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Categories: Alphabet, Animals
Synonyms:
𐤀

Acceptable ways to write it: alap (alp), alaph (alph)

The letter alaph (𐤀) or A/a is the first letter in the Afroasiatic language known as Paleo-Hebrew (Ābarayat). The letter has been equated with both the letter A and the letter E in the English language. However, the letter E is mostly associated with Modern Hebrew, whereas it originally came from a branch of the Paleo-Hebrew letter we associate with H in the English language.

The Paleo-Hebrew language or the original language of the Ābarayam is one spoken with an emphasis on the rauakh (breath, wind, spirit). With the language of the Ābarayam, each letter has a meaning and a number associated with it that adds meaning to each word they’re used with. Below you will be able to learn more about the letter in Ancient Hebrew, Yiddish Hebrew, Greek, and much more.

Letter Meanings

LetterMeaning
𐤀 (a) – ahOx, strength, leader
PrefixTurns word into first-person
SuffixNot applicable
Number1

Based on the meaning of the letters the word could be defined as:

  • “strength of…”
  • “leader of…”

Definitions for 𐤀 / a

LanguageWordTransliterationPronunciationDefinition
Ābarayat𐤀aah

ox, strength, leader, power, chief;
Prefix: turns word into first-person

EnglishA aa/ˈeɪ/
Hebrewאa/a/

strength, power, apostolic, chief, leader, pillar, oak tree, ram

Arabicاaā

first, reference, manifest itself

GreekΑ αa[a]

alpha;
the first letter of the Greek alpha-beta

Definitions for 𐤀 / a

History of Meaning

The pictograph is the head of an ox, the strongest and most versatile of animals among the livestock owned by the Ābarayam. The ox was used to pull carts or a plow, it provided meat and leather and it was one of the animals used in sacrifices. This animal was the “all” powerful and “all” versatile animal of the Ābarayam.

This pictograph also represents a chief or leader. When two oxen are yoked together for pulling a wagon or plow, one is the older and more experienced one who leads the other. Within the clan, tribe, or family the chief or father is seen as the elder who is yoked to the others as the leader and teacher.

History of the Letter A

The letter A was introduced in 1800 BCE (2125 ). Resembling an animal’s head with antlers or horns, the original meaning of the letter in ancient Semitic was “ox.” The letter has stood at the head of the alphabet during traceable history. The name of the letter in the Phoenician (Paleo-Hebrew) period resembled the Modern Hebrew name aleph meaning “ox”; the form is thought to derive from an earlier symbol resembling the head of an ox. The letter was taken over by the Greeks in the form of alpha. In the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, the letter stood for a species of breathing, as vowels were not represented in the different Semitic alphabets.

History of the Letter E

The letter E was introduced in 1779 BCE (2146 ). The letter was pronounced like anh” in Semitic and resembled a stick with two arms and a leg meant to signify a human form. The Greeks flipped it around in 700 BC and changed the sound to “ee.”

The sound represented by the letter was a mid-front vowel corresponding to the sound a makes in the word take. The latter sound was a diphthong, where e represented an unmixed vowel sound, such as that heard in French tête or été.

In English, an extensive change took place in the sound of the long vowel during and after the later Middle English period (probably between the 13th and 17th centuries). Just as the sound represented by the letter “a” moved forward until it was the same as what formerly represented “e”, so the letter “e” encroached upon the territory of the sound of “i.”

Definitions for 𐤀𐤉 / ay

When adding the 𐤉 (yad) to the end of a word, it creates a possessive of the original word. It can either signify “my…” or identify a member of a nation. For example, 𐤏𐤁𐤓 (Ābar) is the progenitor, but 𐤏𐤁𐤓𐤉 (Ābaray) is the singular descendant of him also known as a Hebrew.

LanguageWordTransliterationPronunciationDefinition
Ābarayat𐤀𐤉ayey
English
Hebrew
Arabic
Greek

Images for 𐤀𐤉 / ay

Definitions for 𐤀𐤉𐤌 / ayam

When adding the 𐤌 (mayam) after the 𐤉 (yad) to the end of a word, it creates a plural of the original word. It can identify multiple members of a nation. For example, 𐤏𐤁𐤓 (Ābar) is the progenitor, but 𐤏𐤁𐤓𐤉𐤌 (Ābarayam) are the plural descendants of him also known as Hebrews.

LanguageWordTransliterationPronunciationDefinition
Ābarayat𐤀𐤉𐤌ayamaw-yawm

terrible, dreadful, frightful

English
Hebrew
Arabic
Greek

Images for 𐤀𐤉𐤌 / ayam

Definitions for 𐤀𐤉𐤕 / ayat

When adding the (tau) after the 𐤉 (yad) to the end of a word, it creates a plural of the original word. It identifies the language or a sign of a nation’s existence. For example, 𐤏𐤁𐤓 (Ābar) is the progenitor, but 𐤏𐤁𐤓𐤉𐤕 (Ābarayat) is the language of him also known as Paleo-Hebrew language.

LanguageWordTransliterationPronunciationDefinition
Ābarayat𐤀𐤉𐤕ayataw-yawt

a sign

English

the first letter and the first vowel of the modern English alphabet.

Hebrew
Arabic
Greek

Images for 𐤀𐤉𐤕 / ayat

Classification

You can continue your studies of the words by viewing Strong’s entries for:

  • Arauakah Ābarayat #1
  • Strong’s Hebrew #
  • Strong’s Greek Concordance #
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