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Phonemic representation | q (kˤ, g) | |||||||||
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Position in alphabet | 19 | |||||||||
Numerical value | 100 | |||||||||
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Qoph or Qop (Phoenician Qōp ) is the nineteenth letter of the Semitic abjads. Aramaic Qop is derived from the Phoenician letter, and derivations from Aramaic include Hebrew Qof ק, Syriac Qōp̄ ܩ and Arabic Qāf ق.
Its original sound value was a West Semitic emphatic stop, presumably [kˤ] or [q]. In Hebrew gematria, it has the numerical value of 100.
The origin of the glyph shape of qōp () is uncertain. It is usually suggested to have originally depicted either a sewing needle, specifically the eye of a needle (the Hebrew קוף means "hole"), or the back of a head and neck (qāf in Arabic meant "nape"). According to an older suggestion, it may also have been a picture of a monkey and its tail.