Beth
/bɛθ/noun
A Hebrew letter, the second letter of the alphabet, and a common shortened form of the name Bethany or Elizabeth in English.
Did you know?In Hebrew, ב (beth) means “house,” and the letter’s name has echoed through Semitic writing systems for thousands of years.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
PS
bayt-
“house”
Ancient Hebrew
Heb
beth / בֵּית
“house; the name of the second letter”
Greek
Grk
beta
“the second letter of the Greek alphabet”
Latin
Lat
beta
“the second letter of the alphabet in scholarly and later modern use”
Modern English
Eng
Beth
“a feminine given name or a shortened form of longer names”
Explore more surprising origins