b

The second letter of the English alphabet. It is etymologically related to p, v, f, w, and m, letters representing sounds having a close organic affinity to its own sound; as in Eng. bursar and purser; Eng. bear and Lat. ferre; Eng. silver and Ger. silber; Lat. cubitum and It. gomito; Eng. seven, Anglo-Saxon seofon, Ger. sieben, Lat. septem, Gr.'epta`, Sanskrit saptan. The form of letter B is Roman, from the Greek B of Semitic origin. The small b was formed by gradual change from the capital B. In Music, B is the nominal of the seventh tone in the model major scale or ...