V V, V, the 22d letter, and the 17th consonant of the English alphabet. It represents a labial or labio-dental con- sonant sound, and is produced by the junction of the lower lip and upper teeth, as in ov, eve, vain. The sound of V differs from that of f, which is pro- duced in the same way, in being voiced, while that of f is breathed. Both v and f are also continuous consonants, and also belong to the class of the spirants. V in Middle English is commonly written u in MSS., and conversely u sometimes appears as v, most frequently at the be- ginning of words, and especially in the word vs, vse, vp, vnto, vnder, and vn-, used as a prefix. As noted under U, u and V were formerly the same letter, and in dictionaries and alphabetical lists words beginning with U and V were, up till a comparatively recent date, com- bined. [U.] The Latin v, or rather con- sonant u. was probably pronounced as w; as in vespa = wasp. A very large proportion of the words which begin with V are of French or Latin origin, only vane, vat, vinewed, and vixen being English. The letter v did not exist in Anglo-Saxon, its sound being represented by f, as in heofon = hea,'en, of=of (ov). [F.] By this may be explained the change of consonant in the plurals in such words as thief, plural thieves, wolf, plural, wolves, etc. V frequently re- places f, as in vat = Middle English fat; vetches = Middle English fetches (at the present day so pronounced in the Midland counties), etc. In the dia- lects of the S. of England v is still com- monly used where other dialects have f : as vo = foe, vinger = finger, etc. V in some Romance words represents ph, as vial := phial, Middle English visnomy = physiognomy, etc. V has been changed to (1) w in periwinkle =: French per- venche^ Latin perivinca; (2) to m in malmsey = Middle English malvesie. Old French, malvoisie. In vulgar speech, es- pecially of Londoners, v is sometimes VLSfi^ -for w, and, conversely, w for v; as veil for well, wery for very. V never ap- pears as a final letter in English (though a final v sound often occurs) , nor is it ever doubled. V as a symbol is used: (1) As a nu- meral: For 5, and with a dash over it for 5,000. (2) In chemistry: For the ele- ment vanadium. (3) In heraldry: For vert, in the tricking of arms v/ith a pen and ink. (4) In law: For versus (Latin) = against; as John Doe v. Richard Roe. (5) In physics: For velocity or volume. (6) In music: As an abbreviation of violino, violini, voce, volta, etc. (7) In finance: For $5; as I'll give a V for it (from the letter V on the bill). (8) In electrics : As a sjrmbol for volt. VACATION SCHOOLS, in the United States, schools conducted for the pur- pose of teaching useful occupations to the poor children of large cities. The idea originated in Boston, where the first school was held during six weeks of the summer of 1885. From Boston the movement spread to New York. Chicago, and other large cities and in 1920 prac- tically every large city in the United States instituted such schools in its system. VACCINATION, the act or art of vaccinating; the introduction of vaccine matter into the human frame with the view of protecting it against smallpox, or rendering that disease less for- midable. It was at first supposed that the cowpox had arisen by the transmis- sion to the cow of a disease in the horse called "grease," the purulent matter of which was largely employed by Jenner and others for vaccinating purposes, at first after it had been passed through the cow and afterward by direct transmis- sion. Its employment has long since been abandoned. The cowpox is not pro- duced in the human frame by effluvia; actual inoculation is required. When vaccine lymph is introduced into the arm of an infant, by one or more punc- tures of a lancet, no noticeable effect is 147
