ש

See also: שׂ, ש־, ш, Ш, and 山

ש U+05E9, ש HEBREW LETTER SHIN ← ר [U+05E8] Hebrew ת → [U+05EA]

Hebrew

A shin rendered in two different fonts.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: ס

Etymology 1

From Proto-Semitic *šinn- (“tooth”), the source of שן. The association of "tooth" with this letter was the result of folk etymology and based on the corresponding Phoenician letter, 𐤔 (š), having a shape resembling a tooth. The letter originally depicted a composite bow, which usually has the tips curving away from the archer when unstrung.^[1][2]

Related to Classical Syriac ܫ, Arabic ش (š), Phoenician 𐤔 (š), Russian ш (š), Aramaic ܫ. More at Shin.

Letter

ש • (sh, s)

1. Shin or sin: the twenty-first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, after ר and before ת.

   שׁ is shin (with the shin dot above the right-hand side of the letter), representing /ʃ/

   שׂ is sin (with the sin dot above the left-hand side of the letter), representing /s/

2. The numeral 300 in Hebrew numbering.

Coordinate terms

• (Hebrew script letters) א,‏ ב,‏ ג,‏ ד,‏ ה,‏ ו,‏ ז,‏ ח,‏ ט,‏ י,‏ כך,‏ ל,‏ מם,‏ נן,‏ ס,‏ ע,‏ פף,‏ צץ,‏ ק,‏ ר,‏ ש,‏ ת

References

1. “shin”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
2. Albright, W. F. (1948). "The Early Alphabetic Inscriptions from Sinai and their Decipherment". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 110 (110): 6–22 [p. 15].

Etymology 2

Interjection

שָׁ • (sha)

1. Sh! Hush! Shush!

Synonyms

• הס (has)