Mem Martins Sport Clube

Mem (also spelled Meem, Meme, or Mim) is the thirteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Hebrew mēm , Aramaic Mem , Syriac mīm ܡ, Arabic mīm and Phoenician mēm . Its sound value is .

The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek mu (Μ), Etruscan , Latin M, and Cyrillic М.

Origins

Mem is believed to derive from the Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol for water, N35 which had been simplified by the Phoenicians and named after their word for “water”, ''mem'' (), ultimately coming from Proto-Semitic *maʾ-/*may-.

Hebrew Mem

Hebrew spelling:

Hebrew pronunciation

Mem represents a bilabial nasal .

Variations on written form/pronunciation

In Hebrew, Mem, like Kaph, Nun, Pe, and Tzadi, has a final form, used at the end of words: its shape changes from to .

Significance

In gematria, Mem represents the number 40 in both the Standard and Mispar Gadol Methods of Gematria; However, (mem sofit) final mem's value is 40 in the Standard Method and 600 in the Mispar Gadol method. The Standard Method adds the values of Tav and Resh (400+200) to denote the value of mem sofit.

In the Sefer Yetzirah, the letter Mem is King over Water, Formed Earth in the Universe, Cold in the Year, and the Belly in the Soul.

As an abbreviation, it stands for metre. In the Israeli army it can also stand for ''mefaked'', commander. In Hebrew religious texts, it can stand for the name of God Makom, the Place.

Mem and Tarot

Mem is associated with The Hanged Man (Atu XII), the element of water and the path between Geburah and Hod on the Tree of Life.

Arabic mīm

The letter is named ', and is written in several ways depending on its position in the word:

Some examples on its uses in Modern Standard Arabic:

''Mīm'' is used in the creation of ''ism'' words (i.e. nouns and adjectives; they are treated fundamentally the same in Arabic grammar). Specifically, ' is used in the creation of the ''masdar'' (verbal noun) of Stem III verbs (the ''masdar'' of verbs on the pattern ''fāʿala'' is ''mufāʿala''), of subject and object nouns for verbs of Stems II-X (using the example of Stem II, subject nouns—called ''fāʿil'' words because of their form in Stem I—are ''mufaʿʿil'' for verbs of Stems II-X, and object nouns—called ''mafʿūl'' also because of their Stem I form—take the form ''mufaʿʿal'' for verbs of Stems II-X). Place-nouns are also created with '; the pattern ''mafʿal'' is used to create ''maktab'' "office" from the triliteral k-t-b (to write) and ''maṣnaʿ'' "factory" from ṣ-n-ʿ (to make).

Syriac mim

Character encodings

See also

* Nun (letter)

External links

{{Northwest Semitic abjad

Phoenician alphabet
Arabic letters
Hebrew letters
Letters with final form