Koppa
archaic letter of the Greek alphabet
Koppa or Qoppa (UK: , US: ; uppercase: Ϙ, lowercase: ϙ, numeral: ϟ) is a letter that was used in early forms of the Greek alphabet, derived from Phoenician qoph (𐤒). It was originally used to denote the /k/ sound, but dropped out of use as an alphabetic character and replaced by kappa (Κ). It has remained in use as a numeral symbol (90) in the system of Greek numerals, although with a modified shape. Koppa is the source of Latin Q, as well as the Cyrillic numeral sign of the same name (koppa).
Alphabetic
In Phoenician, qoph was pronounced [q]; in Greek, which lacked such a sound, it was instead used for /k/ before back vowels Ο, Υ and Ω. In this function, it was borrowed into the Italic alphabets and ultimately into Latin. However, as the sound /k/ had two redundant spellings, koppa was eventually replaced by kappa (Κ) in Greek. It remained in use as a letter in some Doric regions into the 5th century BC.
The koppa was used as a symbol for the city of Corinth, which was originally spelled Ϙόρινθος Qórinthos in Doric Greek.
Numeric
Koppa remained in use in the system of Milesian Greek numerals, where it had the value of 90. It has continued to be used in this function into modern times, though its shape has changed over time. In the Greek cursive script, the Q-like shape with a closed circle on top (handwritten as ) was often broken up at the side () or at the top ().
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