sw

See also: SW, Sw, Sw., św., and šw

Translingual

Symbol

sw

(international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Swahili.

Egyptian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Afroasiatic *sū. Cognate to Proto-Semitic *šuʔa[1] and Central Atlas Tamazight -ⴰⵙ (-as).

Pronunciation

(reconstructed) IPA^(key): /suw/ → /suw/ → /su/

(modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /suː/
- Conventional anglicization: su

Pronoun

m sg 3. enclitic (‘dependent’) pronoun

he, him (see usage notes)

Usage notes

By the time of Late Egyptian, this pronoun was no longer strictly masculine but common to both genders, as it had entirely merged with the feminine equivalent st through sound change.

This form of pronoun is an enclitic that must directly follow the word it modifies. Its meaning depends on its context:

When it follows a verb, it indicates the object of the verb.
In the second and third person when it follows an adjective, it forms the subject of an adjectival sentence.
When it follows a relative adjective, such as ntj, ntt, or jsṯ, it indicates the subject of the relative clause (usually only in the first person singular and third person common).
When it follows an imperative, it indicates the object of the verb.
When it follows a particle like m.k, it indicates the subject of the clause.
When attached to a preposition, it indicates the object of the preposition.

Inflection

Old Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
	number	first person	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kj¹	.ṯ, .ṯn	.f, .fj¹	.s, .sj¹
	dual	.nj	.ṯnj		.snj
	plural	.n	.ṯn		.sn

enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns	singular	w, wj, wy	kw, k, ṯw, ṯ	ṯm, ṯn	sw, s	s
	dual	—	ṯnj		snj
	plural	n	ṯn		sn

stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	ṯwt	ṯmt	swt	stt
	dual	—	—		ntsnj
	plural	—	ntṯn		ntsn, jntsn

stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings	singular	.kj, .k	.tj, .t		∅, .j	.tj, .t
	dual	—	.tjwn		.wy, .wj	.ty
	plural	.wn, .nw	.tjwn		∅, .w, .y, .wy	.tj, .t
Only when attached to a dual noun or prospective participle.

Middle Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
	number	first person	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kj¹	.ṯ, .t	.f, .fj¹	.s, .sj¹
	dual²	.nj	.ṯnj, .tnj		.snj
	plural	.n	.ṯn, .tn		.sn, .w³

enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns	singular	wj, w	ṯw, tw	ṯn, tn	sw, st	sj, s, st
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns	plural	n	ṯn, tn		sn, st

stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	ntk, ṯwt²	ntṯ, ntt, ṯwt²	ntf, swt²	nts, swt²
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	plural	jnn³	ntṯn, nttn		ntsn

stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings	singular	.kw	.tj, .t, .tw³		∅, .w	.tj, .t, .tw³
stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings	plural	.wn, .wjn	.tjwn, .tjwnj		∅, .w, .y

proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns³	singular	tw.j	tw.k	tw.t	sw	sj, st
proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns³	plural	tw.n	tw.tn		st
Only when attached to a dual noun or prospective participle. Only in formal texts, especially religious texts. Only in postclassical (Neo-Middle Egyptian) texts.

Late Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
	number	first person	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kw	.t	.f, .fj	.s, .st, .sw
suffix pronouns	plural	.n	.tn, .twn		.w, .sn¹

enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns¹	singular	wj	tw, tj		sw, st
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns¹	plural	n, wn	twn		sn, st

stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	mntk, mtwk	mntt, mtwy	mntf	mntst, mntjst
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	plural	jnn	mnttn		mntw

stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings¹	singular	.kw, .k	.tj, .tw		∅, .w, .y	.tj, .tw
	plural	.nw	.tn		∅, .w, .y
	unmarked (later)	∅, .tw

proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns	singular	tw.j	tw.k	tw.t	sw	st, sw
proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns	plural	tw.n	tw.tn		st, sw, swt
Only in formal texts, especially religious texts.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of sw

sw

s

sw

st

[Middle Kingdom]

[New Kingdom]

[since the New Kingdom]

[Late Egyptian]

rare

after merger with
feminine st

after merger with feminine st,
by confusion with plural st

Pronoun

m sg 3. proclitic (‘subject form’) pronoun

he [since the 17th Dynasty]

Usage notes

This form of pronoun is a proclitic that must stand at the beginning of a sentence (generally adverbial) and cannot come after any particles. It always indicates the subject of the sentence.

Inflection

Old Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
	number	first person	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kj¹	.ṯ, .ṯn	.f, .fj¹	.s, .sj¹
	dual	.nj	.ṯnj		.snj
	plural	.n	.ṯn		.sn

enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns	singular	w, wj, wy	kw, k, ṯw, ṯ	ṯm, ṯn	sw, s	s
	dual	—	ṯnj		snj
	plural	n	ṯn		sn

stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	ṯwt	ṯmt	swt	stt
	dual	—	—		ntsnj
	plural	—	ntṯn		ntsn, jntsn

stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings	singular	.kj, .k	.tj, .t		∅, .j	.tj, .t
	dual	—	.tjwn		.wy, .wj	.ty
	plural	.wn, .nw	.tjwn		∅, .w, .y, .wy	.tj, .t
Only when attached to a dual noun or prospective participle.

Middle Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
	number	first person	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kj¹	.ṯ, .t	.f, .fj¹	.s, .sj¹
	dual²	.nj	.ṯnj, .tnj		.snj
	plural	.n	.ṯn, .tn		.sn, .w³

enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns	singular	wj, w	ṯw, tw	ṯn, tn	sw, st	sj, s, st
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns	plural	n	ṯn, tn		sn, st

stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	ntk, ṯwt²	ntṯ, ntt, ṯwt²	ntf, swt²	nts, swt²
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	plural	jnn³	ntṯn, nttn		ntsn

stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings	singular	.kw	.tj, .t, .tw³		∅, .w	.tj, .t, .tw³
stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings	plural	.wn, .wjn	.tjwn, .tjwnj		∅, .w, .y

proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns³	singular	tw.j	tw.k	tw.t	sw	sj, st
proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns³	plural	tw.n	tw.tn		st
Only when attached to a dual noun or prospective participle. Only in formal texts, especially religious texts. Only in postclassical (Neo-Middle Egyptian) texts.

Late Egyptian personal pronouns

	number	first person	second person		third person
	number	first person	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
suffix pronouns	singular	∅, .j	.k, .kw	.t	.f, .fj	.s, .st, .sw
suffix pronouns	plural	.n	.tn, .twn		.w, .sn¹

enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns¹	singular	wj	tw, tj		sw, st
enclitic (‘dependent’) pronouns¹	plural	n, wn	twn		sn, st

stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	singular	jnk	mntk, mtwk	mntt, mtwy	mntf	mntst, mntjst
stressed (‘independent’) pronouns	plural	jnn	mnttn		mntw

stative (‘pseudoparticiple’) endings¹	singular	.kw, .k	.tj, .tw		∅, .w, .y	.tj, .tw
	plural	.nw	.tn		∅, .w, .y
	unmarked (later)	∅, .tw

proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns	singular	tw.j	tw.k	tw.t	sw	st, sw
proclitic (‘subject form’) pronouns	plural	tw.n	tw.tn		st, sw, swt
Only in formal texts, especially religious texts.

Alternative forms

See under the enclitic pronoun above.

Noun

m

used with an ordinal number, indicates a day of the month [since the Middle Kingdom]

sw snnw
the second day of the month

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of sw

sw

s

sw

[Middle Kingdom]

[New Kingdom]

[Late Period]

This was the usual writing before the Late Period.

Descendants

Coptic: ⲥⲟⲩ- (sou-)

References

James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, 107, 116 page 51, 107, 116.
Erman, Adolf; Grapow, Hermann (1926–1961) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN
Junge, Friedrich (2005) Late Egyptian Grammar: An Introduction, second English edition, Oxford: Griffith Institute, page 77

Loprieno, Antonio (1995) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 34

Welsh

Alternative forms

sŵ

Etymology

Borrowed from English zoo.

Pronunciation

(North Wales) IPA^(key): /suː/
(South Wales) IPA^(key): /zuː/
Rhymes: -uː

Noun

sw m (plural swau or sŵau, not mutable)

zoo

Zhuang

Pronunciation

(Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /θɯ˨˦/

Tone numbers: sw¹

Hyphenation: sw

Etymology 1

From Proto-Tai *sɯːᴬ (“writing; book”), from Middle Chinese 書 (MC ɕɨʌ, “writing; book”). Cognate with Lao ສື (sư̄), Thai สือ (sʉ̌ʉ).

Noun

sw (1957–1982 spelling sɯ)

(dialectal) (Chinese) character
Synonym: saw
(dialectal) book
Synonym: saw

Etymology 2

From Chinese 輸 (MC ɕɨo).

Verb

sw (1957–1982 spelling sɯ)

(dialectal) to lose
Synonym: saw

Noun

sw (Sawndip form ⿰犭書, 1957–1982 spelling sɯ)

(dialectal) tiger
Synonym: guk

Derived terms

swbeuq

[Loprieno-1] Loprieno, Antonio (1995) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 34

sw

Translingual

Symbol

Egyptian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Pronoun

Usage notes

Inflection

Alternative forms

Pronoun

Usage notes

Inflection

Alternative forms

Noun

Alternative forms

Descendants

See also

References

Welsh

Alternative forms

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Further reading

Zhuang

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Etymology 2

Verb

Noun

Derived terms