mꜣꜥt

Egyptian

The goddess , personification of truth and right

Etymology

An abstract noun formed from mꜣꜥ (“to direct, to be just, to be true”) +‎ -t (“feminine ending”).

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈmuʀʕat/ → /ˈmuʀʕaʔ/ → /ˈmuːʕa/ → /ˈmeːʕə/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈmuʀʕat/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈmuʀʕaʔ/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈmuːʕa/; compare the Akkadian transcription in Middle Babylonian 𒈬𒀀 (mu-a).
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈmeːʕə/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /mɑʔɑːt/
  • Conventional anglicization: maat

Noun

 f

1. truth
2. right action, righteousness, virtue
   • c. 1550 BCE – 1295 BCE, Great Hymn to Osiris (Stela of Amenmose, Louvre C 286) lines 23–24:

     smn mꜣꜥt n nb.s rdjw sꜣ r jsft

     Righteousness has been established for its possessor, and the back is turned on wrong.

3. blamelessness, innocence
4. justice, fairness
5. right order in the state or cosmos

Inflection

Declension of mꜣꜥt (feminine)

singular	mꜣꜥt
dual	mꜣꜥtj
plural	mꜣꜥwt

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mꜣꜥt  

mꜣꜥt	mꜣꜥt	mꜣꜥt

Antonyms

• jzft
• grg

Derived terms

• nb-mꜣꜥt

Descendants

• Demotic: mꜣꜥt
  • Akhmimic Coptic: ⲙⲏⲉ (mēe), ⲙⲓⲉ (mie)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲙⲏⲓ (mēi), ⲙⲉⲓ (mei)
  • Fayyumic Coptic: ⲙⲉⲓ (mei), ⲙⲉⲉⲓ (meei), ⲙⲏⲓ (mēi)
  • Lycopolitan Coptic: ⲙⲏⲉ (mēe)
  • Old Coptic: ⲙⲉ (me)
  • Sahidic Coptic: ⲙⲉ (me), ⲙⲉⲉ (mee), ⲙⲏⲉ (mēe)
• → English: maat

Proper noun

 f

1. Maat, the goddess personifying the above concepts

Derived terms

• nfr-mꜣꜥt

Descendants

• → English: Maat

See also

• 𓁦, 𓆄

References

• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1926–1961) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →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 97, 99, 119–121, 126, 214, 254, 273, 277, 281.
• Hoch, James (1997) Middle Egyptian Grammar, Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN, page 112