Vau
/vaʊ/noun
A name for the Hebrew letter ו, also commonly spelled vav or waw.
Did you know?In Jewish gematria, Vau—or vav—is traditionally assigned the number six, and its hook-like form has long been associated with connection.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*waw
“A hook or peg; the ancestral name of the letter”
Ancient Hebrew
Hebrew
וָו (wāw)
“Hook or peg, and the name of the sixth Hebrew letter”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ϝαῦ (wau)
“The name of digamma, a Greek letter derived from the Semitic waw”
Classical Latin
Latin
vau
“The name of the letter V, modeled on Greek letter-names such as tau”
Middle English
English
vau
“A name for the Hebrew letter ו”
Modern English
English
vau
“A variant English name for vav, the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet”