Mem (also spelled Meem, Meme, or Mim) is the thirteenth

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

of the Semitic abjads, including

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

mēm ,

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

Mem

, Syriac mīm ܡ,

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

mīm and Phoenician mēm Phoenician_mem

. Its sound value is . The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek mu (Μ),

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

M, and

Cyrillic , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = G ...

М.

Origins

Mem is believed to derive from the

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

hieroglyphic symbol for water, N35 which had been simplified by the

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

ns and named after their word for “water”, ''

mem 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 ...

'' (

), 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 Kaph (also spelled kaf) is the eleventh letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician kāp , Hebrew kāf , Aramaic kāp , Syriac kāp̄ , and Arabic kāf (in abjadi order). The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek kappa (Κ), Lati ...

, Nun, Pe, and

Tzadi Tsade (also spelled , , , , tzadi, sadhe, tzaddik) is the eighteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician ṣādē , Hebrew ṣādi , Aramaic ṣāḏē , Syriac ṣāḏē ܨ, Ge'ez ṣädäy ጸ, and Arabic . Its oldest phoneti ...

, 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 ''Sefer Yetzirah'' ( ''Sēp̄er Yəṣīrā'', ''Book of Formation'', or ''Book of Creation'') is the title of a book on Jewish mysticism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed ...

, 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 The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branc ...

it can also stand for ''mefaked'', commander. In Hebrew religious texts, it can stand for Names of God in Judaism#Uncommon or esoteric names, the name of God Makom, the Place.

Mem and Tarot

Mem is associated with The Hanged Man (tarot card), 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 ''verbal noun, 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

External links

{{Northwest Semitic abjad Phoenician alphabet Arabic letters Hebrew letters Letters with final form