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ß

Letter of the Latin alphabet; used in the German language

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 23, 2026
Entity authoritySource title only
Source-derived summary

ß is a letter of the German alphabet. In German it is called Eszett or scharfes S. It represents the phoneme in Standard German when following long vowels and diphthongs. In English, it is called double s, eszett, or sharp s. It is currently used only in German, and can be typographically replaced with the double-s digraph ⟨ss⟩ if the character ⟨ß⟩ is unavailable. In the 20th century, ⟨ß⟩ was replaced with ⟨ss⟩ in the spelling of Swiss Standard German, while remaining Standard German spelling in other varieties of the German language.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “ß” as letter of the Latin alphabet; used in the German language. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Letter, Latin and alphabet.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current 92-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Letter, Latin and alphabet providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “ß”, the useful work is to connect “letter of the Latin alphabet; used in the German language” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “ß”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow ß primary sources, ß archive and Letter research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “ß”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “ß” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.