zayin

1 9.9

The seventh letter in the Hebrew alphabet

noun
/ˈzaɪ.ɪn/

: zayin

In the Hebrew alphabet, the letter zayin follows the letter vav.

Examples

The letter zayin is used to denote the number seven in Hebrew.
Zayin says:

Blog text (11)
At the end of the Hebrew alphabet, zayin is the seventh letter.

Surface Forms

zayin singular

zayins plural

Etymology

Zayin comes from an old Semitic word zayn that meant 'weapon' or 'sword', and the letter's name and early shape reminded people of a small weapon. So remembering a sword makes it easy to recall that zayin is the seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet.