B, b, the second letter and the first consonant in the English alphabet, as it is also in the other languages of the Aryan family spoken in Europe. A sound and character corresponding to the English b and the Greek beta is the second letter and the first consonant in Phœnician, Hebrew, Samaritan, Aramaic, Arabic, and Koptic. In Ethiopic, however, beth stands tenth instead of second in order. Turning next to some of the Aryan languages of Asia, we find that in Armenian be is the 26th of the 38 letters; and in Sanskrit, Mahratta, etc., bu, or ba, is generally placed 23d in the list of consonants, where it is preceded by phu and followed by bha. Returning again to the Semitic, beth, the name given to the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, is really Aramæan. Like the corresponding word in Hebrew, baith, it signifies a house, to which it has some faint resemblance.
B is a flat mute, the voice not being so entirely shut off in pronouncing it as it is when one of the sharp mutes, p or f, is uttered. The b sound is produced by compressing the lips, a vowel being added to render it audible. It is hence called a labial, from Latin labium=a lip, plural labia=lips; its other associates in the same category being p, f, and v, with which it is often interchanged in the cognate languages.
B, as an initial, is used—
In designating university degrees: For Latin Baccalaureus as Artium Baccalaureus=Bachelor of Arts=B. A.
In music: For bass.
In chemistry: For the element boron.
B, as a symbol, is used—
In numeration, in Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and even occasionally in English, for 2. But B, in Greek, is the diacritical mark for 2,000. In Latin B stands for 300, and B̄ for 3,000.
In music: As the seventh note of the diatonic scale. It answers to the Italian and French si. In Germany it is=B flat.