Hangul Syllable Saes

It has no stable meaning on its own; read the whole word.

In 샛길 it forms part of a Korean word for an in-between path or small side road; 사잇길 is given as an earlier form. “Between” helps explain that word, but does not translate 샛 everywhere.

The same syllable appears in 샛별, the Korean name for the morning star, and 샛바람, an east wind. A 2011 survey of regional Korean speech records 샛바람 as a seafaring term for that wind.

Why does 샛별 not mean “new star”?

Because 샛별 is a compound name; 새 별 means “a new star.”

In 샛별, 새 has an older dawn-related sense and 별 means “star.” Hangul groups letters into syllable blocks, so the connecting ㅅ appears at the end of 샛. Korean calls this connecting ㅅ 사이시옷.

The compound appears in Middle Korean, an earlier stage of the language, in the 1447 court poetry collection 용비어천가 (“Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven”) as 새〯별〯. A spelling recorded in the 19th century, 새, placed the connecting consonant between the parts; modern 샛별 writes it at the end of the first syllable without changing the sound.