בת

Hebrew

Root
ב־ן (b-n)

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Semitic *bint-, the /i/ changing to /a/ through Philippi's Law and /n/ assimilating to the following /t/.

Cognate with Arabic بنت (bint).

Pronunciation

• (Modern Israeli Hebrew) IPA^(key): /bat/
• (Tiberian Hebrew) IPA^(key): [baθ]

Noun

בַּת • (bat) f (plural indefinite בָּנוֹת, singular construct בַּת־, plural construct בְּנוֹת־, masculine counterpart בֵּן)

1. daughter
   • Tanach, Exodus 2:7, with translation of the King James Version:

     וַתֹּאמֶר אֲחֹתוֹ אֶל בַּת פַּרְעֹה

     vatómer achotó el bat par'ó

     Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter

2. (by analogy with בן) a direct female descendant

   בת חוה ― bat khavá ― daughter of Eve

3. a girl, a gal
4. (construct only) Used in expressing the age of a woman, a girl, or the referent of a feminine noun: age, aged.

   היא בת שש. ― hi bat shesh. ― She is six years old. [literally, a daughter of six]

   • HaTikva

     עוד לא אבדה תקותינו \ התקוה בת שנות אלפים

     ‘Od lo avdah tikvatenu / hatikvah bat shenot ʿalpayim

     Our hope is not yet lost / The hope of two thousand years old

Usage notes

• Like other words that start with ב,‎ ג,‎ ד,‎ כ,‎ פ,‎ or ת, this term's initial letter takes a dagesh lene. In older texts, that dagesh is usually dropped when the word is preceded, in the same phrase, by a word ending in a mater lectionis; in modern texts, the dagesh is usually preserved even in such a case. Likewise, in older texts, the dagesh is always dropped when the word is prefixed by an indefinite ב־‏,‎ כ־‏,‎ or ל־‏, or by ו־‏; in modern speech, the dagesh is often preserved in such a case. (After the definite ב־‏,‎ כ־‏,‎ and ל־‏, and after the prefixes ה־‏,‎ מ־‏,‎ and ש־‏, there is a dagesh forte, as described in the usage notes for those prefixes.)

Declension

Declension of בַּת

Number	Isolated forms		With possessive pronouns
	State	Form	Person	singular		plural
				m.	f.	m.	f.
singular	indefinite	בַּת	first	בִּתִּי		בִּתֵּנוּ
	definite	הַבַּת	second	בִּתְּךָ	בִּתֵּךְ	בִּתְּכֶם	בִּתְּכֶן
	construct	בַּת־	third	בִּתּוֹ	בִּתָּהּ	בִּתָּם	בִּתָּן
plural	indefinite	בָּנוֹת	first	בנותיי / בְּנוֹתַי		בְּנוֹתֵינוּ
	definite	הַבָּנוֹת	second	בְּנוֹתֶיךָ	בנותייך / בְּנוֹתַיִךְ	בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם	בְּנוֹתֵיכֶן
	construct	בְּנוֹת־	third	בְּנוֹתָיו	בְּנוֹתֶיהָ	בְּנוֹתָם	בְּנוֹתָן

Derived terms

• בַּת־דּוֹד (bat-dód)
• בַּת יָם (bat yam)
• בַּת־קוֹל (bat kol)
• בַּת שֶׁבַע (bat shéva)

Etymology 2

Perhaps related to Arabic بَاطِيَة (bāṭiya, “wine-vessel”) etc. what is mentioned there.

Noun

בַּת • (bat) m or f (plural indefinite בָּתִּים)

1. (Biblical Hebrew) a liquid measure of about 40 litres

Descendants

• → English: bath
• → Ancient Greek: βάτος (bátos), βάδος (bádos)

References

• Lagarde, Paul de (1880) Orientalia‎^[1] (in German), volume 2, Göttingen: Dieterichsche Verlags-Buchhandlung, pages 10–12
• H1323 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• H1324 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible