Meaning
The tenth letter of many Semitic alphabets/abjads (Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and others).
Etymology
Origin: Hebrew
Borrowed from Hebrew יו״ד (yo"d, “name of the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet”), ultimately from Proto-Semitic *yad- (“hand”). That letter is used also in other Semitic alphabets; it represents the voiced palatal approximant /j/. Doublet of iota, jot, and yod.
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025, 2026.