ꜥꜣ

Etymology 1

Adverb

1. here
2. (less common) there

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥꜣ  

ꜥꜣ	ꜥꜣy

See also

Old Egyptian demonstratives

	determiners						pronouns1	adverbs
number	singular		dual		plural		unmarked
gender	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine	unmarked
proximal	pn	tn, jtn	jpnj	jptnj	jpn	jptn	nn	—
distal	pf	tf	jpfj	jptfj	jpf	jptf	nf	—
proximal	pj, pw, py, p	tj, tw, jtw	jpwj	jptwj	jpw	jptw	nw	—
vocative	pꜣ	tꜣ	—	—	—	—	nꜣ	ꜥꜣ
Unmarked for number and gender, but treated syntactically as masculine plurals when used with participles and relative forms, and as feminine singulars when referred to by resumptive pronouns.

Middle Egyptian demonstratives

	determiners and pronouns			adverbs
number	singular		plural1
gender	masculine	feminine	unmarked
proximal	pn	tn	nn	ꜥn
distal	pf, pfꜣ	tf, tfꜣ	nf, nfꜣ	ꜥf
‘copula’; vocative	pw, pwy	tw, twy	nw	—
anaphoric	pꜣ	tꜣ	nꜣ	ꜥꜣ
Joined by n(j) to nouns they modify.

Late Egyptian demonstratives and articles

	masculine	feminine	plural		adverb
pronoun	pꜣw				dj
determiners and pronouns	pꜣj	tꜣj	nꜣj
possessive determiners (used with suffix pronouns)	pꜣy	tꜣy	nꜣy
relational pronouns (‘possessive prefixes’)	p-n, pꜣ	t-nt, tꜣ	nꜣyw, nꜣ
definite articles	pꜣ	tꜣ	nꜣ1
indefinite articles	wꜥ1		nhꜣy1
Originally joined by n(j) to nouns they modify; later without it.

Etymology 2

perfective active participle of ꜥꜣj (“to be great”)

Adjective

1. big
2. great, important
   • 12th Dynasty, The Stela of Nakhti, BM EA 143:

     wsjr nb ḏdw nṯr ꜥꜣ […]

     Osiris, Lord of Djedu, the great god […]

Inflection

Declension of ꜥꜣ (perfective active participle)

	masculine	feminine
singular	ꜥꜣ	ꜥꜣt
dual	ꜥꜣwj	ꜥꜣtj
plural	ꜥꜣw	ꜥꜣwt1, ꜥꜣt2
Archaic in Middle Egyptian when modifying a noun. From Middle Egyptian, this feminine singular form was generally used for the plural. In Late Egyptian, the masculine singular form was used with all nouns.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥꜣ  

ꜥꜣ

Synonyms

• wr

Derived terms

Terms derived from ꜥꜣ

pr ꜥꜣ nṯr ꜥꜣ

rkḥ-ꜥꜣ ḥwt-ꜥꜣt

Noun

 m

1. greatness

Inflection

Declension of ꜥꜣ (masculine)

singular	ꜥꜣ
dual	ꜥꜣwj
plural	ꜥꜣw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥꜣ  

ꜥꜣ

Derived terms

• m ꜥꜣ (“boastfully”)

Etymology 3

Possibly onomatopoeic, from the animal’s cry (hee-haw).

Noun

 m

1. ass, donkey

Inflection

Declension of ꜥꜣ (masculine)

singular	ꜥꜣ
dual	ꜥꜣwj
plural	ꜥꜣw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥꜣ  

ꜥꜣ

Derived terms

• ꜥꜣt (“female donkey”)

Descendants

• Demotic: ꜥꜣ
  • Coptic: ⲉⲓⲱ (eiō) – Sahidic, Lycopolitan, ⲓⲱ (iō) – Sahidic, Bohairic, Fayyumic, ⲉⲱ (eō) – Sahidic, Bohairic, ⲉⲉⲓⲱ (eeiō) – Sahidic, ⲉⲓⲟⲩ (eiou) – Sahidic, ⲉⲟⲩ (eou) – Sahidic, ⲓⲟⲩ (iou) – Akhmimic, ⲓⲁⲱ (iaō) – Sahidic, Bohairic

Etymology 4

Noun

 m

1. doorleaf, single door
2. (in the dual) double door

Inflection

Declension of ꜥꜣ (masculine)

singular	ꜥꜣ
dual	ꜥꜣwj
plural	ꜥꜣw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥꜣ  

ꜥꜣ	ꜥꜣ	ꜥꜣ	ꜥꜣ	ꜥꜣ

Derived terms

Terms derived from ꜥꜣ

jrj-ꜥꜣ (“door-keeper”)

ꜥꜣwj-r (“double door”)

Etymology 5

Noun

 m

1. column, pillar
2. part of a ship (the mast?)

Inflection

Declension of ꜥꜣ (masculine)

singular	ꜥꜣ
dual	ꜥꜣwj
plural	ꜥꜣw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥꜣ  

ꜥꜣ

References

• Hoch, James (1997) Middle Egyptian Grammar, Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN, page 41
• Allen, James (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, revised second edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 457