double-u

dou·ble-u
/ˈdʌb.(ə)l.juː//ˌdʌb.əlˈjuː/colloquial/ˈdʌb.ə.juː/colloquial/ˈdʌb.juː/

noun

The name of the Latin script letter W/w.

Similar
W
OriginMiddle English doble W →
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Meanings

double-u1

noundouble-u (plural double-ues or double-u's)

plural double-ues · plural double-u's · alternative double U · alternative double-U · alternative double you · alternative double-you · alternative doubleyou

  1. The name of the Latin script letter W/w.
  2. alternativenameAlternative name of the Latin-script digraph ⟨UU⟩.
  3. euphemisticThe WC; the toilet.

    She would try the front door, and try the back door, and look in the windows; and once she even looked in the double-u.

    1974, GB Edwards, The Book of Ebenezer Le Page, New York, published 2007, page 234

Double-u2

nounDouble-u (plural Double-ues)

plural Double-ues

  1. Alternative letter-case form of double-u.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe 23rd letter of the Roman alphabet

Similar
W
Broader
letterletter of the alphabetalphabetic character
Also see
w

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishdoble W
  2. Englishdouble-u

Inherited from Middle English doble W, in reference to the letter's origins as a ligature of two Us or Vs (V originally being a typographical variant of U). The failure of the sequence /bljuː/ to simplify in this word's bisyllabic pronunciation (as in blue) is doubtlessly due to the letter U's name. For colloquial pronunciations without /l/, compare Straya.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic دَابِلْيُو, دَابْلِيُو
  • دَابِلْيُو (dabelyū)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • دَابْلِيُو (dabliyū)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • دوبلڤهthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • دُوبِلِڥِه (dubleveh)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Bengali ডব্লিউ
  • ডব্লিউ (ḍobliu)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Bulgarian дубъл-ве
  • дубъл-ве (dubăl-ve)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Catalan ve doble
  • ve doblethe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Czech dvojité vé
  • dvojité véthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Danish dobbelt-v
  • dobbelt-vthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Dutch wee
  • weethe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Esperanto duobla vo, vavo
  • duobla vothe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • vavothe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • vuothe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • vuthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • ĝermana vothe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Finnish kaksoisvee
  • kaksoisveethe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
French double vé
  • double véthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
German We
  • Wethe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Greek ντάμπλ’γιου
  • ντάμπλ’γιου (ntámpl’giou)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Hawaiian wē
  • wēthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Hindi डब्ल्यू
  • डब्ल्यू (ḍablyū)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Hungarian dupla vé
  • dupla véthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Icelandic tvöfalt vaff
  • tvöfalt vaffthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Indonesian we
  • wethe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Irish wae
  • waethe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Italian doppia vu, vu doppia
  • doppia vuthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • vu doppiathe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Japanese ダブリュー
  • ダブリュー (daburyū)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Korean 더블유, 다블유
  • 더블유 (deobeuryu)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • 다블유 (dabeuryu)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Malay dabliu, dabel yu
  • dabliuthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • dabel yuthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Norwegian Bokmål dobbelt-v
  • dobbelt-vthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Polish wu
  • wuthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Portuguese duplo vê, dáblio
  • duplo vêthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • dábliothe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • dâbliothe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Russian да́бл-ю, дубль-вэ́
  • да́бл-ю (dábl-ju)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • дубль-вэ́ (dublʹ-vɛ́)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Spanish doble ve, uve doble
  • doble vethe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • uve doblethe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • ve duplathe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • ve doblethe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • doble uve / uthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • u valona (disused)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Swedish dubbel-v
  • dubbel-vthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Tagalog dobolyu, wa (Abakada)
  • dobolyuthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • wa (Abakada)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Thai ดับเบิลยู, ดับบลิว
  • ดับเบิลยู (dàp-bə̂n-yuu)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
  • ดับบลิว (dàp-bliu)the name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Welsh w
  • wthe name of the Latin-script letter W/w
Cite this entry
APA

double-u. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double-u

MLA

“double-u.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double-u. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “double-u,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double-u.

Source: double-u on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.