View source for ß

{{short description|Letter of the Latin alphabet; used in German}}
{{Lowercase title}}
{{about|the German eszett|the Greek letter that looks similar|Beta|the Chinese radical|阝|the Malayalam script|Bha (Indic) #Malayalam Bha}}
{{Infobox grapheme
|name=ẞ
|letter=ẞ ß
|variations=
|image=File:Latin letter eszett.svg
|imagesize=200px
|script=[[Latin script]]
|type=[[Alphabet]]
|typedesc=ic
|language=[[Early New High German]]
|phonemes=[{{IPAlink|s}}]
|unicode=U+1E9E,&nbsp;U+00DF
|alphanumber=
|number=
|fam1=<hiero>M40 , Z4</hiero>
|fam2=[[File:Proto-semiticS-01.svg|20px|Proto-Sinaitic Shin]], [[File:Proto-semiticZ-01.svg|20px|Proto-Sinaitic Zayin]]
|fam3=[[File:Phoenician_sin.svg|20px|Phoenician Sin]], [[File:Phoenician zayin.svg|20px|Phoenician Zayin]]
|fam4=[[Sigma|ς]], [[Zeta|ζ]]
|fam5=[[𐌔]], [[𐌆]]
|fam6=[[s]][[z]]
|fam7=[[long s|ſ]][[ezh |ʒ]]
|usageperiod=~1300s to present
|children=None
|sisters=None
|equivalents=ss, sz
|associates=[[List of Latin-script digraphs#S|ss, sz]]
|direction=Left-to-Right
}}
{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=250
| image1 =  S-sharp-s-Cambria.svg |width1=125|height1= 
| image2 =  S-sharp-s-Lucida-Sans.svg |width2=125|height2= 
| image3 = Theuerdank szlig.png  |width3=70|height3= 
| image4 =  Kurrent ß.svg |width4=100|height4= 
| footer = Variant forms of ''Eszett'' (from top-left to bottom-right): [[Cambria (typeface)|Cambria]] (2004), [[Lucida Sans]] (1985), [[Theuerdank#Theuerdank font|Theuerdank]] blackletter (1933, based on a 1517 type), handwritten [[Kurrent]] (1865)
}}

In [[German orthography]], the letter '''ß''', called  '''{{lang|de|Eszett}}''' ({{IPA|de|ɛsˈtsɛt|IPA}}, S-Z) or '''{{lang|de|scharfes S}}''' ({{IPA|de|ˌʃaʁfəs ˈʔɛs|IPA}}, "sharp S"), represents the {{IPAslink|s}} phoneme in [[Standard German]] when following [[long vowel]]s and [[diphthong]]s. The letter-name {{wikt-lang|de|Eszett}} combines the [[names of the letters]] of {{angbr|s}} ({{lang|de|Es}}) and {{angbr|z}} ({{lang|de|Zett}}) in German. The character's [[Unicode]] names in English are '''double s''',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lingoda.com/blog/en/german-double-s-eszett/|title=German double s and eszett|publisher=Lingoda|author=Sandra Köktas|date=20 September 2022 |language=English|accessdate=7 October 2024}}</ref> '''sharp s'''<ref name="Unicode_00DF">{{Citation |author=Unicode Consortium |author-link=Unicode Consortium |year=2018 |title=C1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement, Range 0080–00FF |work=The Unicode Standard, Version 11.0 |url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0080.pdf |access-date=2018-08-09 |postscript=.}}</ref> and '''eszett'''.<ref name="Unicode_00DF" /> The ''Eszett'' letter is currently used only in [[German language|German]], and can be typographically replaced with the double-s digraph {{angbr|ss}}, if the ß-character is unavailable. In the 20th century, the ß-character was replaced with ''ss'' in the spelling of [[Swiss Standard German]] (Switzerland and [[Liechtenstein]]), while remaining [[Standard German]] spelling in other varieties of the German language.<ref name="Swiss">[http://www.so.ch/fileadmin/internet/dbk/evkaa/Infos/Unterricht/Rechtschreibung_Leitfaden.pdf Leitfaden zur deutschen Rechtschreibung ("Guide to German Orthography")] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708004012/http://www.so.ch/fileadmin/internet/dbk/evkaa/Infos/Unterricht/Rechtschreibung_Leitfaden.pdf |date=2012-07-08 }}, 3rd edition (2007) {{in lang|de}} from the [[Swiss Federal Chancellery]], retrieved 22-Apr-2012</ref>

The letter originates as the {{angbr|[[sz (digraph)|sz]]}} [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]] as used in [[Early New High German|late medieval and early modern German]] orthography, represented as a [[typographic ligature|ligature]] of {{angbr|ſ}} ([[long s]]) and {{angbr|ʒ}} ([[Z#Variant and derived forms|tailed z]]) in [[blackletter]] typefaces, yielding {{angbr|ſʒ}}.{{efn|The IPA symbol [[ezh]] (ʒ) is the most similar to the Blackletter z (<math>\mathfrak{z}</math>) and is used in this article for convenience despite its technical inaccuracy.}} This developed from an earlier usage of {{angbr|z}} in [[Old High German|Old]] and [[Middle High German]] to represent a separate [[sibilant]] sound from {{angbr|s}}; when the difference between the two sounds was lost in the 13th century, the two symbols came to be combined as {{angbr|sz}} in some situations.

Traditionally, {{angbr|ß}} did not have a capital form, although some [[type design]]ers introduced ''de facto'' capitalized variants. In 2017, the [[Council for German Orthography]] officially adopted a capital, {{angbr|ẞ}}, as an acceptable variant in German orthography, ending a long orthographic debate.<ref name="Long debate">{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/1033265/germanys-century-long-debate-over-a-missing-letter-in-its-alphabet|title=Germany has ended a century-long debate over a missing letter in its alphabet|last=Ha|first=Thu-Huong|date=20 July 2017 |language=English|access-date=9 August 2017|quote=According to the council's 2017 spelling manual: When writing the uppercase [of ß], write SS. It’s also possible to use the uppercase ẞ. Example: Straße — STRASSE — STRAẞE.}}</ref>
Since 2024 the capital {{angbr|ẞ}} is preferred over {{angbr|SS}}.<ref name="auto23">{{Cite web |access-date=28 August 2024 |url=https://www.rechtschreibrat.com/DOX/RfdR_Amtliches-Regelwerk_2024.pdf |title=Amtliches Regelwerk der deutschen Rechtschreibung. Auf der Grundlage des Beschlusses des Rats für deutsche Rechtschreibung vom 15.12.2023 |at=§25, E3 |quote={{lang|de|E3: Bei Schreibung mit Großbuchstaben ist neben der Verwendung des Großbuchstabens ẞ auch die Schreibung SS möglich: Straße – STRAẞE – STRASSE.}} [When writing with capital letters, in addition to using the capital letter ẞ, the spelling SS is also possible. Example: Straße – STRAẞE – STRASSE.]}}</ref>

Lowercase {{angbr|ß}} was [[codepoint|encoded]] by [[ECMA-94]] (1985) at position 223 (hexadecimal DF), inherited by [[Latin-1]] and [[Unicode]] ({{unichar|00DF|Latin small letter sharp s}}).<ref>[http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0080.pdf C1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement] glossed 'uppercase is "SS" or 1E9E '''ẞ'''; typographically the glyph for this character can be based on a ligature of 017F '''ſ''', with either 0073 '''s''' or with an old-style glyph for 007A '''z''' (the latter similar in appearance to 0292 '''ʒ'''). Both forms exist interchangeably today.'</ref>
The [[List of XML and HTML character entity references|HTML entity]]  <code>&amp;szlig;</code> was introduced with [[HTML|HTML 2.0]] (1995). The capital {{angbr|ẞ}} was encoded by Unicode in 2008 at ({{unichar|1E9E|Latin Capital Letter Sharp S}}).

== Usage ==
===Current usage===
In [[standard German]], three letters or combinations of letters commonly represent {{IPA|de|s|}} (the [[voiceless alveolar fricative]]) depending on its position in a word: {{angbr|s}}, {{angbr|ss}}, and {{angbr|ß}}. According to [[German orthography reform of 1996|current German orthography]], {{angbr|ß}} represents the sound {{IPA|de|s|}}:
#when it is written after a [[diphthong]] or [[long vowel]] and is not followed by another consonant in the [[word stem]]: {{lang|de|Straße}}, {{lang|de|Maß}}, {{lang|de|groß}}, {{lang|de|heißen}} [Exceptions: {{lang|de|aus}} and words with [[final devoicing]] (e.g., {{lang|de|Haus}})];<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|title=Deutsche Rechschreibung: 2.3 Besonderheiten bei [s] § 25 |url=https://grammis.ids-mannheim.de/rechtschreibung/6180 |access-date=28 January 2021}}</ref> and
#when a word stem ending with {{angbr|ß}} takes an [[inflection]]al ending beginning with a consonant: {{lang|de|heißt}}, {{lang|de|größte}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=Duden: Die Grammatik |edition=9 |year=2016 |page=84}}</ref>

In verbs with roots where the vowel changes length, this means that some forms may be written with {{angbr|ß}}, others with {{angbr|ss}}: {{lang|de|wissen}}, {{lang|de|er weiß}}, {{lang|de|er wusste}}.<ref name="auto1"/>

The use of {{angbr|ß}} distinguishes [[minimal pair]]s such as {{lang|de|reißen}} ({{IPA|de|ˈʁaɪsn̩|IPA}}, to rip) and {{lang|de|reisen}} ({{IPA|de|ˈʁaɪzn̩|IPA}}, to travel) on the one hand ({{IPA|de|s|}} vs. {{IPA|de|z|}}), and {{lang|de|Buße}} ({{IPA|de|ˈbuːsə|IPA}}, penance) and {{lang|de|Busse}} ({{IPA|de|ˈbʊsə|IPA}}, buses) on the other (long vowel before {{angbr|ß}}, short vowel before {{angbr|ss}}).<ref name="augst">{{cite book |author-last1=Augst |author-first1=Gerhard |author-last2=Stock |author-first2=Eberhard |chapter=Laut-Buchstaben-Zuordnung |title=Zur Neuregelung der deutschen Rechtschreibung: Begründung und Kritik |editor-last1=Augst |editor-first1=Gerhard |editor-last2=Blüml |editor-first2=Karl |display-editors=1 |publisher=Max Niemeyer |year=1997 |isbn=3-484-31179-7}}</ref>{{rp|123}}

Some proper names may use {{angbr|ß}} after a short vowel, following the old orthography; this is also true of some words derived from proper names (e.g., {{lang|de|Litfaßsäule; [[advertising column]]}}, named after [[Ernst Litfaß]]).<ref name="poschenrieder">{{cite book|last=Poschenrieder |first=Thorwald |chapter=S-Schreibung - Überlieferung oder Reform? |title=Die Rechtschreibreform: Pro und Kontra |editor-last1=Eroms |editor-first1=Hans-Werner |editor-last2=Munske |editor-first2=Horst Haider|publisher=Erich Schmidt |year=1997 |isbn=3-50303786-1}}</ref>{{rp|180}}

If no {{angbr|ß}} is available in a font, then the official orthography calls for {{angbr|ß}} to be replaced with {{angbr|ss}}.<ref> {{cite web|access-date=20 September 2023 |url=https://grammis.ids-mannheim.de/rechtschreibung |title=Deutsche Rechtschreibung: Regeln und Wörterverzeichnis |at=2.3 E3 |quote={{lang|de|Steht der Buchstabe ß nicht zur Verfügung, so schreibt man ss.}} [If the letter ß is unavailable, then one writes ss.]}}</ref> Additionally, as of 2024, when capitalized, in addition to using capital {{angbr|ẞ}} ({{lang|de|STRAẞE}}), the spelling {{angbr|SS}} ({{lang|de|STRASSE}}) is also possible.<ref name="auto23" /><ref name="auto">{{Cite web |access-date=29 June 2017 |url=http://www.rechtschreibrat.com/DOX/rfdr_Regeln_2017.pdf |title=Deutsche Rechtschreibung Regeln und Wörterverzeichnis: Aktualisierte Fassung des amtlichen Regelwerks entsprechend den Empfehlungen des Rats für deutsche Rechtschreibung 2016 |at=§25, E3 |quote={{lang|de|E3: Bei Schreibung mit Großbuchstaben schreibt man SS. Daneben ist auch die Verwendung des Großbuchstabens ẞ möglich. Beispiel: Straße – STRASSE – STRAẞE.}} [When writing in all caps, one writes SS. It is also permitted to write ẞ. Example: Straße – STRASSE – STRAẞE.] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706162042/http://www.rechtschreibrat.com/DOX/rfdr_Regeln_2017.pdf |archive-date=2017-07-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The previous rule, codified in the Orthography Reform of 1996, had been always to replace {{angbr|ß}} with {{angbr|SS}} in allcaps.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=20 September 2023 |url=https://www.rechtschreibrat.com/DOX/rfdr_Regeln_2011.pdf |title=Deutsche Rechtschreibung Regeln und Wörterverzeichnis: Aktualisierte Fassung des amtlichen Regelwerks entsprechend den Empfehlungen des Rats für deutsche Rechtschreibung 2006 |at=§25, E3 |quote={{lang|de|E3: Bei Schreibung mit Groẞbuchstaben schreibt man SS, zum Beispiel: Straße – STRASSE.}} [When writing in all caps, one writes SS, for example: Straße – STRASSE.]}}</ref>

===In pre-1996 orthography===
[[File:RechtschreibreformBeiStrassennamen.jpg|thumb|Replacement street sign in [[Aachen]], adapted to the 1996 spelling reform (old: {{lang|de|Kongreßstraße}}, new: {{lang|de|Kongressstraße}})]]
According to the orthography in use in German prior to the [[German orthography reform of 1996]], {{angbr|ß}} was written to represent {{IPA|de|s|}}:
#word internally following a long vowel or diphthong: {{lang|de|Straße}}, {{lang|de|reißen}}; and
#at the end of a syllable or before a consonant, so long as {{IPA|de|s|}} is the end of the word stem: {{lang|de|muß}}, {{lang|de|faßt}}, {{lang|de|wäßrig}}.<ref name="poschenrieder"/>{{rp|176}}
In the old orthography, [[word stem]]s spelled {{angbr|ss}} internally could thus be written {{angbr|ß}} in certain instances, without this reflecting a change in vowel length: {{lang|de|küßt}} (from {{lang|de|küssen}}), {{lang|de|faßt}} (from {{lang|de|fassen}}), {{lang|de|verläßlich}} and {{lang|de|Verlaß}} (from {{lang|de|verlassen}}), {{lang|de|kraß}} (comparative: {{lang|de|krasser}}).<ref name="augst"/>{{rp|121-23}}<ref name="munske">{{cite book|last=Munske |first=Horst Haider|title=Lob der Rechtschreibung: Warum wir schreiben, wie wir schreiben |publisher=C. H. Beck |year=2005 |isbn=3-406-52861-9 |page=66}}</ref> In rare occasions, the difference between {{angbr|ß}} and {{angbr|ss}} could help differentiate words: {{lang|de|Paßende}} (expiration of a pass) and {{lang|de|passende}} (appropriate).<ref name="poschenrieder"/>{{rp|178}}

[[File:ABSCHUSZGERAET.jpg|thumb|Capitalization as SZ on a [[Bundeswehr]] crate ({{lang|de|ABSCHUSZGERAET}} for the pre-reform spelling {{lang|de|Abschußgerät}} 'launcher')]]
As in the new orthography, it was possible to write {{angbr|ss}} for {{angbr|ß}} if the character was not available. When using all capital letters, the pre-1996 rules called for rendering {{angbr|ß}} as {{angbr|SS}} except when there was ambiguity, in which case it should be rendered as {{angbr|SZ}}. The common example for such a case is {{lang|de|IN MASZEN}} ({{lang|de|in Maßen}} "in moderate amounts") vs. {{lang|de|IN MASSEN}} ({{lang|de|in Massen}} "in massive amounts"); in this example the spelling difference between {{angbr|ß}} vs. {{angbr|ss}} produces completely different meanings.{{cn|date=August 2023}}

=== Switzerland and Liechtenstein ===
In [[Swiss Standard German]], {{angbr|ss}} usually replaces every {{angbr|ß}}.<ref>{{ill|Peter Gallmann|de|lt=Peter Gallmann.}} [http://www.personal.uni-jena.de/~x1gape/Pub/Eszett_1997.pdf "Warum die Schweizer weiterhin kein Eszett schreiben."] in ''Die Neuregelung der deutschen Rechtschreibung. Begründung und Kritik.'' Gerhard Augst, et al., eds. Niemayer: 1997. ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200450/http://www.personal.uni-jena.de/~x1gape/Pub/Eszett_1997.pdf Archived.])</ref><ref>[https://www.bk.admin.ch/dam/bk/de/dokumente/sprachdienste/sprachdienst_de/rechtschreibleitfaden-2017.pdf.download.pdf/rechtschreibleitfaden-2017.pdf "Rechtschreibung: Leitfaden zur deutschen Rechtschreibung."] [[Federal Chancellery of Switzerland|Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei]], in Absprache mit der Präsidentin der Staatsschreiberkonferenz. 2017. pp. 19, 21–22.</ref>   This is officially sanctioned by the reformed German orthography rules, which state in §25&nbsp;E<small>2</small>: "{{lang|de|In der Schweiz kann man immer „ss“ schreiben}}" ("In [[Switzerland]], one may always write 'ss'").  [[Liechtenstein]] follows the same practice.  There are very few instances where the difference between spelling {{angbr|ß}} and {{angbr|ss}} affects the meaning of a word, and these can usually be told apart by context.<ref name="walder">{{cite journal |last=Walder |first=Adrienne |title=Das versale Eszett: Ein neuer Buchstabe im deutschen Alphabet |doi=10.1515/zgl-2020-2001 |pages=211–237  |journal=Zeitschrift für Germanitische Linguistik |volume=48 |issue=2 |year=2020 |s2cid=225226660 }}</ref>{{rp|230}}<ref>[https://www.bk.admin.ch/dam/bk/de/dokumente/sprachdienste/sprachdienst_de/rechtschreibleitfaden-2017.pdf.download.pdf/rechtschreibleitfaden-2017.pdf "Rechtscreibung: Leitfaden zur deutschen Rechtschreibung."] [[Federal Chancellery of Switzerland|Schweizerische Bundeskanzlei]], in Absprache mit der Präsidentin der Staatsschreiberkonferenz. 2017. pp. 21–22.</ref>

=== Other uses ===
[[File:Kirche Oßling AB 2011 14.JPG|thumb|left|Use of ß (blackletter 'ſz') in [[Sorbian languages|Sorbian]]: ''wyßokoſcʒ́i'' ("highest", now spelled ''wysokosći''). Text of [[Luke 2]]:14, in a church in [[Oßling]].]]
[[File:BibliaWujka.PNG|thumb|Use of ß in [[Polish language|Polish]], in 1599 ''[[Jakub Wujek Bible]]'', in the word ''náßéy'', which means ''our'', and would be spelled ''naszej'' in modern orthography]]

Occasionally, {{angbr|ß}} has been used in unusual ways:
* As the Greek lowercase {{angbr|β}} ([[beta (letter)|beta]]). The original IBM PC [[Code page 437|CP437]] contains a glyph that minimizes their differences placed between {{angbr|α}} (alpha) and {{angbr|γ}} (gamma) but named "Sharp s Small".<ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://public.dhe.ibm.com/software/globalization/gcoc/attachments/CP00437.txt
 |title=Code Page (CPGID): 00437
 |date=1984
 |website=IBM software FTP server
 |publisher=IBM
 |access-date=11 April 2021
 }}</ref> Substitution was also done using other character sets such as [[ISO/IEC 8859-1]] even though they contain no other Greek letters.
* In Prussian [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], as in the first book published in Lithuanian, [[Martynas Mažvydas]]' ''[[Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas|Simple Words of Catechism]]'',<ref>{{cite book
 |last=Zinkevičius
 |first=Zigmas
 |date=1996
 |title=The History of the Lithuanian Language
 |location=Vilnius
 |publisher=Science and Encyclopedia Publishers
 |page= 230-236
 |isbn=9785420013632
}}</ref> as well as in [[Sorbian languages|Sorbian]] (see example on the left).
* For [[sadhe]] in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] glosses, in place of the standard {{angbr|[[ṣ]]}}, when that character is unavailable due to limitations of [[HTML]].<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/
 |title=ETCSL display conventions
 |website=The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
 |last1=Black
 |first1=J.A.
 |last2=Cunningham
 |first2=G.
 |last3=Fluckiger-Hawker
 |first3=E.
 |last4=Robson
 |first4=E.
 |last5=Zólyomi
 |first5=G.
 |year=1998–2021
 |publisher=Oxford University
 |access-date=11 April 2021
 }}</ref>
* The letter appeared in the alphabet made by [[Jan Kochanowski]] for the [[Polish language]], that was used from the 16th until the 18th century. It represented the [[voiceless postalveolar fricative]] ({{IPA|[ʃ]}}) sound.<ref name=p1>{{cite web|url=https://www.2plus3d.pl/artykuly/skad-sie-wziely-znaki-diakrytyczne|website=2plus3d.pl|title=Skąd się wzięły znaki diakrytyczne?|language=pl|access-date=2021-08-29|archive-date=2021-04-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421114922/https://www.2plus3d.pl/artykuly/skad-sie-wziely-znaki-diakrytyczne|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=p2>{{cite web|url=https://idb.neon24.pl/post/106082,bon-ton-e-a-aby-pismo-bylo-polskie|website=idb.neon24.pl|title=Bon ton Ę-Ą. Aby pismo było polskie.|date=5 August 2023 |language=pl}}</ref> It was for example used in the ''[[Jakub Wujek Bible]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bibliepolskie.pl/przeklady.php?tid=4|website=bibliepolskie.pl|language=pl|title=Tłumaczenia ksiąg biblijnych na język polski}}</ref>
* Some authors have used it in German at the beginning of words to transcribe the voiceless s of certain accents.<ref>For example ''Ssein, ja ßein soll es ßie, ßie, ßie!'' in {{cite work|first1=Karl|last1=May|title=Der Weg zum Glück|date=1886–1888|url=https://www.projekt-gutenberg.org/may/wegglue1/chap004.html}}</ref>

== History ==
===Origin and development===
[[File:Nibelungenlied manuscript - “grozer”.jpg|thumb|Use of [[Middle High German]] letter “z” for modern “ß” in the beginning of the [[Nibelungenlied]]: "grozer" = "großer"]]

As a result of the [[High German consonant shift]], [[Old High German]] developed a sound generally spelled {{angbr|zz}} or {{angbr|z}} that was probably pronounced {{IPA|[s]}} and was contrasted with a sound, probably pronounced {{IPA|[⁠s̠]}} ([[voiceless alveolar retracted sibilant]]) or {{IPA|[z̠]}} ([[voiced alveolar retracted sibilant]]), depending on the place in the word, and spelled {{angbr|s}}.<ref name="auto2">{{cite book |last=Salmons |first=Joseph |title=A History of German: What the past reveals about today's language |edition=2 |year=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-872302-8|page=203}}</ref> Given that {{angbr|z}} could also represent the [[affricate]] {{IPA|[ts]}}, some attempts were made to differentiate the sounds by spelling {{IPA|[s]}} as {{angbr|zss}} or {{angbr|zs}}: {{lang|goh|wazssar}} ({{langx|de|Wasser}}), {{lang|goh|fuozssi}} ({{langx|de|Füße}}), {{lang|goh|heizsit}} ({{langx|de|heißt}}).<ref>{{cite book|last=Braune |first=Wilhelm |title=Althochdeutsche Grammatik I |publisher=Max Niemeyer |year=2004 |isbn=3-484-10861-4 |page=152}}</ref> In [[Middle High German]], {{angbr|zz}} simplified to {{angbr|z}} at the end of a word or after a long vowel, but was retained word internally after a short vowel: {{lang|gmh|wazzer}} ({{langx|de|Wasser}}) vs. {{lang|gmh|lâzen}} ({{langx|de|lassen}}) and {{lang|mhg|fuoz}} ({{langx|de|Fuß}}).<ref name="auto3">{{cite book |last=Paul |first=Hermann |title=Mittelhochdeutsche Grammatik |edition=24 |year=1998 |publisher=Max Niemeyer |isbn=3-484-10233-0 |page=163 }}</ref>

[[File:Crop of vsz from History vom Herr Flordimar Cod Don 140 fol 37r.jpg|thumb|Use of the late medieval ligature {{angbr|ſz}} in [[Ulrich Füetrer]]'s {{lang|de|Buch der Abenteuer}}: "uſz" (modern German {{lang|de|aus}})]]

In the thirteenth century, the phonetic difference between {{angbr|z}} and {{angbr|s}} was lost at the beginning and end of words in all dialects except for [[Gottscheerish]].<ref name="auto2"/> Word-internally, Old and Middle High German {{angbr|s}} came to be pronounced {{IPA|[z]}} (the [[voiced alveolar sibilant]]), while Old and Middle High German {{angbr|z}} continued to be pronounced {{IPA|[s]}}. This produces the contrast between modern standard German {{lang|de|reisen}} and {{lang|de|reißen}}. The former is pronounced {{IPA|de|ˈʁaɪzn̩|IPA}} and comes from {{langx|gmh|reisen}}, while the latter is pronounced {{IPA|de|ˈʁaɪsn̩|IPA}} and comes from {{langx|gmh|reizen}}.<ref name="penzl">{{cite journal|last=Penzl |first=Herbert |title=Die mittelhochdeutschen Sibilanten und ihre Weiterentwicklung |journal=Word |volume=24 |year=1968 |issue=1–3 |doi=10.1080/00437956.1968.11435536 |pages=344, 348}}</ref>

In the late medieval and early modern periods, {{IPA|[s]}} was frequently spelled {{angbr|sz}} or {{angbr|ss}}. The earliest appearance of [[Orthographic ligature|ligature]] resembling the modern {{angbr|ß}} is in a fragment of a [[manuscript]] of the poem ''[[Wolfdietrich]]'' from around 1300.<ref name="walder"/>{{rp|214}}<ref name="penzl"/> In the Gothic [[book hand]]s and [[bastarda]] scripts of the [[late medieval]] period, {{angbr|sz}} is written with [[long s]] and the Blackletter "tailed z", as {{angbr|ſʒ}}. A recognizable [[Typographic ligature|ligature]] representing the {{angbr|sz}} digraph develops in handwriting in the early 14th century.<ref name="brekle">{{cite journal |first=Herbert E. |last=Brekle |title=Zur handschriftlichen und typographischen Geschichte der Buchstabenligatur ß aus gotisch-deutschen und humanistisch-italienischen Kontexten |journal=[[Gutenberg-Jahrbuch]] |volume=76 |location=Mainz |year=2001 |issn=0072-9094 }}</ref>{{rp|67-76}}

[[File:Crop of Der Bierbreuwer from Jost Amman's Stände und Handwerker Wellcome L0069606.jpg|thumb|An early modern printed rhyme by [[Hans Sachs]] showing several instances of ß as a clear ligature of {{angbr|ſz}}: "groß", "stoß", "Laß", "baß" (= modern "besser"), and "Faß"]]

By the late 1400s, the choice of spelling between {{angbr|sz}} and {{angbr|ss}} was usually based on the sound's position in the word rather than etymology: {{angbr|sz}} ({{angbr|ſz}}) tended to be used in word final position: {{lang|de|uſz}} ({{langx|gmh|ûz}}, {{langx|de|aus}}), {{lang|de|-nüſz}} ({{langx|gmh|-nüss(e)}}, {{langx|de|-nis}}); {{angbr|ss}} ({{angbr|ſſ}}) tended to be used when the sound occurred between vowels: {{lang|de|groſſes}} ({{langx|gmh|grôzes}}, {{langx|de|großes}}).<ref name="young">{{cite book |last1=Young |first1=Christopher |last2=Gloning |first2=Thomas |title=A History of the German Language Through Texts |publisher=Routledge |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-415-86263-9}}</ref>{{rp|171}} While [[Martin Luther]]'s early 16th-century printings also contain spellings such as {{lang|de|heyße}} ({{langx|de|heiße}}), early modern printers mostly changed these to {{angbr|ſſ}}: {{lang|de|heiſſe}}. Around the same time, printers began to systematically distinguish between {{lang|de|das}} (the, that [pronoun]) and {{lang|de|daß}} (that [conjunction]).<ref name="young"/>{{rp|215}}

In modern German, the Old and Middle High German {{angbr|z}} is now represented by either {{angbr|ss}}, {{angbr|ß}}, or, if there are no related forms in which {{IPA|[s]}} occurs intervocalically, with {{angbr|s}}: {{lang|de|messen}} ({{langx|gmh|mezzen}}), {{lang|de|Straße}} ({{langx|gmh|strâze}}), and {{lang|de|was}} ({{langx|gmh|waz}}).<ref name="auto3"/>

=== Standardization of use ===
The pre-1996 German use of {{angbr|ß}} was codified by the eighteenth-century grammarians [[Johann Christoph Gottsched]] (1748) and [[Johann Christoph Adelung]] (1793) and made official for all German-speaking countries by the [[German Orthographic Conference of 1901]]. In this orthography, the use of {{angbr|ß}} was modeled after the use of [[long s|long]] and "round"-s in Fraktur. {{angbr|ß}} appeared both word internally after long vowels and also in those positions where Fraktur required the second s to be a "round" or "final" s, namely the ends of syllables or the ends of words.<ref name="walder"/>{{rp|217-18}} In his ''[[Deutsches Wörterbuch]]'' (1854) [[Jacob Grimm]] called for {{angbr|ß}} or {{angbr|sz}} to be written for all instances of Middle and Old High German etymological {{angbr|z}} (e.g., {{lang|de|eß}} instead of {{lang|de|es}} from {{langx|gmh|ez}}); however, his etymological proposal could not overcome established usage.<ref name="young"/>{{rp|269}}

In [[Austria-Hungary]] prior to the German Orthographic Conference of 1902, an alternative rule formulated by  [[Johann Christian August Heyse]] in 1829 had been officially taught in the schools since 1879, although this spelling was not widely used. Heyse's rule matches current usage after the [[German orthography reform of 1996]] in that {{angbr|ß}} was only used after long vowels.<ref name="walder"/>{{rp|219}}

===Use in Roman type===
[[File:ß from Hieronymi Aleandri Mottensis Tabulae utilißimae, Köln 1541.png|thumb|left|The ''ſs'' ligature used for Latin in 16th-century printing ({{lang|la|utiliſsimæ}})]]
[[File:Lang-s-Rund-s Blaeu_Essen.gif|thumb|''[[Essen]]'' with ſs-ligature reads ''Eßen'' (Latin [[Joan Blaeu|Blaeu]] atlas, text printed in Antiqua, 1650s).]]
[[File:French Eszett.jpg|thumb|left|French usage as a ligature for ⟨ss⟩ in 1784 from [[Galerie des Modes et Costumes Français|Gallerie des Modes]]]]

In early modern Latin type ([[antiqua (typeface class)|antiqua]]), a ligature similar to modern {{angbr|ß}} developed out of a long s followed by a round s ({{angbr|ſs}}), and as such was used in languages such as Italian in alternation with {{angbr|ſſ}}, usually based on requirements of space on the page.<ref>{{cite book|author-last=Michel |author-first=Andreas |chapter=Italian orthography in Early Modern times |title=Orthographies in Early Modern Europe |editor-last1=Baddeley |editor-first1=Susan |editor-last2=Voeste |editor-first2=Anja |year=2012 |publisher=de Gruyter Mouton |doi=10.1515/9783110288179.63 |pages=63–96|isbn=978-3-11-028817-9 }}</ref>{{rp|76}} However, despite its resemblance to the modern {{angbr|ß}}, this ligature was not commonly used as an equivalent to the Fraktur {{angbr|sz}} in German.<ref name="mosley">{{citation|last=Mosley|first=James|date=2008-01-31|title=Esszet or ß|website=Typefoundry|url=https://typefoundry.blogspot.com/2008/01/esszett-or.html|access-date=2019-05-05}}</ref><ref name="jamra">{{citation|last=Jamra|first=Mark|year=2006|title=The Eszett| website=TypeCulture|url=https://typeculture.com/academic-resource/articles-essays/the-eszett/|access-date=2019-05-05}}</ref> This ligature generally fell out of use in the eighteenth century, together with the use of long s in antiqua.<ref name="brekle"/>{{rp|73}} German works printed in Roman type in the late 18th and early 19th centuries such as [[Johann Gottlieb Fichte]]'s {{lang|de|Wissenschaftslehre}} did not provide any equivalent to the {{angbr|ß}}.<ref name="brekle"/>{{rp|74}}

[[Jacob Grimm]] began using {{angbr|ß}} in his {{lang|de|Deutsche Grammatik}} (1819); however, it varied with {{angbr|ſſ}} word internally.<ref name="brekle"/>{{rp|74}} Grimm eventually rejected the use of the character; in their {{lang|de|[[Deutsches Wörterbuch]]}} (1838), the [[Brothers Grimm]] favored writing it as {{angbr|sz}}.<ref name="jamra"/>{{rp|2}} The [[First Orthographic Conference (German)|First Orthographic Conference]] in Berlin (1876) recommended that ''ß'' be represented as {{angbr|ſs}} – however, both suggestions were ultimately rejected.<ref name="young"/>{{rp|269}}<ref name="walder"/>{{rp|222}} In 1879, a proposal for various letter forms was published in the ''[[Journal für Buchdruckerkunst]]''.  A committee of the [[Typographic Society of Leipzig]] chose the "Sulzbacher form". In 1903, it was proclaimed as the new standard for the Eszett in Roman type.<ref name="jamra"/>{{rp|3-5}}

Until the abolition of Fraktur in 1941, it was common for [[family name]]s to be written with {{angbr|ß}} in Fraktur and {{angbr|ss}} in Roman type. The formal abolition resulted in inconsistencies in how names are written in modern German (such as between Heuss and Heuß).<ref name="poschenrieder"/>{{rp|176}}

===Abolition and attempted abolitions===
The Swiss and Liechtensteiners ceased to use {{angbr|ß}} in the twentieth century. This has been explained variously by the early adoption of Roman type in Switzerland, the use of [[typewriter]]s in Switzerland that did not include {{angbr|ß}} in favor of French and Italian characters, and peculiarities of [[Swiss German]] that cause words spelled with {{angbr|ß}} or {{angbr|ss}} to be pronounced with [[gemination]].<ref name="walder"/>{{rp|221-22}} The Education Council of [[Zürich]] had decided to stop teaching the letter in 1935, whereas the [[Neue Zürcher Zeitung]] continued to write {{angbr|ß}} until 1971.<ref>{{cite book| last=Ammon |first=Ulrich |year=1995 |title=Die deutsche Sprache in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz: das Problem der nationalen Varietäten |publisher=de Gruyter |isbn=9783110147537 |page=254}}</ref> Swiss newspapers continued to print in Fraktur until the end of the 1940s, and the abandonment of ß by most newspapers corresponded to them switching to Roman typesetting.<ref>{{cite book| last=Gallmann |first=Paul |chapter=Warum die Schweizer weiterhin kein Eszett schreiben |title=Die Neuregelung der deutschenRechtschreibung. Begründung und Kritik |editor-last1=Augst |editor-first1=Gerhard |editor-last2=Blüml |editor-first2=Karl |editor-last3=Nerius |editor-first3=Dieter |editor-last4=Sitta |editor-first4=Horst |publisher=Max Niemeyer |year=1997 |pages=135–140 |chapter-url=http://gallmann.uni-jena.de/Pub/Eszett_1997.pdf}}</ref> 

When the Nazi German government abolished the use of blackletter typesetting in 1941, it was originally planned to also abolish the use of {{angbr|ß}}. However, Hitler intervened to retain {{angbr|ß}}, while deciding against the creation of a capital form.<ref>Schreiben des Reichsministers und Chefs der Reichskanzlei an den Reichsminister des Innern vom 20. Juli 1941. BA, Potsdam, R 1501, Nr. 27180. cited in: Der Schriftstreit von 1881 bis 1941 von Silvia Hartman, Peter Lang Verlag. {{ISBN|978-3-631-33050-0}}</ref> In 1954, a group of reformers in [[West Germany]] similarly proposed, among other changes to German spelling, the abolition of {{angbr|ß}}; their proposals were publicly opposed by German-language writers [[Thomas Mann]], [[Hermann Hesse]], and [[Friedrich Dürrenmatt]] and were never implemented.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kranz |first=Florian |title=Eine Schifffahrt mit drei f: Positives zur Rechtschreibreform |publisher=Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht |year=1998 |isbn=3-525-34005-2 |pages=30–31}}</ref> Although the German Orthography Reform of 1996 reduced the use of {{angbr|ß}} in standard German, Adrienne Walder writes that an abolition outside of Switzerland appears unlikely.<ref name="walder"/>{{rp|235}}

===Development of a capital form===
[[File:Eszett Leipziger Duden 1957.png|thumb|Uppercase ß on a book cover from 1957]]
[[File:Gießener Zeitung Logo.svg|thumb|Logo of {{Interlanguage link|Gießener Zeitung|lt=''Gießener Zeitung''|de}} ("{{lang|de|GIEẞENER ZEITUNG|l}}", 2008 design)]]
[[File:Straßenschild-Versal-ß.jpg|thumb|Street sign with {{lang|de|Versal-Eszett}} ("{{lang|de|MÜHLFELDSTRAẞE}}") in {{lang|de|[[Heiligkreuzsteinach]]}} (2011 photograph)]] 
Because {{angbr|ß}} had been treated as a ligature, rather than as a full letter of the German alphabet, it had no capital form in early modern typesetting. Moreover, [[allcaps]] was not normally used in Fraktur printing.<ref name="Long debate" /> There were, however, proposals to introduce capital forms of {{angbr|ß}} for use in allcaps writing (where {{angbr|ß}} would otherwise usually be represented as either {{angbr|SS}} or {{angbr|SZ}}). A capital was first seriously proposed in 1879, but did not enter official or widespread use.<ref>{{lang|de|Signa – Beiträge zur Signographie}}. Heft 9, 2006.</ref> The Orthographic Conference of 1903 called for the use of {{angbr|SZ}} in allcaps until a capital letter could be proposed.<ref name="Long debate" /> Historical typefaces offering a capitalized {{lang|de|eszett}} mostly date to the time between 1905 and 1930. The first known typefaces to include capital {{lang|de|eszett}} were produced by the {{lang|de|Schelter & Giesecke}} foundry in Leipzig, in 1905/06. {{lang|de|Schelter & Giesecke}} at the time widely advocated the use of this type, but its use nevertheless remained very limited.

The preface to the 1925 edition of the {{lang|de|[[Duden]]}} dictionary expressed the desirability of a separate glyph for capital {{angbr|ß}}:
{{quote|{{lang|de|Die Verwendung zweier Buchstaben für einen Laut ist nur ein Notbehelf, der aufhören muss, sobald ein geeigneter Druckbuchstabe für das große ß geschaffen ist.}}<ref>{{lang|de|Vorbemerkungen, XII.}} In: {{lang|de|Duden – Rechtschreibung. 9. Auflage, 1925}}</ref>}}
{{quote|The use of two letters for a single phoneme is makeshift, to be abandoned as soon as a suitable type for the capital ß has been developed.}}

The {{lang|de|Duden}} was edited separately in [[East Germany|East]] and [[West Germany]] during the 1950s to 1980s. The East German {{lang|de|Duden}} of 1957 (15th ed.) introduced a capital {{angbr|ß}} in its typesetting without revising the rule for capitalization. The 16th edition of 1969 still announced that an uppercase {{angbr|ß}} was in development and would be introduced in the future. The 1984 edition again removed this announcement and simply stated that there is no capital version of {{angbr|ß}}.<ref>{{lang|de|Der Große Duden. 25. Auflage, Leipzig 1984, S. 601, K 41.}}</ref>

In the 2000s, there were renewed efforts on the part of certain [[typographer]]s to introduce a capital, {{angbr|ẞ}}. A proposal to include a corresponding character in the [[Unicode]] set submitted in 2004<ref>{{cite web |url=http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n2888.pdf |author=Andreas Stötzner |title=Proposal to encode Latin Capital Letter Double S (rejected) |access-date=2021-06-25 }}</ref> was rejected.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2004/04361.htm#101-C22 |title=Approved Minutes of the UTC 101 / L2 198 Joint Meeting, Cupertino, CA – November 15-18, 2004 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2005-02-10 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |access-date=2021-06-25 |quote=The UTC concurs with Stoetzner that Capital Double S is a typographical issue. Therefore the UTC believes it is inappropriate to encode it as a separate character.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/alloc/nonapprovals.html |title=Archive of Notices of Non-Approval |author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |access-date=2021-06-25 |quote=2004-Nov-18, rejected by the UTC as a typographical issue, inappropriate for encoding as a separate character. Rejected also on the grounds that it would cause casing implementation issues for legacy German data.}}</ref> A second proposal submitted in 2007 was successful, and the character was included in Unicode version 5.1.0 in April 2008 ({{unichar|1E9E|Latin capital letter sharp s}}).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://std.dkuug.dk/jtc1/sc2/wg2/docs/n3227.pdf |title=DIN_29.1_SCHARF_S_1.3_E |access-date=2014-01-30}}
{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1E00.pdf |title=Unicode chart |access-date=2014-01-30}}</ref> The international standard associated with Unicode (UCS), [[ISO/IEC 10646]], was updated to reflect the addition on 24 June 2008. The capital letter was finally adopted as an option in standard German orthography in 2017.<ref name="auto"/> As of 2024, {{angbr|ẞ}} is now the preferred option for depicting the character in capital letters, with {{angbr|SS}} as a second option.<ref name="auto23"/>

== Representation ==
===Graphical variants===
{{More references needed|date=March 2021}}
The recommendation of the Sulzbacher form (1903) was not followed universally in 20th-century printing. There were four distinct variants of {{angbr|ß}} in use in Antiqua fonts:
[[File:Sz modern.svg|thumb|245px|Four forms of Antiqua Eszett: 1. ſs, 2. ſs ligature, 3. ſʒ ligature, 4. Sulzbacher form]]
#{{angbr|ſs}} without ligature, but as a single type, with reduced spacing between the two letters;
#the ligature of {{angbr|ſ}} and {{angbr|s}} inherited from the 16th-century Antiqua typefaces;
#a ligature of {{angbr|ſ}} and {{angbr|ʒ}}, adapting the blackletter ligature to Antiqua; and
#the Sulzbacher form.

The first variant (no ligature) has become practically obsolete. Most modern typefaces follow either 2 or 4, with 3 retained in occasional usage, notably in street signs in Bonn and Berlin. The design of modern {{angbr|ß}} tends to follow either the Sulzbacher form, in which {{angbr|ʒ}} (tailed z) is clearly visible, or else be made up of a clear ligature of {{angbr|ſ}} and {{angbr|s}}.<ref name="jamra"/>{{rp|2}}

[[File:ß handwritten sample.gif|thumb|232px|Three contemporary handwritten forms of 'ß' demonstrated in the word {{lang|de|aß}}, {{nowrap|"(I/he/she/it)}} ate"]]
Use of typographic variants in street signs:
<gallery>
File:WaldstraßePirna.JPG|Un[[typographic ligature|ligature]]d ſs variant in a street sign in [[Pirna]], Saxony
File:Berliner Straße.JPG| [[Antiqua (typeface class)|Antiqua]] form of the ſʒ ligature ([[Berlin]] street signs)
File:Schloßſtraße, Schloßhof - street signs in 2008.jpg| [[Blackletter]] form of the ſʒ ligature ([[Erfurt]] street signs)
File:Nürnberg Straße.jpg|[[#Sulzbacher form|Sulzbacher form]] ([[Nuremberg]] street signs)
File:MainzStrSchilder.jpg|Two distinct blackletter typefaces in [[Mainz]]. The red sign spells {{lang|de|Straße}} with ''ſs''; the blue sign uses the standard blackletter ''ſʒ'' ligature.
</gallery>

[[File:Versal-Eszett-in-Webanwendung.png|thumb|alt=Screenshot of a web application with a button "SCHLIEẞEN" ("Close") using capital letters and capital ẞ. Above the button, a message says "Für Videoanrufe in Hangouts wird jetzt Google Meet verwendet. Weitere Informationen"|Capital ß in a web application]]
The inclusion of a capital {{angbr|ẞ}} in [[Unicode]] in 2008 revived the century-old debate among font designers as to how such a character should be represented. The main difference in the shapes of {{angbr|ẞ}} in contemporary fonts is the depiction with a diagonal straight line vs. a curved line in its upper right part, reminiscent of the ligature of [[Ezh|tailed z]] or of [[s|round s]], respectively. The code chart published by the Unicode Consortium favours the former possibility,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1E00.pdf|title=Latin Extended Additional}}</ref> which has been adopted by Unicode capable fonts including [[Arial]], [[Calibri]], [[Cambria (typeface)|Cambria]], [[Courier New]], [[DejaVu fonts|Dejavu Serif]], [[Liberation Sans]], [[Liberation Mono]], [[Linux Libertine]] and [[Times New Roman]]; the second possibility is more rare, adopted by [[DejaVu fonts|Dejavu Sans]]. Some fonts adopt a third possibility in representing {{angbr|ẞ}} following the [[Sulzbacher form]] of {{angbr|ß}}, reminiscent of the Greek {{angbr|[[β]]}} (beta); such a shape has been adopted by [[FreeSans]] and [[FreeSerif]], [[Liberation Serif]] and [[Verdana]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/1e9e/fontsupport.htm|title=Latin Capital Letter Sharp S (U+1E9E) Font Support|website=www.fileformat.info}}</ref>

=== Typing the character ===
{{More citations needed|date=January 2021}}
[[File:German typewriter detail.jpg|thumb|200px|The ß key (as well as [[Ä]], [[Ö]], and [[Ü]]) on a 1964 German [[typewriter]] ]]
In Germany and Austria, a 'ß' key is present on computer and typewriter keyboards, normally to the right-hand end on the number row. 
The German typewriter keyboard layout was defined in [[DIN]] 2112, first issued in 1928.<ref>''Vom Sekretariat zum Office Management: Geschichte — Gegenwart — Zukunft'', Springer-Verlag (2013), [https://books.google.com/books?id=2WGiBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 p. 68].</ref>

In other countries, the letter is not marked on the keyboard, but a combination of other keys can produce it. Often, the letter is input using a modifier and the 's' key. The details of the keyboard layout depend on the input language and operating system: on some keyboards with [[US-International]] (or local 'extended') setting, the symbol is created using {{keypress|AltGr|s|chain=}} (or {{keypress|Ctrl|Alt|s|chain=}}) in [[Microsoft Windows]], [[Linux]] and [[ChromeOS]]; in [[MacOS]], one uses {{keypress|Option|s|chain=}} on the US, US-Extended, and UK keyboards. In Windows, one can use {{keypress|[[alt code|Alt]]|0}}{{keypress|2|2|3|chain=}}. On Linux {{keypress|[[compose key|Compose]]|s|s|chain=}} works, and {{keypress|Compose|S|S|chain=}} for uppercase. Some modern [[virtual keyboards]] show ß when the user presses and holds the 's' key.

The [[HTML entity]] (for the lowercase form) is <code>&amp;szlig;</code>. In [[TeX]] and [[LaTeX]], <code>\ss</code> produces ß.<ref name="latexnames">{{cite web |url=http://tug.ctan.org/info/symbols/comprehensive/symbols-a4.pdf |title=The Comprehensive LATEX Symbol List |first=Scott |last=Pakin |date=2020-06-25}}</ref>{{efn|The {{code|\SS}} macro exists as the uppercase counterpart of {{code|\ss}}, but produces a doubled capital S.}} A German language support package for LaTeX exists in which ß is produced by <code>"s</code> (similar to [[umlaut (diacritic)|umlauts]], which are produced by <code>"a</code>, <code>"o</code>, and <code>"u</code> with this package).<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://de.sharelatex.com/learn/German
|title=German
|at=Reference guide
|year=2016
|publisher=ShareLaTeX
|access-date=17 March 2016}}</ref>

=== Unicode ===

There are two code points in [[Unicode]]:
* {{unichar|00DF}}
* {{unichar|1E9E}}

In modern browsers, lowercase "ß" will be converted to "SS" when the element containing it is set to uppercase using <code>text-transform: uppercase</code> in [[Cascading Style Sheets]]. The [[JavaScript]] in [[Google Chrome]] and [[Mozilla Firefox]] will convert "ß" to "SS" when converted to uppercase (e.g., <code>"ß".toUpperCase()</code>).<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://cd1rtx3.github.io/eszett/
|title=cd1rtx3.github.io/eszett/
|year=2024
|publisher=Coarse Rosinflower
|access-date=26 March 2024}}</ref>

The lower-case letter exists in many earlier encodings that covered European languages. In several [[ISO 8859]]{{efn|Parts 
[[ISO-8859-1|1]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/ISO8859/8859-1.TXT |title=ISO/IEC 8859-1:1998 to Unicode |last=Whistler |first=Ken |orig-year=1999-07-27 |date=2015-12-02 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 
[[ISO-8859-2|2]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/ISO8859/8859-2.TXT |title=ISO/IEC 8859-2:1999 to Unicode |last=Whistler |first=Ken |orig-year=1999-07-27 |date=2015-12-02 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 
[[ISO-8859-3|3]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/ISO8859/8859-3.TXT |title=ISO/IEC 8859-3:1999 to Unicode |last=Whistler |first=Ken |orig-year=1999-07-27 |date=2015-12-02 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 
[[ISO-8859-4|4]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/ISO8859/8859-4.TXT |title=ISO/IEC 8859-4:1998 to Unicode |last=Whistler |first=Ken |orig-year=1999-07-27 |date=2015-12-02 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 
[[ISO-8859-9|9]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/ISO8859/8859-9.TXT |title=ISO/IEC 8859-9:1999 to Unicode |last=Whistler |first=Ken |orig-year=1999-07-27 |date=2015-12-02 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 
[[ISO-8859-10|10]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/ISO8859/8859-10.TXT |title=ISO/IEC 8859-10:1998 to Unicode |last=Whistler |first=Ken |orig-year=1999-10-11 |date=2015-12-02 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 
[[ISO-8859-13|13]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/ISO8859/8859-13.TXT |title=ISO/IEC 8859-13:1998 to Unicode |last=Whistler |first=Ken |orig-year=1999-07-27 |date=2015-12-02 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 
[[ISO-8859-14|14]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/ISO8859/8859-14.TXT |title=ISO/IEC 8859-14:1999 to Unicode |last1=Kuhn |first1=Markus |last2=Whistler |first2=Ken |orig-year=1999-07-27 |date=2015-12-02 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 
[[ISO-8859-15|15]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/ISO8859/8859-15.TXT |title=ISO/IEC 8859-15:1999 to Unicode |last1=Kuhn |first1=Markus |last2=Whistler |first2=Ken |orig-year=1999-07-27 |date=2015-12-02 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> and 
[[ISO-8859-16|16]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/ISO8859/8859-16.TXT |title=ISO/IEC 8859-16:2001 to Unicode |last1=Kuhn |first1=Markus |orig-year=2001-07-26 |date=2015-12-02 |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>}} and [[Windows-125x|Windows]]{{efn|Code pages 
[[Windows-1250|1250]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/WINDOWS/CP1250.TXT |last=Steele |first=Shawn |title=cp1250 to Unicode table |date=1998-04-15 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] / [[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 
[[Windows-1252|1252]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/WINDOWS/CP1252.TXT |last=Steele |first=Shawn |title=cp1252 to Unicode table |date=1998-04-15 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] / [[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 
[[Windows-1254|1254]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/WINDOWS/CP1254.TXT |last=Steele |first=Shawn |title=cp1254 to Unicode table |date=1998-04-15 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] / [[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 
[[Windows-1257|1257]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/WINDOWS/CP1257.TXT |last=Steele |first=Shawn |title=cp1257 to Unicode table |date=1998-04-15 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] / [[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> and 
[[Windows-1258|1258]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/WINDOWS/CP1258.TXT |last=Steele |first=Shawn |title=cp1258 to Unicode table |date=1998-04-15 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] / [[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>}} encodings it is at {{tt|0xDF}}, the value inherited by Unicode. In [[code page 437|DOS code pages]]{{efn|Code pages [[Code page 437|437]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/PC/CP437.TXT |last=Steele |first=Shawn |title=cp437_DOSLatinUS to Unicode table |date=1996-04-24 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] / [[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> and [[Code page 850|850]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/PC/CP850.TXT |last=Steele |first=Shawn |title=cp850_DOSLatin1 to Unicode table |date=1996-04-24 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] / [[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>}} it is at {{tt|0xE1}}. [[Mac OS Roman|Mac OS encodings]]{{efn|Mac OS 
[[Mac OS Roman|Roman]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Map (external version) from Mac OS Roman character set to Unicode 2.1 and later |author=Apple Computer, Inc. |author-link=Apple Computer, Inc. |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |date=2005-04-05 |orig-year=1995-04-15 |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/APPLE/ROMAN.TXT}}</ref> 
[[Mac OS Icelandic encoding|Icelandic]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Map (external version) from Mac OS Icelandic character set to Unicode 2.1 and later |author=Apple Computer, Inc. |author-link=Apple Computer, Inc. |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |date=2005-04-05 |orig-year=1995-04-15 |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/APPLE/ICELAND.TXT}}</ref>
[[Mac OS Croatian encoding|Croatian]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Map (external version) from Mac OS Croatian character set to Unicode 2.1 and later |author=Apple Computer, Inc. |author-link=Apple Computer, Inc. |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |date=2005-04-04 |orig-year=1995-04-15 |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/APPLE/CROATIAN.TXT}}</ref>
[[Mac OS Central European encoding|Central European]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Map (external version) from Mac OS Central European character set to Unicode 2.1 and later |author=Apple Computer, Inc. |author-link=Apple Computer, Inc. |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |date=2005-04-04 |orig-year=1995-04-15 |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/APPLE/CENTEURO.TXT}}</ref>
[[Mac OS Celtic|Celtic]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Map (external version) from Mac OS Celtic character set to Unicode 2.1 and later |author=Apple Computer, Inc. |author-link=Apple Computer, Inc. |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |date=2005-04-01 |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/APPLE/CELTIC.TXT}}</ref>
[[Mac OS Gaelic|Gaelic]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Map (external version) from Mac OS Gaelic character set to Unicode 3.0 and later |author=Apple Computer, Inc. |author-link=Apple Computer, Inc. |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |date=2005-04-01 |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/APPLE/GAELIC.TXT}}</ref>
[[Mac OS Romanian encoding|Romanian]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Map (external version) from Mac OS Romanian character set to Unicode 3.0 and later |author=Apple Computer, Inc. |author-link=Apple Computer, Inc. |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |date=2005-04-05 |orig-year=1995-04-15 |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/APPLE/ROMANIAN.TXT}}</ref> 
[[MacGreek encoding|Greek]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Map (external version) from Mac OS Greek character set to Unicode 2.1 and later |author=Apple Computer, Inc. |author-link=Apple Computer, Inc. |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |date=2005-04-05 |orig-year=1995-04-15 |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/APPLE/GREEK.TXT}}</ref> and 
[[Mac OS Turkish encoding|Turkish]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Map (external version) from Mac OS Turkish character set to Unicode 2.1 and later |author=Apple Computer, Inc. |author-link=Apple Computer, Inc. |publisher=[[Unicode Consortium]] |date=2005-04-05 |orig-year=1995-04-15 |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/APPLE/TURKISH.TXT}}</ref>
}} put it at {{tt|0xA7}}. Some [[EBCDIC]] codes{{efn|037 <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/EBCDIC/CP037.TXT |last=Steele |first=Shawn |title=cp037_IBMUSCanada to Unicode table |date=1996-04-24 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] / [[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 500,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/EBCDIC/CP500.TXT |last=Steele |first=Shawn |title=cp500_IBMInternational to Unicode table |date=1996-04-24 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] / [[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref> 1026<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unicode.org/Public/MAPPINGS/VENDORS/MICSFT/EBCDIC/CP1026.TXT |last=Steele |first=Shawn |title=cp1026_IBMLatin5Turkish to Unicode table |date=1996-04-24 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] / [[Unicode Consortium]]}}</ref>}} put it at {{tt|0x59}}. The upper-case form was rarely, if ever, encoding in single-byte encodings.

==See also==
* [[Long s]]
* {{annotated link|Beta|β}}
* {{annotated link|阝}}
* {{annotated link|Sz (digraph)|Sz}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Latin script}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ss}}
[[Category:German language]]
[[Category:Latin-script ligatures]]