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`ゟ` is a digraph that is read より. Where does it originate from?

Is it a ligature, like `& <\- et`, or German `ß <\- ſs -> ss`? (Wikipedia
claims this, citing no source.) Also, if it _is_ a ligature, what did the
ligation process look like (e.g. what are the intermediate forms between `より`
and `ゟ`)?

Alternatively, could it be a derivative of `与` or another kanji? (Another non-
authoritative source which I have now lost track of claims this.)
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2013-08-30T20:52:37.977
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etymology orthography hiragana calligraphy
What is the origin of ゟ (より)?
There are quite a few old (17th century) letters on [this
page](https://web.archive.org/web/20150924092851/http://tor.jp/komonjo/collection.html)
which use the digraph ゟ as ligature of よ and り. For example see the fifth line
from the left of the following letter, which reads 「家来之者方ゟ可申」.

![ゟ](https://i.stack.imgur.com/V2JH9.jpg)

As @ZhenLin points out, it is not too far a stretch of your imagination that ゟ
comes from joining よ and り in vertical writing. All that is really lost is the
loop of the よ.
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2013-08-31T01:20:43.943
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answer