Wāw rubba takes its name from the letter
wāw, with which the word
wa ('and') is written, and the word
rubba (), meaning 'many'; thus the phrase
wāw rubba means 'the
wāw of many, the
wāw equivalent in meaning to
rubba'. This name arises from the supposition that the
wāw functions like the word
rubba, and moreover that this usage originated through phrases like
wa-rubba rajulin (, 'and many a man') from which the word
rubba was elided. However, in practice
wāw rubba does not necessarily denote a multitude, nor is there evidence for extensive use of the sequence
wa-rubba as opposed to
rubba appearing on its own. While still conventional, then, the term
wāw rubba can be viewed as a
misnomer. ==References==