sun letter

noun

One of fourteen Arabic letters that cause the "L" of a preceding definite article اَل (al-) to be assimilated in pronunciation. The sun letter suppresses the sound of the "L" and then geminates: al + ṣīn = aṣ-ṣīn. The effect of the sun letter is limited to pronunciation and does not affect the spelling, except that a shadda may be written over the sun letter and in the fully vocalised spelling lām lacks any diacritics: الصِّين (aṣ-ṣīn). The fourteen sun letters are ت (t), ث (ṯ), د (d), ذ (ḏ), ر (r), ز (z), س (s), ش (š), ص (ṣ), ض (ḍ), ط (ṭ), ظ (ẓ), ل (l), ن (n). Phonetically, they represent coronal consonants.

Similar
solar letter
Opposite
moon letter
OriginArabic حَرْف شَمْسِيّ →
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Meanings

nounsun letter (plural sun letters)

plural sun letters

  1. human sciencesOne of fourteen Arabic letters that cause the "L" of a preceding definite article اَل (al-) to be assimilated in pronunciation. The sun letter suppresses the sound of the "L" and then geminates: al + ṣīn = aṣ-ṣīn. The effect of the sun letter is limited to pronunciation and does not affect the spelling, except that a shadda may be written over the sun letter and in the fully vocalised spelling lām lacks any diacritics: الصِّين (aṣ-ṣīn). The fourteen sun letters are ت (t), ث (ṯ), د (d), ذ (ḏ), ر (r), ز (z), س (s), ش (š), ص (ṣ), ض (ḍ), ط (ṭ), ظ (ẓ), ل (l), ن (n). Phonetically, they represent coronal consonants.

    Synonyms: solar letter · Antonyms: moon letter

Synonyms & antonyms

nounOne of fourteen Arabic letters that cause the "L" of a preceding definite article اَل (al-) to be assimilated in pronunciation. The sun letter suppresses the sound of the "L" and then geminates: al + ṣīn = aṣ-ṣīn. The effect of the sun letter is limited to pronunciation and does not affect the spelling, except that a shadda may be written over the sun letter and in the fully vocalised spelling lām lacks any diacritics: الصِّين (aṣ-ṣīn). The fourteen sun letters are ت (t), ث (ṯ), د (d), ذ (ḏ), ر (r), ز (z), س (s), ش (š), ص (ṣ), ض (ḍ), ط (ṭ), ظ (ẓ), ل (l), ن (n). Phonetically, they represent coronal consonants.

Similar
solar letter
Opposite
moon letter
Also see
solar letter

Origin

  1. Arabicحَرْف شَمْسِيّ
  2. Englishsun letter

Calque of Arabic حَرْف شَمْسِيّ (ḥarf šamsiyy).

More words from Arabic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic حُرُوف شَمْسِيَّة, حَرْف شَمْسِيّ
  • حُرُوف شَمْسِيَّة (ḥurūf šamsiyya)sun letter
  • حَرْف شَمْسِيّ (ḥarf šamsiyy)sun letter
French lettre solaire
  • lettre solairesun letter
German Sonnenbuchstabe
  • Sonnenbuchstabesun letter
Malay huruf syamsiah
  • huruf syamsiahsun letter
Russian со́лнечная бу́ква
  • со́лнечная бу́ква (sólnečnaja búkva)sun letter
Spanish letra solar
  • letra solarsun letter
Ukrainian сонячна літера, сонячна буква
  • сонячна літера (sonjačna litera)sun letter
  • сонячна буква (sonjačna bukva)sun letter
Cite this entry
APA

sun letter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sun%20letter

MLA

“sun letter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sun%20letter. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sun letter,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sun%20letter.

Source: sun letter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.