how to say “metal” in Hebrew
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מַתֶּכֶת
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The Hebrew word for metal – such as iron, gold and aluminum – is מַתֶּכֶת (mah-TEH-khet). It stems from the root נ.ת.כ (n.t.kh), meaning pouring or melting – since most forms of metal are formed by melting different types together.
If you take a good look at the word, you’ll see a dot in the ת (t). This dot signifies that the t sound was accentuated in the early years of the word’s pronunciation, in order to account for the missing letter נ (n) from the root.
Though the root נ.ת.כ shows up in Biblical Hebrew, the word מתכת makes its first appearance in the Mishnah. Its plural is מַתָּכוֹת (mah-tah-KHOHT), as in:
מַתָּכוֹת יְקָרוֹת
precious metals
(mah-tah-KHOHT yeh-kah-ROHT)
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