N (ĕn), the fourteenth letter of English
alphabet, is a vocal consonent, and, in allusion to its mode of
formation, is called the dentinasal or linguanasal
consonent. Its commoner sound is that heard in ran,
done; but when immediately followed in the same word by the
sound of g hard or k (as in single, sink,
conquer), it usually represents the same sound as the digraph
ng in sing, bring, etc. This is a simple but
related sound, and is called the gutturo-nasal consonent. See
Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 243-246.
The letter N came into English through the Latin and Greek from
the Phœnician, which probably derived it from the Egyptian as
the ultimate origin. It is etymologically most closely related to M.
See M.
N, n. (Print.) A measure of
space equal to half an M (or em); an en.