TYRUS, a very famous and ancient city of Phœnicia, built by the Sidonians, (Justin); consequently of a later date than Sidon. No mention made of Tyre before David's time; none by Homer, who mentions Sidon and the Sidonians, (Strabo). Tyre was a very large rich city, and powerful at sea, the rival of Sidon: formerly situated on an island; but after the time of Alexander, on the continent, or in a peninsula, formed by Alexander's mole or causeway, thrown up at the siege of it, (Curtius, Ovid, Strabo). Famous for its colonies, both within and without the pillars of Hercules, (Strabo, Pliny); and its purple dye. In Hebrew called Zor or Sor; and, according to another dialect, Syr, Sar; whence the adjoining country was called Syria; and by the Armenians or Syrians, Tor, Tur, Tyr, and with a Greek termination, Tyros; also Sarra. Their principal deity was Hercules, which Nonnus says was the sun; called Hercules Tyrius, (Diodorus); and Tyre itself was called Tyrus Erachia, (Coins). Out of a regard to its fame and antiquity, it enjoyed its liberty both under the Seleucidae and the Romans, (Strabo); it also received a Roman colony, and was then called Colonia Septimia, (Coins). Of Tyre were Porphyry, the famous antagonist of Christianity; Maximus, the Platonic philosopher; and Ulpian, the celebrated civilian. Now commonly called Tyre, a port-town on the coast of the Levant. E. Long. 36°. N. Lat. 32. 32.
U, or u, the 20th letter and 5th vowel of our alphabet, is formed in the voice by a round configuration of the lips, and a greater extrusion of the under one than in forming the letter o, and the tongue is also more cannulated. The sound is short in curst, must, tun, tub; but is lengthened by a final e, as in tune, tuke, &c. In some words it is rather acute than long; as in brute, flute, lute, &c. It is mostly long in polysyllables; as in union, curious, &c. but in some words it is obscure, as in nature, venture, &c. This letter in the form of V, or v, is properly a consonant, and as such is placed before all the vowels; as in vacant, venal, vibrate, &c. Though the letters v and u had always two sounds, they had only the form v till the beginning of the fourth century, when the other form was introduced, the inconvenience of expressing two different sounds by the same letter having been observed long before. In numerals V stands for five; and with a dash added at top, thus , it signifies 5000.
In abbreviations, amongst the Romans, V. A. stood for veterani assignati; V. B. viro bono; V. B. A. viri boni arbitrati; V. B. F. vir bona fidei; V. C. vir consularis; V. C. C. F. vale, conjux charissime, feliciter; V. D. D. voto dedicatur; V. G. verbi gratia; Vir. Ve. virgo vestalis; VL. videlicet; V. N. quinto nonarum.