See Also:

oe(1) (iou)



?, ?
A ligature. (Orig. and now usu. (and in this dictionary) written as a digraph oe.)
In Old English, the symbol of a simple vowel (short and long) intermediate between o and e, in early Middle English replaced by e.
In mod. English reproduces usual Latin spelling of Greek oi, which was often treated in medieval Latin and Proto-Romance like simple long e. When thoroughly Anglicized and popularized this becomes e, oe being retained only in some Greek and Latin proper names, terms of Greek and Roman antiquity, and some scientific and techn. terms (where, however, e is usual in the US).