ASCII Character ة

Taw, tav, or taf is the twenty-second and last letter of the Semitic abjads, including the Arabic alphabet. Taw is believed to be derived from the Egyptian hieroglyph representing a tally mark (viz. a decussate cross). An alternative form called tāʼ marbūṭa (ـَة, ة) (تَاءْ مَرْبُوطَة), "bound tāʼ ") is used at the end of words to mark feminine gender for nouns and adjectives. Regular tāʼ, to distinguish it from tāʼ marbūṭa, is referred to as tāʼ maftūḥa (تَاءْ مَفْتُوحَة, "open tāʼ").