ب be called با bā in Arabic, is the second letter of the Arabic and Persian alphabets: and, in the representation of Hindī words by the letters of these alphabets, it corresponds to the Nā- garī ब; or, with ه (he) subjoined, to भ. When used numerically, according to the ابجد or arrangement of the Arabic alphabet to sig- nify numbers, it stands for two; hence, it is used to denote the second day of the week, Monday; and, in astronomical calculations, the sign Gemini. By way of abbreviation, more- over, it is occasionally written for the month رجب rajab, of which word it is the final letter. At the middle or end of a word, this letter is sometimes changed to ف پ or م as, تپ tap for تب tab, A fever; زفان zafān for زبان za- bān, Language; غژم g̠ẖuzhm for غژب g̠ẖuzhb, A grape-stone. In Persian words, too, it is occasionally interchanged with و and in such as are borrowed or derived from the Sanskrit, it is frequently substituted for the Nāgarī letter व.
