אות

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ot"

Hebrew

Etymology

Root
א־ו־ת (ʾ-w-t)
2 terms

From Proto-Semitic *awayat-, cognate with Aramaic אתא (ʾāṯāh, sign) and Arabic آية (ʔāya, sign).

Pronunciation

  • (Biblical Hebrew) IPA(key): /ˈʔoːt/
  • (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA(key): /ˈʔoːθ/ [ˈʔoːθ]
  • (Yemenite Hebrew) IPA(key): /ˈʔøθ/ [ˈʔøːθ], [ˈʔeːθ]
  • (Persian Hebrew) IPA(key): /ˈ(ʔ)ot/
  • (Iraqi Hebrew) IPA(key): /ˈʔoθ/
  • (Sephardi Hebrew) IPA(key): /ˈ(ʔ)ot/
  • (Ashkenazi Hebrew) IPA(key): /ˈ(ʔ)ows/, /ˈ(ʔ)oːs/, /ˈ(ʔ)ojs/
  • (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA(key): /ˈ(ʔ)ot/
    • Audio (Israel):(file)

Noun

אוֹת • (otm (plural indefinite אוֹתוֹת)

  1. a sign, an omen
    • Tanach, Exodus 31:17, with translation of HE:
      בֵּינִי וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹת הִוא לְעֹלָם:
      bēnī ū-vēn bənē yiśrāʾēl ʾōṯ hī lə-ʿōlām.
      It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever.
  2. a signal, a cue

Derived terms

Noun

אוֹת • (otf (plural indefinite אוֹתִיּוֹת)

  1. letter (symbol)
    • a. 217 C.E., Mishnah. Avot, section 6.3:
      הַלּוֹמֵד מֵחֲבֵרוֹ פֶּרֶק אֶחָד אוֹ הֲלָכָה אַחַת אוֹ פָסוּק אֶחָד אוֹ דִבּוּר אֶחָד אוֹ אֲפִלּוּ אוֹת אַחַת, צָרִיךְ לִנְהוֹג בּוֹ כָבוֹד
      Hal-lōmēḏ mē-ḥăvērō pereq ʾeḥāḏ ʾō hălāḵā ʾaḥaṯ ʾō fāsūq ʾeḥāḏ ʾō ḏibbūr ʾeḥāḏ ʾō ʾǎfillū ʾōṯ ʾaḥaṯ, ṣārīḵ li-nhōḡ bō ḵāvōḏ.
      Whoever learns from his fellow one chapter or one halakha or one verse or one word, or even one letter, should treat him with respect.

Derived terms

References

  • אות” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Further reading

Anagrams

Yiddish

Etymology

From Hebrew אות (ot).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɔs/

Noun

אות • (osm or n, plural אותיות (oysyes)

  1. letter (symbol used for writing)
    זאָגן די אותיות פֿוןzogn di oysyes funto spell (a word) (literally, “name the letters”)

Further reading

  • Uriel Weinreich (1977) “אויסלייג”, in Modern English-Yiddish, Yiddish-English Dictionary, New York: Schocken Books, page 781
  • Uriel Weinreich (1977) “אות”, in Modern English-Yiddish, Yiddish-English Dictionary, New York: Schocken Books, page 765