hamza

H4A1M3Z10A1

noun

A sign used in the written Arabic language representing a glottal stop. Hamza may appear as a stand-alone letter (ء (ʔ)) or most commonly diacritically over or under other letters, e.g. أ (ʔ) (over an alif [ا]), إ (ʔ) (under an alif), ؤ (ʔ) (over a wāw [و]) or ئ (ʔ) (over a dotless yāʾ [ى]). The exact seat of hamza is governed by an orthographic rule – the "seat of hamza rule".

OriginArabic هَمْزَة →
Less commonScrabble 19
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Meanings

hamza1

nounhamza (plural hamzas)

plural hamzas

  1. A sign used in the written Arabic language representing a glottal stop. Hamza may appear as a stand-alone letter (ء (ʔ)) or most commonly diacritically over or under other letters, e.g. أ (ʔ) (over an alif [ا]), إ (ʔ) (under an alif), ؤ (ʔ) (over a wāw [و]) or ئ (ʔ) (over a dotless yāʾ [ى]). The exact seat of hamza is governed by an orthographic rule – the "seat of hamza rule".

    Written words such as Qurʼan (which in written Arabic uses a symbol know as hamza to indicate the glottal stop) are rendered with an apostrophe.

    2021, Claire Cock-Starkey, Hyphens & Hashtags, Bodleian Library, page 33

Hamza2

proper nounHamza (plural Hamzas)

plural Hamzas · alternative Hamzah

  1. A male given name from Arabic.
    1. The Muslim Sahabi Hamza ibn Abdul-Muttalib.
  2. A surname from Arabic.

Origin

hamza · noun

  1. Arabicهَمْزَة
  2. Arabicهَمْزَة
  3. Englishhamza

Borrowed from Arabic هَمْزَة (hamza).

More words from Arabic

Full word history & related roots →

Hamza · proper noun

  1. Arabicحَمْزَة
  2. EnglishHamza

From Arabic حَمْزَة (ḥamza, literally “lion”), from the Arabic root ح م ز (ḥ m z).

More words from Arabic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic هَمْزَة
  • هَمْزَة (hamza)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
Catalan hamza
  • hamzaArabic sign representing a glottal stop
Chinese Mandarin 哈姆扎, 海姆宰
  • 哈姆扎 (hāmǔzhā)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
  • 海姆宰 (hǎimǔzǎi)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
Finnish hamza
  • hamzaArabic sign representing a glottal stop
French hamza
  • hamzaArabic sign representing a glottal stop
German Hamza, Hamsa
  • HamzaArabic sign representing a glottal stop
  • HamsaArabic sign representing a glottal stop
Greek χάμζα
  • χάμζα (chámza)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
Hindi हमज़ा
  • हमज़ा (hamzā)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
Indonesian hamzah
  • hamzahArabic sign representing a glottal stop
Italian hamza
  • hamzaArabic sign representing a glottal stop
Japanese ハムザ
  • ハムザ (hamuza)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
Korean 함자
  • 함자 (hamja)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
Malay hamzah
  • hamzahArabic sign representing a glottal stop
Polish hamza
  • hamzaArabic sign representing a glottal stop
Punjabi ਹਮਜ਼ਾ, ہَمْزَہ
  • ਹਮਜ਼ਾ (hamzā)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
  • ہَمْزَہ (hamzah)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
Russian ха́мза
  • ха́мза (xámza)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
Slovak hamza
  • hamzaArabic sign representing a glottal stop
Spanish jamza
  • jamzaArabic sign representing a glottal stop
Thai ฮัมซะฮ์
  • ฮัมซะฮ์Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
Turkish hemze
  • hemzeArabic sign representing a glottal stop
Ukrainian га́мза
  • га́мза (hámza)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
Urdu ہَمْزَہ
  • ہَمْزَہ (hamza)Arabic sign representing a glottal stop
Cite this entry
APA

hamza. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hamza

MLA

“hamza.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hamza. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hamza,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hamza.

Source: hamza on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.