ⲥⲓⲙⲉⲓ
Coptic
Alternative forms
- ϩⲓⲙⲉ (hime) – Sahidic, Lycopolitan, Akhmimic, Old Coptic
- ⲥϩⲓⲙⲓ (shimi) – Bohairic, Fayyumic
- ⲥⲓⲙⲓ (simi), ϩⲏⲙ (hēm) – Fayyumic
- ⲥⲓⲙⲉ (sime) – Old Coptic
- ⲥⲉⲓⲙⲉ (seime), ⲥϩⲉ (she), ϩⲓⲙ (him) – Sahidic
Etymology
From Demotic s-ḥmt (“woman”), from Egyptian zt-ḥmt (“woman”), from
(zt, “woman”) +
(ḥmt, “wife, woman”), a compound that arose because the feminine ending -t in zt eventually became silent, making zt homophonous with z (“man”), so that it became necessary to add ḥmt to distinguish between them. Synchronically equivalent to ⲥⲁ (sa) + ϩⲓⲙⲉ (hime).
Noun
ⲥⲓⲙⲉⲓ • (simei) f (plural ⲥⲓⲙⲉⲓ (simei))
- (Fayyumic) woman
- (Fayyumic) wife
- (Fayyumic) female (animal)
Adjective
ⲥⲓⲙⲉⲓ • (simei)
- (Fayyumic) female
References
- Crum, Walter E. (1939) A Coptic Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, page 385
- Černý, Jaroslav (1976) Coptic Etymological Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 173–174