nw
See also: NW, nW, Nw., and .nw
Egyptian
Pronunciation
- (modern Egyptological) IPA(key): /nuː/
- Conventional anglicization: nu
For the noun:
- (reconstructed) IPA(key): /ˈnuwwuw/ → /ˈnuwwuw/ → /nøww/
Pronoun
proximal, later copular demonstrative pronoun
- (Old Egyptian) this, that
- (Middle Egyptian, formal) O (vocative reference)
Usage notes
This demonstrative is a pronoun, and so does not directly modify nouns. In Middle Egyptian it becomes used as a demonstrative for plural nouns in place of the old adjectives jpw and jptw and comes to serve as a plural definite article. When used in this way, it precedes the noun, with the genitival adjective n(j) in between, e.g. "these feet" is nw n(j) rdw (literally "this of feet").
In Old Egyptian it forms a contrastive pair with the demonstrative pronoun nf, in which nw is proximal.
Inflection
Old Egyptian demonstratives
determiners | pronouns1 | adverbs | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
number | singular | dual | plural | unmarked | ||||
gender | masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine | unmarked | |
proximal to speaker | pn | tn, jtn | jpnj | jptnj | jpn | jptn | nn | — |
distal | pf | tf | jpfj | jptfj | jpf | jptf | nf | — |
proximal to spoken of | pj, pw, py, p | tj, tw, jtw | jpwj | jptwj | jpw | jptw | nw | — |
vocative | pꜣ | tꜣ | — | — | — | — | nꜣ | ꜥꜣ |
|
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 | ||
|
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 | ||||
|
Contraction
- Contraction of nj wj.
Alternative forms
Alternative hieroglyphic writings of nw
nw |
Noun
m
- (moment of) time
Inflection
Declension of nw (masculine)
singular | nw |
---|---|
dual | nwwj |
plural | nww |
Derived terms
- zy nw
Verb
- The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
- (transitive) to hunt
References
- James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, 72, 381 page 54–55, 72, 381.
- Faulkner, Raymond (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN
- Loprieno, Antonio (1995) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN