Kav
/kɑːv/noun
A traditional Hebrew unit of dry measure, approximately 1.2–1.4 litres.
Did you know?In 2 Kings 6:25, during the siege of Samaria, a kav appears in a shocking account of famine and the sale of dove’s dung as food.
Etymological Timeline
Biblical Hebrew, c. 8th–6th century BCE
Hebrew
קַב (qav)
“A small unit of dry capacity, traditionally one-sixth of a seah.”
Rabbinic Hebrew, 1st–6th century CE
Hebrew
קב (qab/qav)
“A standardized traditional measure used in Jewish legal and commercial contexts.”
Medieval period
Hebrew/Aramaic
qav
“A continued Jewish measure of grain or other dry goods.”
14th–16th century
English
kab/cab
“A borrowed Jewish or biblical unit of dry measure.”
Modern English
English
kav
“A transliterated spelling of the Hebrew measure, usually defined as roughly 1.2–1.4 litres.”