כ־

See also: כ‎, כ׳‎, כ״‎, ך‎, and Appendix:Variations of "k"

Hebrew

Etymology

Cognate with Arabic كَـ‎ (ka-).

Preposition

כְּ־‎ • (k'-)

1. Like, as.

   Synonym: כְּמוֹ‎ (k'mó)

   • Psalms 92:12:

     ‏צַדִּיק כַּתָּמָר יִפְרָח כְּאֶרֶז בַּלְּבָנוֹן יִשְׂגֶּה׃‎‎

     tsadík katamár yifrákh k'érez bal'vanón yisgé.

     The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

2. About, approximately.

Usage notes

• Like all one-letter words in Hebrew, כ־‎ functions as a clitic, attaching to the word that follows it. Since it is a preposition, this means it attaches to the first word of its object.
• כ־‎ undergoes the same vowel changes as לְ־‎ (l'-, “to”) and בְּ־‎ (b'-, “in”), including the merger with הַ־‎ (ha-, “the”).
• In colloquial Hebrew, כ־‎ is relatively uncommon, the synonymous preposition כְּמוֹ‎ (k'mó) usually being used instead. The main exception is in the idiom כְּשֶׁ־‎ (k'she-, “as, when”), since כְּמוֹ שֶׁ־‎ (k'mó, “like, as”) does not share the idiomatic sense.
• כ־‎ does not have its own object-containing forms; those of the synonymous preposition כְּמוֹ‎ (k'mó) are used instead.

Derived terms

• כַּאֲשֶׁר‎ (ka'ashér)
• כְּמוֹ‎ (k'mó)
• כְּמוֹת‎ (k'mót)
• כְּשֶׁ־‎ (k'she-)

See also

• מִיכָאֵל‎ (mikhaél, “Michael” means “Who (is) like God?”)