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| Ancient Name: | Shin |
| Pictograph: | Two front teeth |
| Meanings: | Sharp, Press, Eat, Two |
| Sound: | Sh |
History & Reconstruction
The Ancient picture for this letter is 
, a picture of the two front teeth. This letter has the meanings of "teeth," "sharp" and "press" (from the function of the teeth when chewing). It also has the meaning of "two," "again" and "both."
The Modern Hebrew name for this letter is shin, a Hebrew word meaning tooth. Hebrew and Arabic agree that the sound for this letter is "sh."
The early pictograph evolved into 
in the Middle Semitic script and continued to evolve into 
in the Late Semitic Script. From the middle Semitic script is derived the Modern Hebrew ש. The Middle Semitic script is also the origin of the Greek letter Σ and the Latin S.
Semitic Script Charts
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