Daleth
/ˈdɑːlɛθ/noun
The fourth letter of the Semitic abjads, especially Hebrew.
Did you know?In the ancient Proto-Sinaitic and Phoenician letter traditions, daleth is commonly linked to a pictogram of a door, and its name is the ordinary Semitic word for “door.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
PSem
*dalt- / *daltu
“door”
Proto-Sinaitic
PSE
𐤃
“a door-shaped letter sign”
Phoenician
Phoenician
𐤃𐤋𐤕 / dalet
“the letter name meaning “door””
Classical Hebrew
Hebrew
דָּלֶת / dālet
“the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet; also “door””
Modern English
English
daleth
“the Hebrew name for the fourth letter of the alphabet”