ⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ

Coptic

Alternative forms

A woman from Saqqara, Egypt.

• ϩⲓⲙⲉ (hime) — Sahidic, Lycopolitan, Akhmimic, Old Coptic
• ⲥϩⲓⲙⲓ (shimi) — Bohairic, Fayyumic

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 clarify.

Noun

ⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ • (shime) f (plural ⲥϩⲓⲟⲙⲉ (shiome) or ⲥϩⲓⲁⲙⲉ (shiame))

1. (Sahidic, Lycopolitan, Akhmimic) woman
2. (Sahidic, Lycopolitan, Akhmimic) wife
3. (Sahidic, Lycopolitan, Akhmimic) female (animal)

References

• Crum, Walter E. (1939) A Coptic Dictionary‎^[1], Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, page 385
• Černý, Jaroslav (1976) Coptic Etymological Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN