kꜣ

See also: .kꜣ

Egyptian

FWOTD – 14 September 2018

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /kuʀ/ → /kuʀ/ → /kuj/ → /koj/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /kuʀ/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /kuʀ/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /kuj/
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /koj/, with irregular development of /u/ to /o/ rather than /ø/, the significance of which is heavily debated and not satisfactorily explained.

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /kɑ/
  • Conventional anglicization: ka

Noun

 m

1. ka (Something like "life-force"; the part of the soul which the living have and the dead do not)
   • c. 24th century BCE, Pyramid of King Unas, south wall of the burial chamber, column 15, Pyramid Text spell 215, section 35:

     nj sk.k nj sk kꜣ.k ṯwt kꜣ

     You will not perish; your ka will not perish. You are the ka.

   • Early 6th Dynasty, Tomb of Nyankhnesut, Relief of Agricultural Scenes (Cleveland 1930.736), middle register, captions around flute-player:

     zb(ꜣ) nfr n k(ꜣ)w.ṯn

     Playing the flute is good for your kas.

   1. personality, essence
2. goodwill - especially of the king

Inflection

Declension of kꜣ (masculine)

singular	kꜣ
dual	kꜣwj
plural	kꜣw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of kꜣ  

kꜣ	kꜣ	kꜣ

Derived terms

• wsr-kꜣ.f
• wsr-kꜣ-rꜥ
• mn-kꜣw-rꜥ
• mn-kꜣw-ḥr
• nbw-kꜣw-rꜥ
• nb-kꜣ
• nfr-jr-kꜣ-rꜥ
• nfr-kꜣ-rꜥ
• nfrt-kꜣw
• nḥb-kꜣw
• n-kꜣw
• nṯrj-kꜣ-rꜥ
• ḥwt-kꜣ-ptḥ
• ḥm-kꜣ
• ḫpr-kꜣ-rꜥ
• špss-kꜣ.f
• špss-kꜣ-rꜥ
• kꜣ-ḥr-kꜣ
• ḏsr-kꜣ-rꜥ
• ḏd-kꜣ-rꜥ
• ḏd-kꜣ-ḥr

 

Descendants

• → English: ka

Proper noun

 m

1. A serekh name notably borne by Predynastic king Ka

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of kꜣ  

kꜣ

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /kɑ/
  • Conventional anglicization: ka

Noun

 m

1. sustenance, food

Inflection

Declension of kꜣ (masculine)

singular	kꜣ
dual	kꜣwj
plural	kꜣw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of kꜣ  

kꜣ

Etymology 3

From kꜣj (“to plan”).

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /kɑ/
  • Conventional anglicization: ka

Particle

 proclitic

1. (with following subjunctive or nonverbal predicate) so, then, as a result; expresses future consequence
2. (with following suffix pronoun/subject and imperfective) then; expresses subsequent action

Usage notes

This particle is mostly used with the subjunctive to indicate future consequences. In this use, it is neutral in tone — it neither indicates inevitability (like ḫr) nor optativity (like jḫ).

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of kꜣ  

kꜣ

Derived terms

• .kꜣ

Particle

 quotative

1. (with following suffix pronoun indicating the speaker) marks a future direct quotation; will say

Usage notes

Like the other quotatives jn, ḫr, and ḫrw.fj, this word either follows the entire quotation that it marks or is inserted near its start (but never at its start).

This word may be identical with the above proclitic particle. It may also be interpreted as a use of .kꜣ in the potentialis form ḏd.kꜣ with the verb ḏd (“to say”) left unexpressed.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of kꜣ  

kꜣ

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /kaʀ/ → /kaʀ/ → /kaʔ/ → /kaʔ/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /kaʀ/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /kaʀ/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /kaʔ/
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /kaʔ/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /kɑ/
  • Conventional anglicization: ka

Noun

 m

1. bull
   • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 144–146:

     zft.j n.k kꜣw m zj n sḏt wšn.n.j n.k ꜣpdw

     I will slaughter bulls for you as a burnt offering, having wrung the necks of birds for you.

Inflection

Declension of kꜣ (masculine)

singular	kꜣ
dual	kꜣwj
plural	kꜣw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of kꜣ  

kꜣ	kꜣ	kꜣ	kꜣ

Derived terms

• mdw-kꜣ-ḥḏ
• kꜣ-nḫt-ḫꜥ-m-wꜣst
• kꜣt

Descendants

• Coptic Dialect K: ⲕⲟ (ko)

Noun

 m

1. bull as a sacrificial victim

Inflection

Declension of kꜣ (masculine)

singular	kꜣ
dual	kꜣwj
plural	kꜣw

References

• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1931) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[2], volume 5, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 85.6–86.6, 86.10–89.11, 91.3–91.13, 94.7–96.8, 97.1–98.2
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN
• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 82, 115, 127, 196, 254, 274, 284, 319–320.