ꜣb

Egyptian

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /ɑb/
  • Conventional anglicization: ab

Etymology 1

Related to ꜣbb (“to separate from”).

Verb

 2-lit.

1. (intransitive) to stop, to take a break [since Middle Kingdom literature]
2. (transitive) to cease or stop [with infinitive or (in the Greco-Roman Period) r or m or n (+ infinitive) ‘doing something’]
3. (transitive) to avoid
4. (intransitive) to tarry or stay for a while [with ḥr ‘with someone’]
5. (intransitive) to part with, to separate from [Late Period to Greco-Roman Period] [with r]

Inflection

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

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive1	singular	plural
ꜣb	ꜣbw, ꜣb	ꜣbt	ꜣb, j.ꜣb	ꜣb, j.ꜣb

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

suffix conjugation
aspect / mood	active	passive	contingent
			aspect / mood	active	passive
perfect	ꜣb.n	ꜣbw, ꜣb	consecutive	ꜣb.jn	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
terminative	ꜣbt
perfective3	ꜣb	active + .tj1, .tw2	obligative1	ꜣb.ḫr	active + .tj1, .tw2
imperfective	ꜣb, j.ꜣb1	active + .tj1, .tw2
prospective3	ꜣb	ꜣbb	potentialis1	ꜣb.kꜣ	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
subjunctive	ꜣb, j.ꜣb1	active + .tj1, .tw2

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms		participles
	active	passive	active	passive
perfect	ꜣb.n	active + .tj1, .tw2	—	—
perfective	ꜣb	active + .tj1, .tw2	ꜣb	ꜣbb, ꜣbbj6, ꜣb2, ꜣbw2 5, ꜣby2 5
imperfective	j.ꜣb1, ꜣb, ꜣby, ꜣbw5	active + .tj1, .tw2	j.ꜣb1, j.ꜣbw1 5, ꜣb, ꜣbj6, ꜣby6	ꜣb, ꜣbw5
prospective	ꜣb, ꜣbtj7	—	ꜣbtj4, ꜣbt4
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 ꜣb  

ꜣb	ꜣbj	ꜣb
[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[Greco-Roman Period]

Derived terms

• ꜣbw
• jrj ꜣbw

Etymology 2

Likely related to ꜣbw (“elephant, ivory, tusk”).

Noun

 m

1. fingernail [Late Period]

Inflection

Declension of ꜣb (masculine)

singular	ꜣb
dual	ꜣbwj
plural	ꜣbw

Descendants

• Demotic: yb
  • Akhmimic Coptic: ⲉⲓⲃ (eib), ⲓⲉⲓⲃ (ieib)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲓⲉⲃ (ieb), ⲓⲏⲃ (iēb)
  • Fayyumic Coptic: ⲓϥ (if)
  • Sahidic Coptic: ⲉⲓⲃ (eib), ⲉⲓⲉⲓⲃ (eieib), ⲉⲓⲉⲃ (eieb)

References

• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 2
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1926) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[1], volume 1, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 6.2–6.8, 7.21
• Wilson, Penelope (1991) A Lexicographical Study of the Ptolemaic Texts in the Temple of Edfu, Liverpool: University of Liverpool, pages 7–9
• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 272.
• Crum, Walter E. (1939) A Coptic Dictionary‎^[2], Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, page 76