ff

ff U+FB00, ff LATIN SMALL LIGATURE FF [unassigned: U+FADA–U+FAFF] ← 龎 [U+FAD9] Alphabetic Presentation Forms fi → [U+FB01]

See also: ff., fF, ff, FF, and ␌

Translingual

Etymology

The "and following" sense is an abbreviation of Latin folio (“on the (next) page”), ablative of folium (“leaf, page”). The "folios" that follow can be pages, paragraphs, Bible verses, or other sections of written material.

Symbol

ff

1. fortissimo
2. "and following" (pages, etc)
3. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Fula.

English

Letter

ff

1. Often written in old manuscripts or transcriptions of them, denoting a capital F.
   • c. 1570s – 1580 (date written), [Philip Sidney], “The First Booke or Acte”, in [T]he Countess of Pembrookes Arcadia [The Old Arcadia], folio 10, recto, lines 2–4:

     ffor, as the Love of heaven makes one heavenly, the love of vertue vertuous, ſo dothe the love of the Worlde make one become worldly, […]

     For a transcription, see: Albert Feuillerat, editor (1926), “The First Book”, in The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia: Being the Original Version […] (Cambridge English Classics; The Complete Works of Sir Philip Sidney; IV), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, →OCLC, page 17.

See also

• ff-hole

Dutch

Etymology 1

Abbreviation of Latin folio (“on the (next) page”), ablative of folium (“leaf, page”).

Phrase

ff

1. ff.

Etymology 2

When pronounced as the plural of 'f', it sounds like the Dutch word effen.

Adverb

ff

1. (informal) Abbreviation of effen; briefly, just.

Usage notes

This abbreviation is primarily used in informal communication, such as text messaging and web messaging.

Welsh

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): /ɛf/
  • (informal) IPA^(key): /f(ː)/

Letter

ff (lower case, upper case Ff)

1. The ninth letter of the Welsh alphabet, called èff and written in the Latin script. It is preceded by f and followed by g.

Usage notes

Like the other Welsh digraphs, ff is considered a distinct letter of the Welsh alphabet for all purposes, including collation. Thus, ffa is alphabetically sorted after fwltur.

Mutation

• ff cannot be mutated in Welsh.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) llythyren; A a (Á á, À à,  â, Ä ä), B b, C c, Ch ch, D d, Dd dd, E e (É é, È è, Ê ê, Ë ë), F f, Ff ff, G g, Ng ng, H h, I i (Í í, Ì ì, Πî, Ï ï), J j, L l, Ll ll, M m, N n, O o (Ó ó, Ò ò, Ô ô, Ö ö), P p, Ph ph, R r, Rh rh, S s, T t, Th th, U u (Ú ú, Ù ù, Û û, Ü ü), W w (Ẃ ẃ, Ẁ ẁ, Ŵ ŵ, Ẅ ẅ), Y y (Ý ý, Ỳ ỳ, Ŷ ŷ, Ÿ ÿ)

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “ff”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies