Illustration from 1908 Chambers's Twentieth Century. <b>W</b>, the twenty-third letter of our alphabet, like <i>æ</i>, a ligature rather than a letter, with a double value, as consonant and as vowel—when the sound is voiced we have <i>w</i>, as in 'we' or 'wen,' the corresponding unvoiced sound being <i>wh</i>, as in 'when,' 'what.' A final <i>w</i> is vocalic, as in 'few.' The A.S. <i>hw</i> has become <i>wh</i>; <i>cw</i> has become <i>qu</i> as in <i>queen</i>, from A.S. <i>cwén</i>; while <i>w</i> is occasionally intrusive, as in <i>whole</i>, from A.S. <i>hál</i>.
Rev. Thomas Davidson 1856-1923 (<i>ed.</i>)
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary of the English Language