jmn

Egyptian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /imɛn/
  • Conventional anglicization: amen

For the proper noun:

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /jaˈmaːnuw/ → /jaˈmaːnuw/ → /ʔaˈmaːnəʔ/ → /ʔaˈmoːn/

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

Verb

 3-lit.

1. (transitive or reflexive) to hide
2. (transitive) to create, form, shape (in a cosmic, divine sense)

Inflection

Conjugation of jmn (triliteral / 3-lit. / 3rad.) — base stem: jmn, geminated stem: jmnn

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive1	singular	plural
jmn	jmnw, jmn	jmnt	jmn	jmn

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

suffix conjugation
aspect / mood	active	passive	contingent
			aspect / mood	active	passive
perfect	jmn.n	jmnw, jmn	consecutive	jmn.jn	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
terminative	jmnt
perfective3	jmn	active + .tj1, .tw2	obligative1	jmn.ḫr	active + .tj1, .tw2
imperfective	jmn	active + .tj1, .tw2
prospective3	jmn	jmnn	potentialis1	jmn.kꜣ	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
subjunctive	jmn	active + .tj1, .tw2

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms		participles
	active	passive	active	passive
perfect	jmn.n	active + .tj1, .tw2	—	—
perfective	jmn	active + .tj1, .tw2	jmn	jmn, jmnw5, jmny5
imperfective	jmn, jmny, jmnw5	active + .tj1, .tw2	jmn, jmnj6, jmny6	jmn, jmnw5
prospective	jmn, jmntj7	—	jmntj4, jmnt4
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 jmn  

jmn	jmn	jmn	jmn	jmn	jmn

Adjective

1. hidden, secret
2. (by extension) rare, precious

Inflection

Declension of jmn (perfective active participle)

	masculine	feminine
singular	jmn	jmnt
dual	jmnwj	jmntj
plural	jmnw	jmnwt1, jmnt2
Archaic in Middle Egyptian when modifying a noun. From Middle Egyptian, this feminine singular form was generally used for the plural. In Late Egyptian, the masculine singular form was used with all nouns.

Derived terms

• jmnyt (“the daily offerings to the gods”)
• jmn ꜥ (“priestess of Bast”)
• jmnw (“a bringer of disease”)
• jmnw (“secret (noun)”)
• jmn-m-ḥꜣt
• jmn-rn.f
• jmnt (“hiding place”)
• jmnt (“secret (noun)”)

 

Proper noun

Relief carving, Medinet Habu, c. 1150 BC

 m

1. Amun, a primeval god, personification of the hiddenness of the primeval waters, worshipped at Hermopolis as a member of the Ogdoad
2. Amun, a god worshipped at Thebes as a member of the Theban Triad. From the Middle Kingdom, the king of the gods.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of jmn  

jmn	jmn	jmn	jmn	jmnw	jmn

Derived terms

• jmn m jpt (“Amun of Luxor”)
• jmn m jpt-swt (“Amun of Karnak”)
• jmn nb nswt tꜣwj (“Amun, Lord of the King of Egypt”)
• jmn-rꜥ (“Amun-Ra”)
• jmn-rꜥ nswt nṯrw (“Amun-Ra, King of the gods”)
• jmn-rn (“a minor deity”)
• jmn-ḥtp (“Amenhotep, deified scribe and architect”)
• jmnt (“Amunet”)
• ꜥnḫ.s-n-jmn
• mry-jmn
• mryt-jmn
• rwḏ-jmn
• zꜣ-jmn
• tꜣnwꜣtj-jmn
• tꜣ-nt-jmn
• twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn
• twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn-ḥqꜣ-jwnw-šmꜥw
• ḏḏt-jmn

 

Descendants

• Coptic: ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ (amoun)
• → Ancient Greek: Ἄμμων (Ámmōn)
  • → English: Amun

Etymology 2

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Afroasiatic *yamin-. Cognate with Proto-Semitic *yamīn- (“right”).

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈjaːmin/ → /ˈjaːmin/ → /ˈjoːmən/

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

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /imɛn/
  • Conventional anglicization: amen

Adjective

1. right (direction)
2. western

Inflection

Declension of jmn (perfective active participle)

	masculine	feminine
singular	jmn	jmnt
dual	jmnwj	jmntj
plural	jmnw	jmnwt1, jmnt2
Archaic in Middle Egyptian when modifying a noun. From Middle Egyptian, this feminine singular form was generally used for the plural. In Late Egyptian, the masculine singular form was used with all nouns.

Antonyms

• jꜣbj
• jꜣbtj

Noun

 m

1. the West

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of jmn  

jmn	jmn	jmn

Synonyms

• jmntt

Derived terms

• jmnt (“the West (as a place or as a goddess)”)
• jmntj (“westerly wind”)
• jmntj (“Western”)
• jmntj (“people of the west, the dead”)
• jmntt (“the West, western land, graveyard”)
• ḫntj-jmntjw (“foremost of the Westerners”)

 

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 186, 280.
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1926–1961) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN