Koph
/kɒf/noun
A variant English spelling of qoph, the nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Did you know?In Hebrew gematria, qoph—or koph—represents 100, while the original meaning of its name remains uncertain; proposed links to “monkey” are possible but disputed.
Etymological Timeline
1st Millennium BCE
Proto-Canaanite
𐤒
“An ancestral consonantal sign that developed into the later qoph letter; its original pictorial meaning is uncertain.”
1st Millennium BCE
Phoenician
𐤒𐤐 (qōp)
“The name of a consonant and letter in the Phoenician alphabet.”
1st Millennium BCE
Hebrew
קוֹף (qōf)
“The nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, representing a /q/ sound.”
1st Millennium BCE
Aramaic
קוף (qūp)
“A corresponding Semitic letter-name, transmitted through related Aramaic scripts.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
κόππα (kóppa)
“The Greek letter koppa, historically related to the Phoenician letter-name and later retained mainly as a numeral.”
18th–19th Century
English
koph
“An English transliteration and spelling variant of Hebrew qoph, used in dictionaries and biblical scholarship.”
Modern English
English
koph
“A variant name for the Hebrew letter qoph, commonly pronounced like “kof.””