Klein Dictionary, נ

נ The fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The name of the letter, ‘Nun’, means ‘fish’; so called in allusion to its ancient Heb. form. It has a final form ן. In PBH נ has the numerical value of fifty and ן has the numerical value of seven hundred. נ alternates with ל and מ (see introductory entries to these letters). It also alternates with ר (cp. כָּנַע and כָּרַע; גָּהַר with Syr. גְּהֵן (= he bent, bowed, stooped); זָרַח with Aram. רְּנַח (= it rose, shone); טָמַן with Aram.-Syr. טֽמַר (= he hid under the earth); שֽׁנַיִם with Aram. תְּרֵין (= two); בֵּן with Aram. בַּר (= son). נ also alternates with י as the first radical letter (cp. the bases יצב and נצב (= to put, place); נקשׁ and יקשׁ (= to lay snares). The letter נ is frequently assimilated, as e.g. יִנְגַשׁ becomes יִגַּשׁ; יִנְתֵּן becomes יִתֵּן.