ḥꜣtj

ḥꜣtj

Egyptian

Etymology

From ḥꜣt (“front”) +‎ -j (nisba ending).

The noun is simply a nominalized use of this nisba adjective, thus literally ‘the frontal (organ)’. Some have instead suggested an Indo-European source for the noun. Compare Proto-Indo-European *ḱḗr.

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ħuˈʀiːtij/ → /ħuˈʀiːtij/ → /ħeːt/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ħuˈʀiːtij/[1]
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ħuˈʀiːtij/
• (Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ħeːt/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /ħɑti/
  • Conventional anglicization: hati

Adjective

1. frontal
2. (Late Egyptian) first

Inflection

Declension of ḥꜣtj (nisba adjective)

	masculine	feminine
singular	ḥꜣtj	ḥꜣtt
dual	ḥꜣtjwj, ḥꜣtwj	ḥꜣttj
plural	ḥꜣtjw, ḥꜣtw	ḥꜣtwt1, ḥꜣtt2
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.

Derived terms

• ḥꜣtj-ꜥ
• ḥꜣtt

Noun

 m

1. heart
2. mind, where thought and emotions are experienced
3. (by extension) a jewel

Usage notes

Moreso than jb, this word is used to refer to the heart as a physical organ; however, the two are often interchangeable.

Inflection

Declension of ḥꜣtj (masculine)

singular	ḥꜣtj
dual	ḥꜣtjwj
plural	ḥꜣtjw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ḥꜣtj  

ḥꜣtj	ḥꜣt

Synonyms

• (heart, mind): jb

Derived terms

• jwtj ḥꜣtj (“foolishly, sadly (with one's heart)”)
• rḏj ḥꜣtj m sꜣ (“to worry oneself about... (to put one's heart to the back)”)
• ḥꜣtjw (“thoughts”)
• ḥꜣtj n bjꜣ (“tireless (heart of bronze)”)

 

Descendants

• Coptic: ϩⲏⲧ (hēt)

References

• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN.

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