Qoph
/kɔf/noun
The nineteenth letter of the Semitic alphabets, including Hebrew.
Did you know?Qoph is one of the Hebrew letters whose name likely began as a pictographic word in early Semitic writing, and its ancient shape may have been linked to a monkey or a needle’s eye, depending on the reconstruction.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Sinaitic / Proto-Canaanite
Semitic
qop
“An early letter-name probably referring to an object or animal, later associated with the sound /q/.”
Phoenician
Phoenician
𐤒 (qōp)
“The letter name used for a velar or uvular stop sound.”
Ancient Hebrew
Hebrew
קֹף (qōf)
“The nineteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, representing /q/ in older pronunciation.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
κόππα (koppa)
“A borrowed letter name used for an archaic Greek sound.”
Modern English
English
Qoph
“The name of the Hebrew letter.”