Egyptian
Etymology 1
Likely a babble word in origin, like many of its Afro-Asiatic parallels.[1] Militarev and Stolbova derive it from a supposed Proto-Afroasiatic *ˀVma /*ma(y) ( “ mother ” ) instead, but also note it may be a nursery word.[2] If not, perhaps cognate with Proto-Semitic *ʾimm- .
Pronunciation
Noun
f
mother
c. 1900 BCE ,
The Instructions of Kagemni (
pPrisse /pBN 183) lines 1.11–1.12:
ḫr (tw)r n(j) ḥr r dfꜣ jb jmꜣ n.f kꜣhs r mwt .f One who is averted of face against feeding the heart (i.e. one who doesn’t indulge hismelf), the harsh man has to be more kindly to him than his (own) mother .
Inflection
Declension of mwt (feminine)
Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mwt
Derived terms
Descendants
Demotic: mwt
Coptic: ⲙⲁⲁⲩ ( maau ) ( Sahidic ) , ⲙⲁⲩ ( mau ) ( Bohairic )
Proper noun
Mwt , Luxor, c.1279-1213 BC
f
the primordial waters [Old Kingdom]
Mut , the vulture goddess worshipped as part of the Theban Triad
Derived terms
Etymology 2
Cognate with Arabic مَاتَ ( māta , “ to die ” ) , Hebrew מֵת ( met , “ to die ” ) , Aramaic מִית ( mīṯ , “ to die ” ) , Ge'ez ሞተ ( motä ) .
Pronunciation
Verb
3-lit.
( intransitive ) to die
( intransitive , figuratively , of ships) to sink
c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE ,
Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 37–39:
ꜥḥꜥ.n dpt m(w)t(.tj) ntjw jm.s nj zp wꜥ jm Then the boat died , and of those in it, not one therein survived.
Inflection
Conjugation of mwt (triliteral / 3-lit. / 3rad.) — base stem: mwt , geminated stem: mwtt
infinitival forms
imperative
infinitive
negatival complement
complementary infinitive1
singular
plural
mwt
mwtw , mwt
mwtt
mwt
mwt
‘pseudoverbal’ forms
stative stem
periphrastic imperfective 2
periphrastic prospective 2
mwt
ḥr mwt
m mwt
r mwt
suffix conjugation
aspect / mood
active
contingent
aspect / mood
active
perfect
mwt.n
consecutive
mwt.jn
terminative
mwtt
perfective 3
mwt
obligative1
mwt.ḫr
imperfective
mwt
prospective 3
mwt
potentialis1
mwt.kꜣ
subjunctive
mwt
verbal adjectives
aspect / mood
relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms
participles
active
active
passive
perfect
mwt.n
—
—
perfective
mwt
mwt
mwt , mwtw 5 , mwty 5
imperfective
mwt , mwty , mwtw 5
mwt , mwtj 6 , mwty 6
mwt , mwtw 5
prospective
mwt , mwttj 7
mwttj 4 , mwtt 4
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 hieroglyphic writings of mwt
Noun
m
death
Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mwt
Etymology 3
Pronunciation
Noun
f
weight
Inflection
Declension of mwt (feminine)
References
^ Takács, Gábor (2007 ) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian , volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN , pages 193–195 , →ISBN
^ Militarev, Alexander and Stolbova, Olga (2007) “*ˀVma/*ma(y) ” in the Afroasiatic etymology database at StarLing
^ Loprieno, Antonio (1995 ) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN , page 245