אות

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ot"

Hebrew

Etymology

Root
א־ו־ת (ʾ-w-t)

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

Pronunciation

• (Biblical Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʔoːtʰ/
• (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ˈʔoːθ/, [ˈʔoː.oθ]
• (Yemenite Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ˈʔøθ/, [ˈʔøːθ], [ˈʔeːθ]
• (Persian Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)ot/
• (Iraqi Hebrew) IPA^(key): /ʔot/
• (Sephardi Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)ot/
• (Ashkenazi Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)oʊs/
• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /(ʔ)ot/

• Audio (Israel):

  (file)

Noun

אוֹת • (ot) m (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

• יַחַס אוֹת לְרַעַשׁ (yákhas ót l'rá'ash)

Noun

אוֹת • (ot) f (plural indefinite אוֹתִיּוֹת)

1. letter (symbol)
   • a. 217 C.E., Mishnah, Avot 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

• אוֹת כְּתָב
• אוֹת דְּפוּס
• הָאוֹתִיּוֹת הַקְּטַנּוֹת (ha'otiyót hak'tanót)

References

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

Further reading

• אות on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he

Anagrams

• אתו

Yiddish

Etymology

From Hebrew אות (ot).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔs/

Noun

אות • (os) m or n, plural אותיות (oysyes)

1. letter (symbol used for writing)

   זאָגן די אותיות פֿון ― zogn di oysyes fun ― to 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