Ksi (Ѯ, ѯ italics: Ѯ ѯ) is a letter of the Cyrillic script. It is a letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, derived from the Greek letter Xi (Ξ, ξ).[1] It was mainly used in Greek loanwords, especially words relating to the Church.

Cyrillic letter Ksi
Phonetic usage:[ks]
Numeric value:60
Derived from:Greek letter Xi (Ξ ξ)
The Cyrillic script
Slavic letters
АА́А̀А̂А̄ӐӒБ
ВГҐДЂЃЕЕ́
ЀЕ̂Е̄ЁЄЖЗЗ́
ЅИІІ́ЇИ́Ѝ
И̂ӢЙӤЈКЛЉ
МНЊОО́О̀О̂Ō
ӦПРСС́ТЋЌ
УУ́У̀У̂ӮЎӰФ
ХЦЧЏШЩЪ
Ъ̀ЫЫ́ЬѢЭЭ́Ю
Ю́Ю̀ЯЯ́Я̀
Non-Slavic letters
А̊А̃Ӓ̄ӔӘӘ́Ә̃Ӛ
В̌ԜГ̑Г̇Г̣Г̌Г̂Г̆
Г̈г̊ҔҒӺҒ̌ғ̊
ӶГ̡Д́Д̌Д̈Д̣Д̆Ӗ
Е̃Ё̄Є̈ԐԐ̈ҖӜӁ
Ж̣ҘӞЗ̌З̣З̆ӠИ̃
ҊҚӃҠҞҜК̣к̊
қ̊ԚЛ́ӅԮԒЛ̈
ӍН́ӉҢԨӇҤ
О̆О̃Ӧ̄ӨӨ̄Ө́Ө̆Ӫ
ԤП̈Р̌ҎС̌ҪС̣С̱
Т́Т̈Т̌Т̇Т̣ҬУ̃
ӲУ̊Ӱ̄ҰҮҮ́Х̣Х̱
Х̮Х̑Х̌ҲӼх̊Ӿӿ̊
ҺҺ̈ԦЦ̌Ц̈ҴҶҶ̣
ӴӋҸЧ̇Ч̣ҼҾ
Ш̣Ы̆Ы̄ӸҌҨ
Э̆Э̄Э̇ӬӬ́Ӭ̄Ю̆Ю̈
Ю̄Я̆Я̄Я̈Ӏʼˮ
Archaic or unused letters
А̨Б̀Б̣Б̱В̀Г̀Г̧
Г̄Г̓Г̆Ҕ̀Ҕ̆ԀД̓
Д̀Д̨ԂЕ̇Е̨
Ж̀Ж̑Џ̆
Ꚅ̆З̀З̑ԄԆ
ԪІ̂І̣І̨
Ј̵Ј̃К̓К̀К̆Ӄ̆
К̑К̇К̈К̄ԞК̂
Л̀ԠԈЛ̑Л̇Ԕ
М̀М̃Н̀Н̄Н̧
Н̃ԊԢН̡Ѻ
П̓П̀
П́ҦП̧П̑ҀԚ̆Р́
Р̀Р̃ԖС̀С̈ԌҪ̓
Т̓Т̀ԎТ̑Т̧
Ꚍ̆ѸУ̇
У̨ꙋ́Ф̑Ф̓Х́Х̀Х̆Х̇
Х̧Х̾Х̓һ̱ѠѼ
ѾЦ̀Ц́Ц̓Ꚏ̆
Ч́Ч̀Ч̆Ч̑Ч̓
ԬꚆ̆Ҽ̆Ш̀
Ш̆Ш̑Щ̆Ꚗ̆Ъ̄Ъ̈
Ъ̈̄Ы̂Ы̃Ѣ́Ѣ̈Ѣ̆
Э̨Э̂Ю̂
Я̂Я̨ԘѤѦѪ
ѨѬѮѰѲѴѶ
An example of the use of Ksi after it was formally abolished: a civil census 1782 (GATO, f. 389, cat. 1, case 2, p. 146): Жена Аѯинья Семенова дочь — 30…

Unlike other eliminated letters such as Omega and Yus, Ksi was a later borrowing from Greek and does not appear in any form in the Glagolitic script, which was used until the Middle Ages.[2][3]

Ksi was eliminated from the Russian alphabet along with psi, omega, and yus in the Civil Script of 1708 (Peter the Great's Grazhdanka),[4] and has also been dropped from other secular languages. It was briefly restored in 1710 and ultimately removed in 1735. While it was no longer used in typographic fonts, it continued to be used by the church, and since clergy actively participated in civil censuses, Ksii can be found in multiple handwritten civil texts all the way until the early 1800s.

The Russian surname "Apraksin" (Апраѯінъ; modern: Апраксин) in the Civil Script. Note the variant form of "ksi" (ѯ) in the name is an Izhitsa with a tail.

In the Civil Script during Peter the Great's time, ksi was also written similarly to an izhitsa with a tail.

Ksi constituted the number "60" in the Cyrillic numeral system.[5]

Computing codes

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Character information
Preview Ѯ ѯ
Unicode name CYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER KSI CYRILLIC SMALL LETTER KSI
Encodings decimal hex dec hex
Unicode 1134 U+046E 1135 U+046F
UTF-8 209 174 D1 AE 209 175 D1 AF
Numeric character reference Ѯ Ѯ ѯ ѯ
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References

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  1. ^ Lunt, Horace G. (2010). Old Church Slavonic Grammar. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. p. 20. ISBN 9783110876888.
  2. ^ Kent, Allen; Lancour, Harold; Daily, Jay E.; Nasri, William Z. (1979). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science: Volume 27 -Scientific and Technical Libraries to Slavic Paleography. New York: CRC Press. p. 472. ISBN 9780824720278.
  3. ^ Taylor, Isaac (1883). The Alphabet: An Account of the Origin and Development of Letters, Volume 2. London: K. Paul, Trench & Company. p. 200.
  4. ^ "ЭСБЕ/Кси" [Ksi]. Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). St. Petersburg: F.A. Brockhaus. 1907. Russian Wikisource.
  5. ^ Condorelli, Marco (2020). Advances in Historical Orthography, c. 1500–1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 55, 64. ISBN 9781108471800.