The original pictograph for this letter is , a container made of wicker or clay. Containers were a very important item among the nomadic Hebrews. They were used for storing grains and other items. Wicker baskets were used as nets for catching fish. The meanings of this letter are basket, contain, store and clay.

The twenty-second letter of the Hebrew alphabet is a tav with a "t" sound. It is unlikely that the original Hebrew had two letters with the same sound. When the Greeks adopted the Hebrew alphabet this letter the Greek theta. The original sound for this letter is was probably a "th".

The Modern Hebrew name for this letter is “tet” meaning mud or clay but would have been pronounced as “thet”.

The Early Semitic letter remained unchanged into the Middle Semitic script but was simplified to in the Late Semitic script. The Late Semitic letter became the Q, Theta, in the Greek alphabet, the Modern Hebrew ט and our number 6.