Teth
/tɛt/noun
The ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet, ט, transliterated as ṭ or t.
Did you know?Teth has the numerical value nine in Hebrew gematria, but its earliest pictorial meaning is uncertain; proposed interpretations include a wheel or a basket, not definitively a serpent.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Sinaitic, circa 1800 BCE
Proto-Sinaitic
𐤈
“An early consonantal sign whose pictographic origin is uncertain; scholars have proposed several interpretations.”
Phoenician, circa 1000 BCE
Phoenician
𐤈
“The ninth consonant-sign, representing a emphatic t-like sound.”
Ancient Hebrew, circa 900 BCE
Hebrew
ט
“The letter ṭet, representing the emphatic consonant /ṭ/.”
Rabbinic Hebrew, late antiquity
Hebrew
טֵית
“The letter name ṭet, also written tet or teth in different transliteration traditions.”
Medieval English, later period
English
teth
“An English scholarly borrowing used for the ninth letter of the Hebrew alphabet.”
Modern English
English
Teth
“The conventional English name for Hebrew ט, commonly transliterated as t or ṭ.”