Ayb (Armenian letter)
| Armenian letter Ayb | |
|---|---|
| Ա ա | |
| Usage | |
| Writing system | Armenian script |
| Type | Alphabetic |
| Language of origin | Armenian language |
| Sound values | ɑ |
| In Unicode | U+0531, U+0561 |
| Alphabetical position | 1 |
| History | |
| Development | |
| Time period | 405 to present |
| Other | |
| Associated numbers | 1 |
Ayb (majuscule: Ա; minuscule: ա; Armenian: այբ) is the first letter of the Armenian alphabet. It has a numerical value of 1. It represents the [ɑ] sound in both variants of the Armenian language. This letter and the letter Ben (Բբ) are the two first letters in the Armenian alphabet and forms the etymology of the Armenian word այբուբեն (aybuben), meaning "alphabet." It is one of the letters originally created by Mesrop Mashtots in the 5th century.
Its prototype is considered to be the Greek letter α (alpha) with the upper arc cut off. A number of Armenian letters are formed in a similar fashion.
It is homoglyphic to the IPA symbol for the close back unrounded vowel, the Cyrillic letter Sha (Шш), the former Zhuang letter Ɯɯ used from 1957 to 1986, and the Nushkuri form of the Georgian letter oni ().
