How Egyptian Hieroglyphs Became Semitic Letters
Sidebar to: Part III: How the Alphabet Democratized Civilization
Egyptian symbol | meaning | Egyptian word | Semitic letter | meaning | Semitic word | sound in Semitic |
| house | pr |  | house | bet (bayit in Hebrew) | b |
| throw stick | ‘m‘ ’t |  | throw stick | gaml (gimel in Hebrew) | g |
| arm and hand | ‘ (a laryngeal sound not found in English) |  | arm and hand | yod (yad in Hebrew) | y |
| water | nt |  | water | mem (mayim in Hebrew) | m |
| composite bow | iwnt |  | composite bow | than/thin (shin in Hebrew) | th |
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