hamza

ham·za

also ham·zah  (hăm′zə, häm′zä)

n.

A sign in Arabic orthography used to represent the sound of a glottal stop, transliterated in English as an apostrophe.

---

[Arabic, from hamaza, to urge on, goad; see hmz in Semitic roots.]

hamza

(ˈhɑːmzɑː; -zə) or

hamzah

n

(Phonetics & Phonology) the sign used in Arabic to represent the glottal stop

[from Arabic hamzah, literally: a compression]

ham•za

(ˈhɑm zɑ)

n., pl. -zas.

a sign used in Arabic writing to represent a glottal stop, usu. shown in English transliterations as an apostrophe.

[1935–40; < Arabic hamzah literally, a squeezing together]

Translations

همزة

хамза