# ef
## English
### Alternative forms

* eff

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈɛf/
* Rhymes: -ɛf

### Noun

ef (plural efs)
* The name of the Latin-script letter F/f.
** 2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:I have drunk en-ee-cee-tee-ay-ar from the ef-ell-oh-doubleyou-ee-ar-ess in his gee-ay-ar-dee-ee-en many a time.

#### Derived terms

* efavirenz (probably)
* eff

#### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) letter; a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, jay, kay, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, ess, tee, u, vee, double-u, ex, wye, zee / zed

### Conjunction

ef
* (nonstandard) Pronunciation spelling of if, representing dialectal English.
** 1882, James Jackson, Tom Terror, the Outlaw‎:Captain Tom would have hired him to hunt down his own child, ef Rosebud hadn’t interfered.

### Anagrams

* F&E, FE, Fe, f.e.

## Czech
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈɛf]

### Noun

ef n (indeclinable)
* The name of the Latin-script letter F/f.

### Further reading

* “ef”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
* “ef”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

## Icelandic
### Etymology

From Old Norse ef, from Proto-Germanic *jabai.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɛːv/
* Rhymes: -ɛːv

### Conjunction

ef
* if

## Indonesian
### Etymology

From Dutch ef.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɛf/, [ɛf]

### Noun

èf (plural ef-ef)
* The name of the Latin-script letter F/f.

#### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) huruf; a, be, ce, de, e, ef, ge, ha, i, je, ka, el, em, en, o, pe, ki, er, es, te, u, ve, we, eks, ye, zet

### Further reading

* “ef” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

## Latin
### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ef/, [ɛf]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ef/, [ɛf]

### Noun

ef f (indeclinable)
* The name of the letter F.

#### Usage notes

* Multiple Latin names for the letter F, f have been suggested. The most common is ef or a syllabic f, although there is some evidence which also supports, as names for the letter, fē, əf, fə, and even (in the fourth- or fifth-century first Antinoë papyrus, which gives Greek transliterations of the Latin names of the Roman alphabet’s letters) ιφφε (iphphe).

#### Coordinate terms

* (Latin-script letter names) littera; ā, bē, cē, dē, ē, ef, gē, hā / *acca, ī, kā, el, em, en, ō, pē, kū, er, es, tē, ū, ix / īx / ex, ȳ / ī graeca / ȳpsīlon, zēta

### References

* Arthur E. Gordon, The Letter Names of the Latin Alphabet (University of California Press, 1973; volume 9 of University of California Publications: Classical Studies), especially pages 30–31, 42–44, and 63

## Latvian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ɛf]
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

ef m (invariable)
* The Latvian name of the Latin script letter F/f.

#### See also

* Latvian letter names:
    a (A), garais ā (Ā), bē (B), cē (C), čē (Č), dē (D), e (E), garais ē (Ē), ef (F), gā (G), ģē (Ģ), hā (H), i (I), garais ī (Ī), jē (J), kā (K), ķē (Ķ), el (L), eļ (Ļ), em (M), en (N), eņ (Ņ), o (O), pē (P), er (R), es (S), eš (Š), tē (T), u (U), garais ū (Ū), vē (V), zē (Z), žē (Ž)

## Lower Sorbian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ɛf/

### Noun

ef m inan
* The name of the Latin-script letter f/F.

### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) a, bej, cej, čet, ćej, dej, ej, ět, ef, gej, ha, cha, i, jot, ka, eł, el, em, en, ejn, o, pej, er, ejŕ, es, eš, śej, tej, u, wej, y, zet, žet, źej

## Malay
### Etymology

From English ef.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈef/ [ˈef]

### Noun

éf (plural ef-ef)
* The name of the Latin-script letter F/f.

#### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) huruf; e, bi, si, di, i, ef, ji, hec, ai, je, ke, el, em, en, o, pi, kiu, ar, es, ti, yu, vi, dabel yu, eks, way, zed

## Old French
### Alternative forms

* e, ep

### Etymology

Inherited from Latin apis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈeːf/

### Noun

ef oblique singular, m or f (oblique plural es, nominative singular es, nominative plural ef)
* bee

#### Descendants

* Picard: é

### References

* Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX$^e$ au XV$^e$ siècle (1881) (ef)

## Old Norse
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *jabai, originally the dative of *jabą (“doubt”), whence ef (“doubt”).

#### Conjunction

ef
* if

##### Descendants

* Icelandic: ef
* Old Swedish: ef, em, um
** Swedish: om
** Norwegian:
*** Norwegian Nynorsk: um (influenced by um < umb)
* Old Danish: æf, æm, um
** Danish: om
*** Norwegian Bokmål: om
**** → Norwegian Nynorsk: om

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *jabą.

#### Alternative forms

* if

#### Noun

ef
* doubt
    mér er til efsI doubt(literally, “for me is at doubt”)

##### Derived terms

* iflaust (“doubtless, undoubted”)

##### Descendants

* Icelandic: ef, if
* Old Swedish: iæf
** Swedish: jäv

## Old Saxon
### Alternative forms

* of
* af

### Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *jabē, *jabu, from Proto-Germanic *jabai (“when, if”)

### Conjunction

ef
* if, when
** 9th c. Heliand, verse 2714
    "Ef thū mī hōrien wili,..."If you want to listen to me,...

#### References

* Köbler, Gerhard, Altsächsisches Wörterbuch (5th edition 2014)

## Tagalog
### Etymology

Borrowed from English ef, the English name of the letter F/f.

### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /ʔef/ [ʔɛf]
** IPA: (more native-sounding) /ʔep/ [ʔɛp̚]
* Rhymes: -ef, (more native-sounding) -ep
* Syllabification: ef

### Noun

ef (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜉ᜔)
* the name of the Latin-script letter F/f, in the Filipino alphabet
    Synonym: (in the Abecedario) efe

#### See also

* (Latin-script letter names) titik; ey, bi, si, di, i, ef, dyi, eyts, ay, dyey, key, el, em, en, enye, en dyi, o, pi, kyu, ar, es, ti, yu, vi, dobolyu, eks, way, zi

### Further reading

* “ef”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

## Welsh
### Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *es or *ēs, from Proto-Indo-European *éy.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /eːv/
* Rhymes: -eːv

### Pronoun

ef
* (literary) he; him

#### Synonyms

* e, o (colloquial)