Etymology

              [Editorial note: [...] indicates use of text in languages such as Coptic, Arabic, Hebrew, Babylonian, and Greek. Original script is available for viewing in the PDF format of this article.]

(CE:A118a-A124b)

ETYMOLOGY. The Coptic language comprises an autochthonous vocabulary (see VOCABULARY OF EGYPTIAN ORIGIN and VOCABULARY OF SEMITIC ORIGIN) with an overlay of several heterogeneous strata (see VOCABULARY, COPTO-GREEK and VOCABULARY, COPTO-ARABIC). As a rule, etymologic research in Coptology is limited to the autochthonous vocabulary. Etymology (from Greek etymos, true, and logos, word) is the account of the origin, the meaning, and the phonetics of a word over the course of time and the comparison of it with cognate or similar terms.

In Coptic the basic vocabulary, as well as the morphology of the language, is of Egyptian origin. Egyptian shares many words and all its morphology (grammatical forms) with the Semitic languages.

Egyptian is transcribed with an alphabet of twenty-four letters in the following order: [...], [...], ‘, w, b, p, f, m, n, r, h, [...], [...], [...], z, s, [...], [...] (sometimes transcribed q), k, g, t, [...], d, [...]. All these letters represent consonants. The sign [...] is the glottal stop heard at the commencement of German words beginning with a vowel (die Oper) or Hebrew aleph; [...] is y in “yes,” but sometimes pronounced like aleph; ‘ is called ‘ayin, as in Hebrew, the emphatic correspondent to aleph (cf. Arabic ‘Abdallah); h is the English h; [...] is an emphatic h, as in Arabic Mu[...]ammad; is the Scotch ch in loch; [...] is like German ch in ich (between [...] and [...]), and nearly like English h in human; [...] is English sh in “ship”; [...] is ch in English “child”; and [...] is English j in ‘joke.”

The group [...]  is pronounced y. There is no particular sign for l; this sound is transcribed [...], r, n, or nr. Late Egyptian uses the sign of a lion (rw) for l. There are no vowels written in Egyptian, but the original pronounciation may be reconstructed to some extent by the insertion of the Coptic vowels and by comparative studies. Thus, Egyptian [...], man, which is B [...] and S [...], is reconstructed [...] and was probably pronounced [...] which is the form of a participle, as Egyptian Arabic [...]l (classical Arabic [...]).

Egyptian shares many words with the Semitic languages, including Akkadian (Assyrian in northern Mesopotamia, Babylonian in southern Mesopotamia), Hebrew (language of the Bible), Aramaic (language of Jesus Christ), Arabic (language of the Qur’an), and Ethiopian (language of Menelik, the legendary son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, founder of the Ethiopian dynasty), among others.

Egyptologists pronounce Egyptian words by inserting e between the consonants: [...], to hear, is sejem; ptr, to look, is peter. The letters 3 and ‘ are pronounced a; is [...]; and w may be pronounced as u. Thus, [...], to hide, becomes hap; [...], to live, is ankh; [...] ny, to bring, is ini; and mw, water, is mu. [...], the name of the builder of the Great Pyramid, becomes Khufu or, more often, Cheops, as the Greeks rendered it. This system provides an artificial pronunciation as a practical means to read an Egyptian text, but not the true phonetic value of the words.

The meaning of Egyptian words shows that the primitive vocabulary of the language was to a large extent identical with that of Semitic tongues: for example, [...] b (Arabic lubb), heart; sp.t (Arabic [...]), lip; [...] dn (Arabic 3udn), ear; ls, written ns, but B, S las (Arabic lisan), tongue; d, hand, as value of the hand hieroglyph (Arabic yad); [...], to suckle (Arabic tady, woman’s breast); [...] (Arabic [...]), finger; [...], gazelle (Arabic [...], gazelle); [...] (Arabic [...]), ape; z3b (Arabic di3b), jackal; [...] (Arabic sab‘- a), seven; ws[...] (Arabic wasi‘) to be wide; [...] wn (Arabic lawn), color; [...]isb (Arabic hasab), to calculate; mwt (Arabic mat, yamat : mawt), to die; [...] (Arabic [...], [...] : [...]), to be hot.

There are also many words in Egyptian that are not found in any Semitic language. One might suppose that they belong to the African substratum of the language. Examples of such words are [...] n‘, chin; [...], nose; [...], belly; [...] nm, skin, hide; 3bw, elephant; mmy, giraffe; mz , crocodile; t3, turtle; mnw, dove; bny, date (fruit); t, wood; m ‘, flax; mdw, to speak; wnm, to eat; zwr, to drink; msy, to sit; w‘b, to be pure; [...] b3, to dance; w m, to repeat; and hdb, to kill.

The grammatical elements of Egyptian correspond to those of the Semitic languages. The original form of some of them has been reconstructed, such as –a.t, ending of feminine nouns; -u (not written in ancient texts, later indicated by -w), ending of the masculine plural; -ay (written -y), ending of the dual; iy (written -y) adjective ending (cf. Arabic -iy as in ‘arab-iy, Arabic; hind-iy, Indian; turk-iy, Turkish). The endings of the personal pronouns resemble those of Semitic (particularly of Akkadian), with the sole exception of -f (probably -fi) for the pronoun of the third-person masculine singular “his.” The verbal prefix s- (pronounced sa-) forms causative verbs, as w‘b, to be pure, s-w‘b (*saw‘ab), to purify, also written s-‘b ([...]); compare this with the causative prefix [...] in Babylonian, sa- (Assyrian). The prefix m- (with different vowels) forms names of place (nomina loci), names of instruments (nomina instrumenti), and passive participles, as in m-hr, low-lying land, from hr, under; [...], balance, from [...], weigh; m- tm.t, closed receptacle, from [...], to close, to seal; [...], dung (cf. S [...];  *[...], ancient *[...])

The position of Egyptian thus resembles that of Mbugu, a language spoken in Tanzania combining Bantu grammar with a largely non Bantu vocabulary. In Mbugu “finger” is ki-tshaa (plural, vi-ts/aa); in Bantu it is ki-dole (plural, vi-dole). The grammatical prefixes ki- (singular) and vi- (plural) are alike, but the words for “finger,” -tshaa in Mbugu and -dole in Bantu (Swahili), are different. The specific Mbugu words derive from Somali, Iraqw, or other, still unknown languages (Tucker and Bryan, 1974).

Terminology

Coptic dialects are cited according to the system devised by Kasser (1980a-b, 1981): A is Akhmimic; B is Bohairic; F is Fayyumic; L is Lycopolitan or Lyco-Diospolitan; M is Mesokemic; S is Sahidic; and (not a dialect) O is Old Coptic.

“Radicals” are, as in the Semitic languages, the stem consonants of a word. Egyptian wn, to open, is a biradical verb, and sdm, to hear, a triradical one. The radicals of a word are called a “skeleton”: the skeleton of B, S [...], to choose, is stp. “Emphatic” as a phonetic term means articulated with an action of the tongue toward the soft palate combined with a contraction of the vocal cords. As a grammatical term, “emphatic” means a durative or repeated action, an action carried out by several subjects or on several objects. B [...], to do continually, is the emphatic form of B [...], to do.

Egyptian reconstructed forms are preceded by an asterisk: *nátir god; *natar-a.t, goddess; *sadim to hear; *[...] to be strong. Still older forms take a small circle: °sadm, to hear; [...], to be strong. Archaic forms are preceded by quotation marks: “sadm-u, to hear; [...], to be strong.

Periods of the Egyptian Language

The development of the Egyptian language comprises four main periods:

Proto-Egyptian (4000—3000 B.C.). Prehistoric civilizations of Amra (Negada I), Gerza (Negada II), Merimda, etc. Formation of the Egyptian language. No written documents.

Ancient Egyptian. Language of the Old Kingdom (approximately 3000-2100 B.C.). Short inscriptions, religious and biographic texts. The Pyramids, the most famous of which are those of Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren), and Menkure (Mykerinos), at Giza (2545-2457). Pyramid texts, beginning with Unas (Onnos) (2310-2290).

Middle Egyptian. Classical period of the Egyptian language, mainly during the Twelfth Dynasty (seven kings, called Amenemhet or Sesostris) (1991-1785 B.C.). After this dynasty, decline, invasion of the Hyksos (1650-1553 B.C.). The classical language remains in use for religious texts until the Roman period.

Late Egyptian, also called New Egyptian. Mainly the language of the Eighteenth Dynasty (kings named Thutmose and Amenophis, and queen named Hatshepsut or Ha-shpeswe) and the Nineteenth Dynasty. Late Egyptian shows more affinity with Coptic than the preceding periods of the language: definite and indefinite article, beginning of the analytic verbal forms. The Twenty-second Dynasty is Libyan (kings named Osorkon, Shoshenk, Takelot; 946-720); the Twenty-fifth Dynasty is from Kush, capital at Napata in Nubia, with small pointed pyramids (Shabako, Sebichos, Taharka; 713—655). Invasion of the Assyrians, then Persian domination (Cambyses, Darius I, Xerxes I, Darius II; 525-404) and, after a short period of independence, a second Persian domination (Artaxerxes III, Darius III; 342-332).

History of Coptic Etymology

The first attempts to establish the relations between Coptic and other languages were made by Ignazio Rossi (1808) before the decipherment of the hieroglyphs by Jean-François Champollion in 1823. Rossi, who was an excellent Semitist, compared Coptic words with related expressions in Semitic (Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic), Latin, and Greek. The correspondence of S, B las, tongue, to Hebrew [...] and Arabic lisan was first noted by him.

The fundamental work was done by Champollion, whose Grammaire égyptienne (1836-1841) contains hundreds of etymologies. He even transcribed Egyptian words not with the Latin but with the Coptic alphabet. As the Egyptians wrote no vowels, the Egyptian form is often shorter than the Coptic one: Egyptian rn, but Coptic ran, name.

Champollion’s successors transcribed Egyptian words with Latin letters, a system that was several times modified. The system presently used is the transcription system of the Berlin Wörterbuch (Erman and Grapow, 1926-1931), with the sole exception of the sibilants (s voiced = z, [...] voiceless = s). Spiegelberg’s Koptisches Handwörterbuch (1921) groups together all the then available etymologies. It is arranged in three columns. The first column contains the Coptic words and forms according to the different dialects (Old Coptic and four dialects: A, B, F, S); the second, the meaning, as well as the constructions and compositions; and the third, the hieroglyphic or demotic prototypes. So B [...] (masc.), giant (plural, [...]) is derived from Egyptian ‘3pp, Apophis dragon, in hieroglyphic script with the specific determinative (dragon with many twistings, each twisting cut by a knife).

Though Westendorf’s Koptisches Handwörterbuch (1977) is just called a dictionary, it contains all the etymologies known at that time. It is far richer and more exact than Spiegelberg’s work and distinguishes Old Coptic and five Coptic dialects (A, B, F, A2, S). Etymologies are given in Egyptian, demotic, Semitic languages (Akkadian, Hebrew, Aramaic, Arabic, etc.), and African languages (Nubian, Berber, Bedauye, etc.) as well as in European languages.

Jaroslav Cerny’s Coptic Etymological Dictionary (1976) contains many new etymologies. The author was a well-known specialist in Late Egyptian and demotic. Exploring the countless works of early Egyptologists in order to find out who had first succeeded in identifying the ancient Egyptian or demotic ancestor of a Coptic word, Cerny added Dévaud’s notes to his own material. His guiding principle was to adopt only etymologies that he considered certain, probable, or at least possible.

Vycichl’s Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue copte (1983) is mainly concerned with the phonetic and semantic changes that Coptic words have undergone during their history. Thus, B [...], and S [...], water, comes from Egyptian mw, which derives from the skeleton m-w-y, also found in all Semitic languages. S, B [...], brother, is not considered a biradical noun (*san), but a triradical one (*sany-aw). So is S [...], day, deriving from *harw-aw later *ha3w-aw (cf. plural A [...] from [...]). Reconstruction of the Egyptian prototypes of Coptic words: S [...], god: *[...] S [...] (fem.), goddess: *[...] a so-called “internal” feminine (vowel change [...]:[...] as in Ethiopian t’abib, wise, t’abbab [fem.]). Etymologies include Egyptian, Semitic, African, and some Greek and Latin.

Egyptian and Coptic Forms

Autochthonous Coptic words derive from Egyptian prototypes written in hieroglyphic script, as a rule without vowels. Coptic vowels help to reconstruct the ancient forms. Thus, B, S [...], name, corresponds to Egyptian rn (written without vowel). But the primitive form was, it is now known, not *ran but *rin as ancient i developed in closed syllables into a (cf. VOCABULARY OF SEMITIC ORIGIN). A comparison of some Egyptian and Coptic forms follows:

[See PDF version of this article for table.]

Sethe (1899, pp. 16-18) combined in his “Verbum” the Egyptian consonants and the Coptic vowels. This procedure allowed a better understanding of the primitive word forms. It must, however, be borne in mind that there may be a gap of more than three thousand years between the consonants and the vowels. The structure of the above words can be represented as follows: [...] re.t, eye; d re.t, hand; [...], Egypt; [...], to give birth; [...], woman; [...], to be strong; [...], man; son, brother; [...], sister; [...], blood.

Long and Short Vowels: a and a

Sethe discovered that there was a relation between vowel quantity and syllable structure—stressed vowels were long in open syllables and short in closed ones, thus:

[See PDF version of this article for table.]

B [...] is “to kill” and B [...] is “he killed him.” B [...] has a long o in an open syllable, and B [...] is a short one in a closed one. The vowels o and w derive from ancient a-sounds, as can be seen from cuneiform transcriptions of the Middle Babylonian period (before 1000 B.C.).

As a matter of fact, most of the examples quoted are more complicated to explain than they seem at first glance. Here one must just mention that the radicals of [...] r.t, Kmt, and sn were not simply [...] r, km, sn but [...] ry, kmm, and sny. [...] does not derive from *son, ancient *san but from *sanyaw and so on.

The i-Vowels

Another correspondence of short and long vowels is found in the following cases:

(a) short a: long [...]:

(b)
[See PDF version of this article for table.]

(b) short a: long [...]:

Ins.t-f, to give him birth:
[See PDF version of this article for table.]

Tentative reconstructions: *[...], thy face, and *[...] your face; *nak, to thee, and *[...] to you; *nemmák with thee, and *[...] with you; *más-tef to give him birth, and *m - set to give birth; *rán name, and *[...] his name; *táz-tef to lift him, and *[...] to lift.

The difference between [...] = [...] and [...] = [...] has to be explained, as both vowels stand in open syllables. [...] = [...] derives from ancient [...], as in the ending of the nisba-adjectives, while [...] = [...], equally long, was primarily a short vowel and but secondarily lengthened in open syllables.

There is no doubt that the vowel was primarily not a, as ancient a is represented by o in closed syllables and by [...] in open ones. It is now known that the primitive vowel was (1) long i, (2) short i. It was a long i as in the ending of the nisba-adjectives: [...], heart: S [...]; [...], his heart: S [...] (cf. Arabic ending [...]). On the other hand, S [...], pitch, derives from *[...] ancient form zift (cf. Arabic zift). The Egyptian word zft is not attested, but is found in Berber languages, for example, Kabyle ti-zeft, pitch (Algeria), from ancient *ta-zift (ta- former definite article, with metaphony ti-).

The u-Vowels

The vowels corresponding to ancient u were more difficult to detect, but it is certain that S, B [...], ten, corresponds to cuneiform mu-tu. The real pronunciation of the u in this word must have been ö as in German höflich, eu as in French feu, or ir as in British bird. Another case of an ancient u is found in the word for “woman,” [...] (plural, *[...]), cf. S [...] (plural, [...]). The in the singular was pronounced like ü in German für and u in French pur. Another good example is S [...], oven (cf. Akkadian tin [...], from * [...] or sim.). Rmy-y.t, tear, is S [...], the plural of which is [...] with o and, in A, [...] with e, probably an old ö (short). These examples show that u-vowels can be represented in Coptic by [...], [...], [...], and [...].

Semantic Changes

In many cases, the meaning of a word changes in the course of time; thus, B [...] and S [...], which always appear without an article as a proper noun to mean “hell,” derive from Egyptian [...] mn.t-y.t (probably *[...]) west, where the sun sets, site of the underworld, the empire of the deceased, the realm of Osiris, judge of souls. In Coptic the word is employed in the Christian sense of “hell.” In Egyptian [...] mn signifies “right, dexter” and “western,” while [...] 3b.t-y is “left, sinister” and “eastern”: the Egyptians looked southward to take their bearings.

Old Coptic bai, [...], and S, B [...], night raven (nycticorax) or screech owl, derive from Egyptian b3 (probably *bi3, then [...]) soul, represented by the hieroglyph of the jabiru (Mycteria ephppiorhynchus senegalensis), a big storklike bird now found in the Sudan and recognizable by his wattles. This notion of “soul” was so closely connected with Egyptian paganism that the word was replaced in Christian times by S, B [...] (as in Greek), traditionally pronounced [...].

B [...], S [...] (fem.), Egypt, always without a definite article, is related to B [...], S [...], become black. Thus, Egypt is the “black one,” that is, the “black land,” so called after the black Nile mud of the inundation, as opposed to [...], the “red one” or “the red land,” meaning the desert. The radicals of the verb were k-m- m, and B [...] or S [...] derives from the adjective *kumm-a. t or *kömm-a.t then *Köm-a.t (fem.), black. The name of the desert was probably *[...] (fem.), red.

B [...], S [...] (masc.), ear, derives from Egyptian m-sdr, ear, from the verb sdr, to sleep, because it is on the ear that one sleeps. M-sdr employs the prefix m, which is used to signify place (nomina loci), as in Semitic languages (Arabic maktab, office, from katab, he wrote). The primitive word for “ear” still occurs in the Coffin Texts as [...] dn (cf. Arabic ’udn, Hebrew ’ózen, Aramaic ’edn-a).

B, S [...], perhaps, comes from Egyptian [...], thou dost not know, later pronounced m(w) [...].

B [...], S [...], good (adj.), derives from Egyptian nfr, beautiful, good. The word is written with the hieroglyph for “the heart and the windpipe” (Gardiner, 1927, p. 465, Sign list F 36). Horapollon, a Greek author who wrote a book on hieroglyphs, explains the sign as kardía and pharynx (Hieroglyphica 2.4). The author is not sure that Gardiner’s translation is correct. In Greek, kardía signifies the “heart” or “the upper opening of the stomach,” and pharynx, “esophagus” or “windpipe.” Gardiner’s translation is improbable, as there is in fact no connection between the heart and the wind-pipe, while “esophagus” and “(upper opening of) stomach” makes good sense. In spite of this, it is possible that nfr may have meant “windpipe” too because a similar word is found in Arabic, nafir meaning “trumpet,” this latter term being related to Akkadian nipru, which means “offshoot, sprout” or “descendant, son.” Nfr primarily meant “young”; note nfr-w adolescents, and nfr.t, maiden; in Berber (Shilha, southwestern Morocco) bä1b, beautiful, come from Arabic . [...], youth.

B [...] and S [...] derive from *[...] *[...] (verbal adjective = present participle). One might expect B *[...] and S *[...] but the vowel ([...] instead of [...]) is due to postnasalization. The feminine form is B nofri or S nofre, advantage, from [...], then *nafr-a.t (neutral meaning of the feminine form).

B [...], S [...] (masc.), temple, today birba in Egyptian Arabic (plural, barabi), derives from r3-pr or, more exactly, from *r3pr(y.t) door of coming out (i. e. the “false door” of Egyptian mastabas representing the deceased coming out of his tomb to receive the offerings brought by his relatives). The verbal noun B -pei, S -pe is the regular form of *pirya.t, coming out, later pronounced *pis3ya.t. Coptic has two forms: (1) B [...], S [...] from *[...] (2) S [...] from *pirya.t where the r has been reconstituted by analogy. The original meaning of the word is “funerary temple” with a “false door,” and not the [...], god’s house.

S, B [...], yes, derives from Egyptian s.t, it (neuter pronoun), probably derived from sy (*siya), she. One may compare Provençal oc, yes, in southern France from Latin hoc, that one. Also French oui, yes, derives from hoc illud or a similar form (Dauzat, 1938, p. 520).

B [...], S [...] (masc.), priest, comes from Egyptian w‘b, priest, from w‘b, to be pure, which equals S, B [...] from [...], *wa‘áb The [...] priests were the lower priests and the [...], god’s servant, was a “prophet.” B [...] and S [...] are Christian priests, while B, S [...] is but a pagan priest.

B [...] S [...] (fem.), right hand (noun), right, dexter (adj.), is from the old verb wnm, to eat, which is in Coptic B, S [...]. The primitive meaning of the word was the “eating hand” as opposed to the left hand, which was used for unclean purposes. There are two different nominal forms in Coptic: B [...] derives from an emphatic participle [...], then *wanním while S [...] derives from a simple participle [...], then *waním, eating (hand). There are many African languages that call the right hand the “eating hand,” such as Logone zëmi, right, from zëm, to eat, Fulani dyungo nyamo, eating hand (i.e., the right hand), Ewhe [...], right hand (literally, the hand [si] that eats [[...]] something [nu]), Swahili mkono wa kulia, right hand (literally, hand of eating).

B [...], S [...], poor (adj), derives from Egyptian r, to be hungry, which is B, S [...]. A “hungry man” is a “poor man.” In Egyptian Arabic one finds the same idea: nas [...], hungry people, are the “poor” and nas ab‘anin, satiated people, are the “rich.” The form [...] stands for [...] ([...]).

B [...], S [...] (masc.), horse, comes from Egyptian [...], which primarily means a “yoke of oxen,” from [...], to fix, to attach; compare Arabic hatar, to tighten (a knot, etc.). After the Hyksos period, [...] signifies also a pair of horses and even a horse. The radicals of the word were [...], then [...], hence B [...]. An older form, [...], has been kept in Beja, a Hamitic language spoken between the Nile Valley and the Red Sea, as [...].

Some Examples of Phonetic Changes

Influence of [...], ‘, [...], [...], [...]. The preceding short vowel is always a, as in S [...], to bring up, nourish, Egyptian [...], to make live ([...]); compare S [...], to erect, Egyptian *sadwan, to make stretch (s-dwn, then s-wdn, with metathesis).

Nasalization. In most cases the groups [...] and [...] are replaced in Coptic by [...] and [...]. This is due to the nasalizing influence of m and n in an earlier Period of the language, as in Vai, a language now spoken in Liberia. In many languages, nasalized [...] ecomes o, as in Provençal femo, wife, and vaco, cow, from Latin feminam (acc.) and vaccam (acc.). The intermediary forms were *[...] * vac [...], or sim. In Coptic, exceptions are rare, among them S [...] door post, from Egyptian *[...] (fem.), carrier; and the S ending  [...], you, as in [...] you (acc.).

Influence of Final -r. In most cases late Egyptian [...] corresponds in Coptic, not, as one might expect, [...], but to [...], as in S [...], to be quiet, from [...]; compare B [...], to be quiet, qual. B [...], from [...], then [...]. Exceptions due to dialectic influences include S [...], Horus; S [...], house, in S [...], roof (literally, head of house); and verbal nouns such as S [...], to display, spread out.

Influence of Final [...]. In Bohairic, sometimes also in other dialects, final [...] and [...] are replaced by [...] and [...] with long and open vowels, here transcribed and [...] and [...], as in S [...], B [...], to reach, arrive, qual. S [...], B [...].

Influence of w and y in Diphthongs.

S [...], to me = nay: B [...] = ney (with short e)

S [...], sign = mayn: B [...] = meyni (with short e)

S [...], way = [...]: B [...] = moyt (with short o)

S [...], water = [...]: B [...] = mow (with short o)

Note that final [...] remains unchanged: S [...], to me = [...] = B [...] = [...] (with [...] = short open o). The case of S [...], day, is different. This word derives from Egyptian harwaw (written hrw), then ha3waw. In this case, a and w were not in direct contact and therefore B [...] (probably [...], to + B [...]) = phon. ho3w.

Change from n to y. The group ns or [...] may be replaced by ys or [...], as in S [...] = S [...], from Egyptian , usually translated “house of life” but probably “house of documents.” Also, S [...], Ahnas (nomina loci); compare modern Ahnasiya al- Madina, the ancient [...]w.t nn Ny-sw.t, House of the Prince, Assyrian cuneiform ([...]) [...] = phon. [...] then [...] = [...] = S [...].

Metathesis (Change of Position: AB:BA). Examples are Egyptian *sadwan, to make stretch, then *sawdan = S [...], to erect, “ridy-u-fi, his foot, then °rid(y)-u-f = S [...] his foot. But A [...], his foot, derives from °riyd-u-f = [...] and the variant A [...], from °ridy-u-f, °ridd-u-f, then *ri3d-u-f.

Diphthong development in Coptic feminine and plural forms. B [...] (masc.), camel, B [...] (fem.), she-camel, B [...], bond, fetter, plural, cnauh. B [...], (masc.), falcon, had a feminine form *bayki; compare the feminine proper noun Thbaikhis ([...]) in Greek. The plural of S [...], god, Egyptian [...], is S [...] and [...], from [...].

The Group tr After Stressed Vowels. Examples of the development of Egyptian tr, rr, 3r follow:

[...] trw, canal: B [...], S [...]

mtr.t, noon: B [...], S [...]

ptr-f, to see him: B [...], S [...]

Reconstruction: *yatraw, then *yarraw (written yrw in the Eighteenth Dynasty), then *ya3raw or sim., *mitr-a.t, then *mirr-a.t then *mi3r-a.t, *patr-u-f, then *parr=u-f, *pa3r=u-f, or sim. B [...], S [...], to dream, is a reconstitution after *patr- the status pronominalis.

[See also: VOCABULARY, AFRICAN CONTACTS WITH AUTOCHTHONOUS COPTIC: VOCABULARY, COPTO-ARABIC; VOCABULARY, COPTO-GREEK; VOCABULARY, CUNEIFORM TRANSCRIPTIONS OF PROTOTYPES OF AUTOCHTHONOUS COPTIC; VOCABULARY OF EGYPTIAN ORIGIN, AUTOCHTHONOUS COPTIC; VOCABULARY OF SEMITIC ORIGIN, AUTOCHTHONOUS COPTIC.]

WERNER VYCICHL