A primitive consonant that survived into Classical Adûnaic (SD/418). It is also used as a glide-consonant to separate [u] from a following vowel (SD/424). After consonants it was pronounced like English “w”, but at the beginning of words it was more spirantal (SD/419). Tolkien sometimes represented this sound with the letter “v” (SD/434); the spirantal pronunciation of the consonant at the beginning of words was probably v-like.