canine letter

English

Etymology

So called because it sometimes represents a sound like a dog's growl.

Noun

the canine letter

  1. (archaic) The letter r.
    • 1833, Thomas Keightley, Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 10:
      All the foregoing etymologies, be it observed, are the conjectures of English scholars; for the English is the only language in which the name of the individual, Fairy, has the canine letter to afford any foundation for them.
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