kaph
9.9
A Hebrew letter that is the eleventh in the alphabet
- noun
- /kæf/
:
kaf
- Understanding the letter kaph is essential for reading Hebrew scripture accurately.
Examples
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The letter kaph is used in various Jewish texts to represent the number twenty.
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The word is Kaph-Shin-Pe.
Blog text (19) -
Kaph 81: My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word.
Blog text (13) -
In Hebrew, kaph is the eleventh letter of the alphabet and has a unique shape.
Synonyms
kaf
vskaph
9.9
A letter in Hebrew and Arabic alphabets that usually makes the k sound
is used only in Hebrew rather than across several Semitic alphabets
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word kaph is the Hebrew name for the eleventh letter and comes from a word meaning 'palm' or 'open hand', because the old picture for it looked like a hand. The same letter later became Greek kappa and our letter K, so kaph still often stands for the 'k' or 'kh' sound.
