Taw (letter)

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Taw
Arabic	Syriac	Hebrew	Aramaic	Phoenician
ﺗ,ﺕ‎	ܬ	ת‎
Phonemic representation (IPA):				t (also θ, s)
Position in alphabet:				22
Gematria/Abjad value:				400

Taw or Tav is the twenty-second and last letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew ת‎ and Arabic alphabet tāʾ ﺕ‎. Its original sound value is a voiceless alveolar plosive, IPA /t/,

The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Tau (Τ), Latin T, and Cyrillic Te (Т).

1 Origins of Taw
2 Tav in Hebrew
3 See also

[edit] Origins of Taw

Taw is believed to have come from a simple mark; a cross or asterisk-like marking, perhaps indicating a signature.

[edit] Tav in Hebrew

Hebrew alphabet
א‎ ב‎ ג‎ ד‎ ה‎ ו‎
ז‎ ח‎ ט‎ י‎ כך‎
ל‎ מם‎ נן‎ ס‎ ע‎ פף‎
צץ‎ ק‎ ר‎ ש‎ ת‎
History · Transliteration Niqqud · Dagesh · Gematria Cantillation · Numeration

Arabic alphabet
ﺍ‎ ﺏ‎ ﺕ‎ ﺙ‎ ﺝ‎ ﺡ‎
ﺥ‎ ﺩ‎ ﺫ‎ ﺭ‎ ﺯ‎
ﺵ‎ ﺹ‎ ﺽ‎ ﻁ‎ ﻅ‎ ﻉ‎
ﻍ‎ ﻑ‎ ﻕ‎ ﻙ‎ ﻝ‎
ﻡ‎ ﻥ‎ هـ‎ ﻭ‎ ﻱ‎
History · Transliteration Diacritics · Hamza ء‎ Numerals · Numeration

Syriac alphabet
	ܐ	ܒ	ܓ	ܕ
ܗ	ܘ	ܙ	ܚ	ܛ	ܝ
ܟܟ	ܠ	ܡܡ	ܢܢ	ܣ	ܥ
ܦ	ܨ	ܩ	ܪ	ܫ	ܬ

[edit] Hebrew Pronunciation

The letter Tav in modern Hebrew usually represents a voiceless alveolar plosive /t/).

[edit] Variations on Written form/pronunciation

The letter Tav is one of the six letters which can receive a Dagesh Kal. The six are Bet, Gimmel, Daled, Kaph, Pe, and Tav(see Hebrew Alphabet for more about these letters). Three of them (Bet, Kaph, and Pe) have their sound values changed in modern Hebrew from the fricative to the plosive by adding a dagesh. The other three have the same pronunciation in modern Hebrew, but have had alternate pronunciations at other times and places. In tranditional Ashkenazi pronunciation represented a /s/ (a form which still is common today, especially among Diaspora Jews) without the dagesh, and had the plosive form when it had the dagesh. In some Sephardi areas, such as Yemen, Tav without a dagesh represented a voiceless dental fricative]] /θ/ without a dagesh and the plosive form with the dagesh. See Bet, Daled, Kaph, Pe, and Gimmel.

[edit] Significance of Taw

In gematria Taw represents the number 400, the largest number that can be made without using the Sophit forms (see Kaph, Mem, Nun, Pe, and Tzade).

In representing names from foreign languages, a geresh or "chupchik" can also be placed after the tav ('ת), making it represent /θ/ /ð/.

[edit] In Judaism

Taw is the last letter of the Hebrew word emet, which means truth. The midrash explains that emet is made up of the first, middle, and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph, Mem, and Taw). Sheqer (falsehood), on the other hand, is made up of the 19th, 20th, and 21st (and penultimate) letters. Thus, truth is all-encompassing, while falsehood is narrow and deceiving. In Jewish mythology it was the word emet that was carved into the head of the golem which ultimately gave it life.