measurement, upper case T stands for tablespoon; lower case t stands for teaspoon
- Mr. T is a well-known American personality, known for his mohawk and "tough guy image"
- T can also be an abbreviation telephone [number]
- the Ford Model-T was an automobile that was produced from 1908 through 1927 and is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, becaming a common form of transportation for the American middle class
- until 1827, thieves were often branded on the thumb with the letter T
- phonetic sound, "tee", is a noun (as in golf tee, curling tee, or the beverage tea)
- NATO phonetic alphabet: TANGO
- "Fits to a T" means exactly or precisely; may be derived from a 17th century printers' and calligraphers' term, where the crossbar on the upper case T could be adjusted in width to fit into the text layout
- "'T' is a hammer." -Victor Hugo, French poet & playwright
- T can also abbreviate absolute temperature, distribution, surface tension, tare, tempo, tenor, tense, territory, Thailand, time, ton, tonne, trainer, transitive, troy, Tuesday