Mem

Mem (also spelled Meem, Meme, or Mim) is the thirteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Hebrew mem m, Aramaic mem , Syriac mim m, Arabic mim m, and Phoenician mem . Its sound value is [m]. It is also related to the Ancient North Arabian , South Arabian , and Ge'ez ma. The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek mu (M), Etruscan , Latin M, and Cyrillic M.

Mem is believed to derive from the Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol for water,

which had been simplified in the Proto-Sinaitic script and named after the West Semitic word for "water", mem (), as in Biblical Hebrew maym (mayim) 'water',^[1] ultimately coming from Proto-Semitic *may-.

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

Some examples on its uses in Modern Standard Arabic:

Mim is used in the creation of ism words (i.e. nouns and adjectives; they are treated fundamentally the same in Arabic grammar). Specifically, mim is used in the creation of the masdar (verbal noun) of Stem III verbs (the masdar of verbs on the pattern fa'ala is mufa'ala), of subject and object nouns for verbs of Stems II-X (using the example of Stem II, subject nouns--called fa'il words because of their form in Stem I--are mufa''il for verbs of Stems II-X, and object nouns--called maf'ul also because of their Stem I form--take the form mufa''al for verbs of Stems II-X). Place-nouns are also created with mim; the pattern maf'al is used to create maktab "office" from the triliteral k-t-b (to write) and masna' "factory" from s-n-' (to make).

Hebrew spelling: mem

Mem represents a bilabial nasal [m].

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

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

• Nun (letter)

• Phoenician alphabet
• Arabic letters
• Hebrew letters
• Urdu letters
• Letters with final form

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