Coph
/kɒf/noun
A variant spelling of qoph, the name of the nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, ק.
Did you know?The ancient name qōp̄ is sometimes connected with a monkey or the back of the head, but that interpretation remains uncertain rather than proven.
Etymological Timeline
Early 1st millennium BCE
Phoenician
𐤒 (qōp)
“The name of the Phoenician letter represented by the q sound; its original pictorial meaning is uncertain.”
Ancient Hebrew
Hebrew
ק (qōp̄)
“The nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, representing a q-like consonant.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
qoppa
“An early Greek letter borrowed from Phoenician qōp; it was later dropped from the ordinary Greek alphabet.”
Classical Latin
Latin
Q
“The Roman letter Q, derived through Greek qoppa and retaining the ancient q-letter tradition.”
17th–18th Century
English
coph
“An English variant spelling of the Hebrew letter-name qoph or koph.”
Modern English
English
coph
“A rare variant of qoph, chiefly encountered in discussions of Hebrew or Semitic alphabets.”