Tsade

Ṣade (also spelled Ṣādē, Tsade, Ṣaddi, Ṣad, Tzadi, Sadhe, Tzaddik) is the eighteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Ṣadi צ and Arabic Ṣād ص. Its oldest sound value is probably /t͡sˤ/, although there is a variety of pronunciation in different modern Semitic languages and their dialects. It represents the coalescence of three Proto-Semitic "emphatic consonants" in Canaanite. Arabic, which kept the phonemes separate, introduced variants of ṣād and ṭāʼ to express the three (see ḍād, ẓāʼ). In Aramaic, these emphatic consonants coalesced instead with ʻayin and ṭēt, respectively, thus Hebrew ereẓ ארץ (earth) is araʻ ארע in Aramaic.

The Phoenician letter is continued in the Greek San (Ϻ) and possibly Sampi (Ϡ), and in Etruscan 𐌑 Ś. It may have inspired the form of the letter Tse in the Glagolitic alphabet.

The corresponding letter of the Ugaritic alphabet is 𐎕 ṣade.

Hebrew speakers often pronounce the name of this letter as tsadiq (meaning "righteous person"; see Tzadik), though this use probably originated from a fast recitation of the alphabet (i.e., "tsadi, qoph" -> "tsadiq, qoph").^[1]

Origins

The origin of Ṣade is unclear. It may have come from a Middle Bronze Age glyph based on a pictogram of a plant, perhaps a papyrus plant, or a fish hook (in Modern Hebrew, צד tsad means "[he] hunt[ed]", and in Arabic صاد ṣād means "to fish" or "to hunt").

Hebrew Tsadi

Hebrew spelling: צָדִי

Name

In modern Hebrew, the name Tsade is sometimes pronounced tsadik, though this is regarded by many speakers as incorrect. In English transliteration, it may also be spelled with "z" instead of "s", as Tzade or Tzadik.

Pronunciation

In Modern Israeli Hebrew, Ṣade represents [t͡s]. This is the same in Yiddish language. Historically, it likely represented a pharyngealized /t͡sˤ/; which became /t͡s/ in Ashkenazi pronunciation and is preserved as /sˤ/ amongst Yemenite Jews and other Jews from the Middle East.

A geresh can also be placed after it (צ׳   ץ׳), giving it the sound [t͡ʃ], e.g. צ׳יפּס čips, meaning chips.

Variations

Ṣade, like Kaph, Mem, Pe, and Nun, has a final form, used at the end of words. Its shape changes from this: צ to ץ. The pronunciation does not change.

Significance

In gematria, Ṣade represents the number 90. Its final form represents 900 but this is rarely used, Taw, Taw, and Qoph (400+400+100) being used instead.

As an abbreviation, it stands for safon, North.

Ṣade is also one of the seven letters which receive a special crown (called tagin) when written in a Sefer Torah. See Shin, ‘Ayin, Ṭeth, Nun, Zayin, and Gimmel.

Arabic Ṣad

The letter is named Ṣād; Modern Standard Arabic pronunciation: /sˤ/. In Persian, its pronunciation is not distinguishable from س or ث. All are pronounced [s].

It is written in several ways depending in its position in the word:

See also

• Ṣ
• Z → Usage
• Tse (Ц, ц) - Cyrillic

Notes

1. ^ "The Letter Tsade: Righteousness and Modesty" (in Hebrew). http://www.arachim.org/Index.asp?ArticleID=794&CategoryID=164. Retrieved 5 December 2010.