[hahm-zah] 
| the sign used in Arabic writing to represent the glottal stop, usually written above another letter and shown in English transliterations as an apostrophe. |
| ham·za also ham·zah (hām'zə, häm'zä) n. A sign in Arabic orthography used to represent the sound of a glottal stop, transliterated in English as an apostrophe. [Arabic, from hamaza, to urge on, goad; see hmz in Semitic roots.] |