־ה

See also: ה‎, ה־‎, ה׳‎, and Appendix:Variations of "h"

Hebrew

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Semitic *-ah, from Proto-Semitic *-iš (locative or terminative).

Postposition

־ָה • (-a)

1. (no longer productive) to, toward, in the direction of, -ward
   • Exodus 1:1, with translation of the King James Version:

     ‏וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַבָּאִים מִצְרָיְמָה, אֵת יַעֲקֹב אִישׁ וּבֵיתוֹ בָּאוּ:‎‎

     Wəʾĕlle šəmôṯ bənê yiśrāʾĕl habbăʾîm miṣraymâ, ʾĕṯ-yaʿăqŏḇ ʾîš uḇêṯô bāʾû.

     Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.

2. (colloquial, no longer productive) at, located in the direction of

Usage notes

• In modern non-poetic use, this postposition is mostly used only with inherently directional nouns (such as in שמאלה‎ (smóla, “left, leftward, to the left”), from שמאל‎ (smol, “left, the left, left hand”)), and in a few fixed expressions (such as הַבַּיְתָה‎ (habáyta, “homeward”)).

Synonyms

• (to, toward): ל־‎ (l'-), אל‎ (el), בכיוון‎ (b'kivún)

Etymology 2

Analogical consonantism after the independent personal pronoun הִיא‎ (hīʾ) from Proto-West Semitic *-hā, from Proto-Semitic *-ša.

Pronoun

־ָהּ • (-áh)

1. (archaic) her, it: indicates the direct object of a verb
   • Genesis 2:15:

     ‏וַיַּנִּחֵהוּ בְגַן-עֵדֶן, לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ‎‎

     He placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it and to guard it

2. her, it: indicates the object of a preposition
   • Ruth 1:22:

     ‏וַתָּשָׁב נָעֳמִי, וְרוּת הַמּוֹאֲבִיָּה כַלָּתָהּ עִמָּהּ‎‎

     Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her

3. (now formal) her, its: indicates the possessor of a singular construct noun
   • 2 Samuel 13:19:

     ‏וַתִּקַּח תָּמָר אֵפֶר עַל-רֹאשָׁהּ‎‎

     Tamar took ashes on her head

   • Ruth 1:22:

     ‏וַתָּשָׁב נָעֳמִי, וְרוּת הַמּוֹאֲבִיָּה כַלָּתָהּ עִמָּהּ‎

     Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her

Synonyms

• (of a verb): אוֹתָהּ‎ (otáh); (archaic) ־ֶנָּה‎ (éna), (archaic) ־הָ‎ (ha)
• (of a noun): שֶׁלָּהּ‎ (sheláh)

Etymology 3

From Proto-Semitic *-at-.

Suffix

־ָה • (-a, -á)

1. used in feminine singular forms of most adjectives

   ‎פשוט‎ (pashút, “simple”) + ‎־ה → ‎פשוטה‎ (p'shutá, “simple”)

2. used in singular indefinite and definite forms of many or most feminine nouns

   טיסה‎ (tisá, “flight”)

   דוד‎ (dod, “uncle”) → דודה‎ (dodá, dóda, “aunt”)

3. used in many female given names

   דניאל‎ (danyél, “Daniel”) → דניאלה‎ (danyéla, “Danielle”)

4. used in feminine singular present participle and present tense forms of certain verbs

   שם‎ (sam, “put”) → שמה‎ (sáma, samá, “(she, it) puts, putting”)

5. used in third-person feminine singular past tense (suffix conjugation) forms of most verbs

   הלך‎ (halákh, “go”) → הלכה‎ (halkhá, “(she, it) went”)

Synonyms

• (in adjectives): ־ת‎ (-et, -t)
• (in nouns): ־ת‎ (-et), ־ית‎ (-it), ־ות‎ (-ut)
• (in present-tense verbs): ־ת‎ (-et)

Descendants

• → Yiddish: ־ה‎ (-e)

Etymology 4

־ָה • (-a, -á)

1. used to add emphasis to certain future-tense and imperative verb-forms

   קוּם‎ (kum, “rise”) → קוּמָה‎ (kúma, “rise up”)

Derived terms

Hebrew terms suffixed with ־ה

Yiddish

Etymology

From Hebrew ־ה‎ (-á).

Suffix

־ה • (-e)

1. The singular suffix for feminine nouns derived from Hebrew.