Name of the archaic "F" character used for an "S"

Asked Apr 27 '14 at 13:49

Active Apr 27 '14 at 14:33

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Into the 19^th century, accepted orthography often used a letter character that resembles an F (but is not in fact identical to an F) when today we would invariably use an S.

What is this character called?
What were the orthographic rules of its usage?
Was it inherited from the German language?

edited Apr 27 '14 at 14:33

tchrist

134,759

asked Apr 27 '14 at 13:49

user73359

3

It's an S. OK, OK, if you want to be more specific, it's a "long S". There were no rules of usage, and don't listen to anyone who tries to tell you otherwise. The glyph predates the German language. – Marthaª Apr 27 '14 at 13:52
2

Oh, and see here and here. – Marthaª Apr 27 '14 at 13:57

Name of the archaic "F" character used for an "S"

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