KAPH

[כ; final, ך].

The eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet; later, outside the Hebrew Scriptures, used also as a number to denote twenty. It is one of five Hebrew letters that have a different form when used as the final letter of a word. In Hebrew, kaph means “palm of hand.”

From the letter kaph the Greek letter kapʹpa is derived, and, in turn, the Latin and English “k” is derived from kapʹpa. In sound kaph corresponds to kh when not having the point (dagesh lene) in it; but with this point in it (כּ), it becomes hard like our English “k.” In the Hebrew, it is the initial letter in each of the eight verses of Psalm 119:81-88. The letters kaph [כ] and behth [ב] are similar in appearance.