The letter A is derived from the Phoenician letter alephโa western Semitic word referring to the aforementioned beast of burden. Aleph can be traced back to the Middle Bronze Age and the Proto-Sinaitic script found in parts of Egypt and Canaan from around 1850 BCE (Before the Common Era).
Believe it or not, the capital A hasnโt always looked the way it does now. Ancient Egyptians wrote the letter upside down, creating a symbol that resembled a steer with horns.