ꜣḫ

See also: ꜣḥ

Egyptian

FWOTD – 17 August 2022

Pronunciation

Noun 1:

(reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈʀiːχuw/ → /ˈʀiːχuw/ → /ˈʔiːχəʔ/ → /ˈʔiːχ/

Verb:

(reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ʀaːχ/ → /ʀaːχ/ → /ʔaːχ/ → /ʔoːχ/

(modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /ɑx/
- Conventional anglicization: akh

Noun

m

akh
ghost, spectre, spirit of the dead interfering with the living
Used as an epithet for certain lesser gods and demons [Pyramid Texts]

Inflection

Declension of ꜣḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜣḫ
dual	ꜣḫwj
plural	ꜣḫw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜣḫ

ꜣḫ

Descendants

Coptic: ⲓϧ (ix) "demon"
→ English: akh

Noun

m

the state of being an akh or qualities pertaining to that state: spiritual power or dignity
- c. 1458 BCE, Biography of Ineni inscribed on a memorial stele in his tomb in Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, line 20:[1]
  
  rn.f nfr m r(ꜣ) ꜥnḫw sḫꜣt.f ꜣḫ.f n ḏt
  His good name will be in the mouths of the living; his memory and his spiritual completeness are for eternity.
mental faculty or skill

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜣḫ

ꜣḫ

Descendants

Coptic: ⲁϧ (ax) "magical name"

Verb

2-lit.

(intransitive) to be(come) effective, to be(come) useful
(intransitive) to be(come) splendid, radiant, glorious
(intransitive) to be(come) an akh

Inflection

Conjugation of ꜣḫ (biliteral / 2-lit. / 2rad.) — base stem: ꜣḫ, geminated stem: ꜣḫḫ

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive¹	singular	plural
ꜣḫ	ꜣḫw, ꜣḫ	ꜣḫt	ꜣḫ, j.ꜣḫ	ꜣḫ, j.ꜣḫ

‘pseudoverbal’ forms
stative stem	periphrastic imperfective²		periphrastic prospective²
ꜣḫ	ḥr ꜣḫ	m ꜣḫ	r ꜣḫ

suffix conjugation
aspect / mood	active	contingent
aspect / mood	active	aspect / mood	active
perfect	ꜣḫ.n	consecutive	ꜣḫ.jn
terminative	ꜣḫt	consecutive	ꜣḫ.jn
perfective³	ꜣḫ	obligative¹	ꜣḫ.ḫr
imperfective	ꜣḫ, j.ꜣḫ¹	obligative¹	ꜣḫ.ḫr
prospective³	ꜣḫ	potentialis¹	ꜣḫ.kꜣ
subjunctive	ꜣḫ, j.ꜣḫ¹	potentialis¹	ꜣḫ.kꜣ

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms	participles
aspect / mood	active	active	passive
perfect	ꜣḫ.n	—	—
perfective	ꜣḫ	ꜣḫ	ꜣḫḫ, ꜣḫḫj⁶, ꜣḫ², ꜣḫw^{2 5}, ꜣḫy^{2 5}
imperfective	j.ꜣḫ¹, ꜣḫ, ꜣḫy, ꜣḫw⁵	j.ꜣḫ¹, j.ꜣḫw^{1 5}, ꜣḫ, ꜣḫj⁶, ꜣḫy⁶	ꜣḫ, ꜣḫw⁵
prospective	ꜣḫ, ꜣḫtj⁷	ꜣḫtj⁴, ꜣḫt⁴
Used in Old Egyptian; archaic by Middle Egyptian. Used mostly since Middle Egyptian. Archaic or greatly restricted in usage by Middle Egyptian. The perfect has mostly taken over the functions of the perfective, and the subjunctive and periphrastic prospective have mostly replaced the prospective. Declines using third-person suffix pronouns instead of adjectival endings: masculine .f/.fj, feminine .s/.sj, dual .sn/.snj, plural .sn. Only in the masculine singular. Only in the masculine. Only in the feminine.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜣḫ

ꜣḫ

[Old Kingdom]

Derived terms

ꜣḫ jb
ꜣḫ m jb
ꜣḫ n
ꜣḫ-n-jtn
ꜣḫt
sꜣḫ

Noun

m

thicket of papyrus

Inflection

Declension of ꜣḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜣḫ
dual	ꜣḫwj
plural	ꜣḫw

Derived terms

ꜣḫ-bjt

References

Faulkner, Raymond (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 4
Allen, James (1984) The Inflection of the Verb in the Pyramid Texts, Malibu, California: Undena Publications, →ISBN, § 728, page 544
Erman, Adolf; Grapow, Hermann (1926) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎, volume 1, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, page 13.7–15.3, 15.17–16.14, 17.10–17.11, 18.14
Vycichl, Werner (1983) Dictionnaire Étymologique de la Langue Copte, Leuven: Peeters, →ISBN, page 69

Sethe, Kurt; Helck, Wolfgang (1906–1958) Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums IV: Urkunden der 18. Dynastie, Leipzig/Berlin: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, page 62.7–62.8

[1] Sethe, Kurt; Helck, Wolfgang (1906–1958) Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums IV: Urkunden der 18. Dynastie, Leipzig/Berlin: J. C. Hinrichs’sche Buchhandlung, page 62.7–62.8