 Insular script used a minuscule which retained two downward strokes, but which did not close the loop ("Insular "r"", ꞃ); this variant survives in the Gaelic type popular in Ireland until the mid-20th century (but now mostly limited to decorative purposes).The name of the letter in Latin was (), following the pattern of other letters representing continuants, such as F, L, M, N and S. This name is preserved in French and many other languages.In Middle English, the name of the letter changed from to , following a pattern exhibited in many other words such as "farm" (compare French "ferme") and "star" (compare German "Stern").