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alef

alef

9.9
The first letter of the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets
  • noun
  • /ˈɑːlɛf/
translation icon : alef
  • But the creature had a knife in its hand, with which—horror of horrors—it proceeded to erase the letter alef from the word emet "truth," leaving the word met "dead."

And then you have after the aleph you have Beit, gimel, dollar or BET or an English BCD.

Examples

  • And then you have after the aleph you have Beit, gimel, dollar or BET or an English BCD.

  • In Hebrew, the first letter of the alphabet is called alef.

  • The letter alef serves as a silent character in many Hebrew words.

  • Students learn that alef is the initial letter used in both Hebrew and Arabic alphabets.

Surface Forms

alef singular
alephs plural

Etymology

Alef comes from an old Semitic word aleph that meant 'ox', because the letter began as a simple drawing of an ox head. That's why alef is the first letter of the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets, like 'A' starting the English alphabet.