L is the twelfth letter of the Latin alphabet. Its name in English is el or occasionally ell (pronounced /ɛl/).

The letter L is derived ultimately from the Semitic crook or goad which stood for /l/. This originally may have been based on an Egyptian hieroglyph that was adapted by Semites for alphabetic purposes. The Greek letter Lambda Λ (upper case) or λ (lower case), as well as the equivalent Etruscan and Latin letters, represent the same sound as the Semitic letter. In reference, it is spelled el or ell.

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