A preformative, which can be -ה "ha-", -א "a-" or -ש "ša-", creates the C-stem or variously the Hap̄‘el, Ap̄‘el or Šap̄‘el (also spelt הפעל Haph‘el, אפעל Aph‘el and שפעל Shaph‘el). This is often an extensive or causative development of the basic lexical meaning. For example, טעה "ṭə‘â" means "he went astray", whereas אטעי "aṭ‘î" means "he deceived". The Šap̄‘el שפעל is the least common variant of the C-stem. Because this variant is standard in Akkadian, it is possible that its use in Aramaic represents loanwords from that language. The difference between the variants הפעל Hap̄‘el and אפעל Ap̄‘el appears to be the gradual dropping of the initial ה "h" sound in later Old Aramaic. This is noted by the respelling of the older he preformative with א aleph.