What is "segol"

n. A Hebrew niqqud diacritical mark in the form of three dots arranged as an upside-down triangle

Segol

ֶ

IPA

Transliteration

English example

Same sound

Example

שֶׁל

The word for of in Hebrew, shel. The three dots is a segol.

Other Niqqud

Shva Hiriq TzereSegol Patach Kamatz Holam Dagesh Mappiq Kubutz and Shuruk Rafe Sin/Shin Dot

Segol ( ) is a Hebrew niqqud vowel sign that is represented by three dots forming an upside down equilateral triangle "ֶ". As such, it resembles an upside down therefore sign (a because sign) underneath a letter. In modern Hebrew, it indicates the phoneme which is similar to " e" in the English word sound in sell and is transliterated as an e.

In Modern Hebrew, segol makes the same sound as tzere, as does the Hataf Segol ( , "Reduced Segol"). The reduced (or hataf) niqqud exist for segol, patach, and kamatz which contain a shva next to it.

Segol ( also known as Segolta, with variant English spellings), is a cantillation mark found in the Torah, Haftarah, and other books of the Hebrew Bible. The Segol occurs together with a preceding Zarka, sometimes with a Munach preceding one or both.

The Segol group is considered to be a disjunctive. It occurs in place of the Katan group or a Zakef gadol. It is the strongest disjunctive group ahead of the Etnachta group.

The Hebrew word סְגוֹל֒ translates into English as bunch, referring to a bunch of grapes. This is reflected in its appearance as a three-dot symbol.