XXVI. OF THE LETTER Z.
The consonant Z, the last letter of our alphabet, has usually a soft or buzzing sound, the same as that of s flat; as in Zeno, zenith, breeze, dizzy. Before u primal or i feeble, z, as well as s flat, sometimes takes the sound of zh, which, in the enumeration of consonantal sounds, is reckoned a distinct element; as in azure, seizure, glazier; osier, measure, pleasure.