mw
Egyptian
Etymology
From Proto-Afroasiatic *maʔ-; compare Proto-Semitic *māy-. A frozen plural, with an original root *m or *mj, the latter of which is supported by the phonetic use of the hieroglyph to write nmjw (“dwarf”).
Pronunciation
- (reconstructed) IPA(key): /maw/ → /maw/ → /maw/[1]
- (modern Egyptological) IPA(key): /muː/
- Conventional anglicization: mu
Noun
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m
- water
- c. 1900 BCE, The Instructions of Kagemni (pPrisse/pBN 183) lines 1.5–1.6:
- jw jkn n(j) mw ꜥḫm.f jbt jw mḥ{t}⟨w⟩ r(ꜣ) m šww smn.f jb
- For a cup of water quenches thirst, for a mouthful of šww-herbs makes the heart firm.
- rain
- sea, lake
- semen
- c. 1550 BCE – 1295 BCE, Great Hymn to Osiris (Stela of Amenmose, Louvre C 286) lines 16–17:
- sṯzt nnw n(j) wrd(w)-jb ḫnpt mw.f jrt jwꜥw šdt nḫn m wꜥꜥw nj rḫ bw.f jm bst sw ꜥ.f nḫtw m ẖnw wsḫt gbb
- who raised the limpness of the weary-hearted, who took in his water (semen), who made an heir, who suckled the child in solitude where his location was unknown, who introduced him when his arm grew strong into the hall of Geb.
- fluid
- c. 2000 BCE – 1800 BCE, Coffin Texts, version B1C (coffin of Sepi III, Cairo CG 28083) spell 755:[2]
- wrḏ ꜥwt m ws(j)r nj wrḏ zpwj snwj nj ḥwꜣ.sn ꜣd.sn nj [bn.sn nj][3] jr mw ḏw
- The limbs in Osiris are weary, but won’t be weary, won’t be weary, they won’t putrefy or decay, [they] won’t [swell up, won’t] make foul fluid (literally, “evil water”).
Inflection
Declension of mw (masculine a-stem)
| singular | mw |
|---|---|
| dual | mwwj |
| plural | mww |
Alternative forms
Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mw
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| myw | mwj | mw | mw | mw | myw | mwjw | mꜥꜣy |
Derived terms
(mwj, “to be watery”)
Descendants
- Demotic: mw
- Akhmimic Coptic: ⲙⲁⲟⲩ (maou)
- Bohairic Coptic: ⲙⲱⲟⲩ (mōou)
- → Egyptian Arabic: امبو (ʾumbū)
- Fayyumic Coptic: ⲙⲁⲩ (mau)
- Sahidic Coptic: ⲙⲟⲟⲩ (moou)
References
- Faulkner, Raymond (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN
- Takács, Gábor (1999–2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, →ISBN
- Loprieno, Antonio (1995) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 12, 44
- de Buck, Adriaan (1956) The Egyptian Coffin Texts, volume VI, page 384 i–l
- Faulkner, Raymond (1977) The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, volume 2, pages 288–289
Indonesian
Verb
mw
- (text messaging) Abbreviation of mau.