samekh
- noun
- /sɑːˈmɛk/
- During the Hebrew lesson, the teacher explained the significance of the letter samekh in ancient texts.
Examples
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In Hebrew, the letter samekh has a unique shape that distinguishes it from other letters.
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That when he came to her with the bolo or machete and a hunting knife in his belt, and some kind of ritualistic design like a samekh or palsied omicron drawn on his tenebrous brow in the blood or lipstick of a previous victim, and turned her.
Fiction book (1997) -
The letter samekh is often used in Hebrew writing and is the fifteenth letter of the alphabet.
Synonyms
The fifteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word samekh comes from an old Semitic root s-m-k that means 'support' or 'to lean'. A helpful way to remember this letter is to imagine it as a small 'support' or hook in the Hebrew alphabet, which is why the same name still refers to the fifteenth Hebrew letter.