K

K, 11th letter in the English alphabet. The letter appeared in its modern form in the Roman alphabet, in which it corresponded to the Greek letter kappa, derived ultimately from an Egyptian hieroglyph.

In all the languages in which k occurs, it has indicated substantially the same sound, that of a voiceless guttural stop or mute. This sound is also frequently expressed by c, ck, ch, and q. The letter k is still a silent letter in initial positions before n in such words as knight and know.