־ה

See also: ה, ה־, ה׳, and Appendix:Variations of "h"

Hebrew

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Semitic *-ah, from Proto-Semitic *-iš (locative or terminative).

Postposition

־ָה • (-a)

1. (no longer productive) to, toward, in the direction of, -ward
   • Tanach, Exodus 1:1, with translation of the King James Version:

     וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַבָּאִים מִצְרָיְמָה, אֵת יַעֲקֹב אִישׁ וּבֵיתוֹ בָּאוּ:

     Wəʾĕlle šəmôṯ bənê yiśrāʾĕl habbăʾîm miṣraymâ, ʾĕṯ-yaʿăqŏḇ ʾîš uḇêṯô bāʾû.

     Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.

2. (colloquial, no longer productive) at, located in the direction of

Usage notes

• In modern non-poetic use, this postposition is mostly used only with inherently directional nouns (such as in שמאלה (smóla, “left, leftward, to the left”), from שמאל (smol, “left, the left, left hand”)), and in a few fixed expressions (such as הַבַּיְתָה (habáyta, “homeward”)).

Synonyms

• (to, toward): ל־ (l'-), אל (el), בכיוון (b'kivún)

Etymology 2

Analogical consonantism after the independent personal pronoun הִיא (hīʾ) from Proto-West Semitic *-hā, from Proto-Semitic *-ša.

Pronoun

־ָהּ • (-áh)

1. (archaic) her, it: indicates the direct object of a verb
   • Genesis 2:15:

     וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן-עֵדֶן, לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ

     He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it

2. her, it: indicates the object of a preposition
   • Ruth 1:22:

     וַתָּשָׁב נָעֳמִי, וְרוּת הַמּוֹאֲבִיָּה כַלָּתָהּ עִמָּהּ

     Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her

3. (now formal) her, its: indicates the possessor of a singular construct noun
   • 2 Samuel 13:19:

     וַתִּקַּח תָּמָר אֵפֶר עַל-רֹאשָׁהּ

     Tamar took ashes on her head

   • Ruth 1:22:

     וַתָּשָׁב נָעֳמִי, וְרוּת הַמּוֹאֲבִיָּה כַלָּתָהּ עִמָּהּ

     Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her

Synonyms

• (of a verb): אוֹתָהּ (otáh); (archaic) ־ֶנָּה (éna), (archaic) ־הָ (ha)
• (of a noun): שֶׁלָּהּ (sheláh)

Etymology 3

From Proto-Semitic *-at-.

Suffix

־ָה • (-a, -á)

1. used in feminine singular forms of most adjectives

   ‎פשוט (pashút, “simple”) + ‎־ה → ‎פשוטה (p'shutá, “simple”)

2. used in singular indefinite and definite forms of many or most feminine nouns

   טיסה (tisá, “flight”)

   דוד (dod, “uncle”) → דודה (dodá, dóda, “aunt”)

3. used in many female given names

   דניאל (danyél, “Daniel”) → דניאלה (danyéla, “Danielle”)

4. used in feminine singular present participle and present tense forms of certain verbs

   שם (sam, “put”) → שמה (sáma, samá, “(she, it) puts, putting”)

5. used in third-person feminine singular past tense (suffix conjugation) forms of most verbs

   הלך (halákh, “go”) → הלכה (halkhá, “(she, it) went”)

Synonyms

• (in adjectives): ־ת (-et, -t)
• (in nouns): ־ת (-et), ־ית (-it), ־ות (-ut)
• (in present-tense verbs): ־ת (-et)

Descendants

• → Yiddish: ־ה (-e)

Etymology 4

־ָה • (-a, -á)

1. used to add emphasis to certain future-tense and imperative verb-forms

   קוּם (kum, “rise”) → קוּמָה (kúma, “rise up”)

Derived terms

Hebrew terms suffixed with ־ה

Yiddish

Etymology

From Hebrew ־ה (-á).

Suffix

־ה • (-e)

1. The singular suffix for feminine nouns derived from Hebrew.