E (alphabet)

E (alphabet), fifth and most frequently used letter of the English alphabet. Its form was derived without alteration from the fifth letter of the classical Latin alphabet, which had adapted it from the Greek letter epsilon (Ε, e). The letter evolved from the Semitic he, , which in turn had developed from the Egyptian hieroglyph 5, the ultimate origin of the letter.

The evolution of the values of e in English is long and complicated. The letter has come to represent a variety of sounds, as in the words eve, here, there, end, and maker, as well as the silent value that lengthens preceding vowels, as in mate and rule.