ḥr

See also: Appendix:Variations of "hr"

Egyptian

Etymology 1

Possibly cognate with Proto-Semitic *ʿal-; compare Arabic عَلَى (ʕalā, “on, over”), Hebrew עַל (ʿal, “on”), Aramaic עַל (ʿal, “on”). If so, perhaps from a form such as Proto-Afroasiatic *x̣al. However, some authors consider such a correspondence irregular.

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ħaɾ/ → /ħaʔ/ → /ħaʔ/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ħaɾ/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ħaʔ/
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ħaʔ/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /hɛr/
  • Conventional anglicization: her

Noun

 m

1. face
2. surface

Inflection

Declension of ḥr (masculine)

singular	ḥr
dual	ḥrwj
plural	ḥrw

Derived terms

• m ḥr (“in sight (of)”)
• mdt m ḥr
• rḏj m ḥr
• ḥr-nb (“everyone”)
• ḥtp-ḥr.s
• ḥḏ ḥr
• ḫft ḥr
• ẖr st ḥr

 

Preposition

1. upon, (vertically) on
2. (of a place) at, in
3. and, in addition to
4. per, for each
5. originating from
6. because of, for the sake of
7. by means of, using
8. (with following infinitive) forms the periphrastic imperfective of a verb
9. (contracted from ḥr ḏd) saying; introduces a direct quotation

Usage notes

Conjunction is usually expressed by directly juxtaposing two nouns, but occasionally ḥnꜥ or ḥr are used to link the nouns instead.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ḥr  

ḥr	ḥr
often with personal pronouns

Derived terms

• ḥrj (“one upon/above, boss”)
• ḥr jb (“amidst”)
• ḥrjt (“above”)
• ḥr ꜥ
• ḥr ꜥwj
• ḥrw (“top”)
• ḥr mj
• ḥr ntt
• ḥr zj jšst
• ḥrt (“sky”)
• ḥrt jb (“inner sanctum”)
• ḥr tp (“on behalf of”)
• kꜣ-ḥr-kꜣ

 

Etymology 2

Formed from a stem ḥaru- + the Proto-Afro-Asiatic nominative case marker *-u; in Egyptian, Proto-Afro-Asiatic case markers were generally lost, but *-u became a glide -w instead when the stem ended in a vowel. The stem is probably related either to the preposition ḥr (“above”), with the theonym thus meaning ‘the One Above’, or to the verb ḥrj (“to be distant”), with the theonym meaning ‘the Distant One’, or to both.

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈħaːɾuw/ → /ˈħaːɾuw/ → /ˈħaːɾəʔ/ → /ˈħoːɾ(ə)/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈħaːɾuw/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈħaːɾuw/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈħaːɾəʔ/; compare the New Kingdom cuneiform transcription 𒄩𒀀𒊏 (ḫa-a-ra)
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈħoːɾ(ə)/; compare the (Neo-Assyrian) Akkadian transcription 𒄷𒊒 (/⁠-ḫuru-⁠/)

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /hɛr/
  • Conventional anglicization: hor

Proper noun

 m

1. Horus, the falcon-headed Egyptian god of the sky, war, and kingship
2. a conventional element of the serekh name of most pharaohs

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ḥr  

ḥr	ḥr

Synonyms

• nḫnj

Derived terms

• mꜣꜣt-ḥr-nfrw-rꜥ
• mswt-ḥr
• rꜥ-ḥr-ꜣḫtj (“Ra-Horakhty”)
• ḥwt-ḥr (“Hathor”)
• ḥr-ꜣḫtj (“Horakhty”)
• ḥr-m-ḥꜣt
• ḥr nbw (“Horus of gold”)
• ḥr-zꜣ-ꜣst
• ḏd-ḥr

 

Descendants

• Coptic: ϩⲱⲣ (hōr)
• → Ancient Greek: Ὧρος (Hôros)

References

• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 88, 148, 179–182, 240.