Ḥet
/χɛt/noun
The eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, ח, representing a voiceless pharyngeal or velar fricative depending on the speaker and transliteration system.
Did you know?Ḥet is traditionally associated with the number eight in Hebrew letter symbolism, while its exact ancient pictographic origin remains debated rather than proven.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Sinaitic, 2nd millennium BCE
Proto-Sinaitic
𐤇
“An early consonantal sign conventionally reconstructed as the ancestor of the later Hebrew Ḥet; its original pictographic interpretation is uncertain.”
Ancient Phoenician
Phoenician
𐤇
“A consonant sign representing a strong guttural sound, ancestral to Hebrew Ḥet.”
Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew
חֵית (ḥēt)
“The name of the eighth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἦτα (êta)
“The Greek letter eta, historically derived from a Phoenician letter related to the Semitic Ḥet tradition, though its sound value changed.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
heth / cheth
“Scholarly transliterations of the Hebrew letter ח.”
Modern English
English
ḥet / het
“An English scholarly name for the eighth Hebrew letter, also written chet or heth.”