Eli5 : Why is q always followed by u in a word?
In: 1555
After Normandy France took over England in 1066, it changed the spelling of many Germanic words to look more recognizable from their Latin perspective.
So English that were spelled with ‘cw’ changed to ‘qu’. For example, the word ‘queen’ was originally spelled as ‘cwen’ in old English.
German keck became Old English cwic became quick.
Old Norse kvelja became Old English cwellan became quell, which is the same root as kill.
“Q” makes a K sound because Kappa was originally the shiny new letter to replace Qoppa in ancient Greek. But Qoppa stayed around, but only to partner with the “ew” sound.
Many “qu” words are either going to be originally k/cw words or they will be straight outta Latin. All thanks to the French influence on English. *A French dynasty* ruled England for about 300 years. 😘 The government and royal court spoke Anglo-Norman French.
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