nḏm

See also: NDM and nDm

Egyptian

Etymology

Perhaps from a form such as Proto-Afroasiatic *nx̣m. Cognate with Proto-Semitic *nʿm-.

Pronunciation

 

• (verb): (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːcʼam/ → /ˈnaːtʼam/ → /ˈnaːtʼəm/ → /ˈnoːtʼəm/

• (verb): (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːcʼam/
• (verb): (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːtʼam/
• (verb): (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːtʼəm/
• (verb): (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnoːtʼəm/

 

• (adjective): (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːcʼim/ → /ˈnaːtʼim/ → /ˈnaːtʼəm/ → /ˈnoːtʼəm/

• (adjective): (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːcʼim/
• (adjective): (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːtʼim/
• (adjective): (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːtʼəm/
• (adjective): (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnoːtʼəm/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /nɛd͡ʒɛm/
  • Conventional anglicization: nedjem

Verb

 3-lit.

1. (intransitive) to taste sweet
2. (intransitive) to smell sweet or pleasant
3. (intransitive, often of air, water, or temperature) to be(come) pleasant or refreshing
   • c. 1450 BCE, The Poetical Stela of Thutmose III: Part I, Cairo Museum 34010:

     nḏmwj jmꜣt.k r šnbt.j

     How pleasant is your grace to my breast!

4. (intransitive, of people) to be(come) healthy or well
   • c. 1550 BCE – 1295 BCE, Great Hymn to Osiris (Stela of Amenmose, Louvre C 286) line 21:

     bw-nb ḫntš(.w) jbw nḏm(.w) ḥꜣtjw ẖr ršwt

     Everybody is glad, minds are sweet, hearts are in joy.

Inflection

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

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive1	singular	plural
nḏm	nḏmw, nḏm	nḏmt	nḏm	nḏm

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

suffix conjugation
aspect / mood	active	passive	contingent
			aspect / mood	active	passive
perfect	nḏm.n	nḏmw, nḏm	consecutive	nḏm.jn	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
terminative	nḏmt
perfective3	nḏm	active + .tj1, .tw2	obligative1	nḏm.ḫr	active + .tj1, .tw2
imperfective	nḏm	active + .tj1, .tw2
prospective3	nḏm	nḏmm	potentialis1	nḏm.kꜣ	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
subjunctive	nḏm	active + .tj1, .tw2

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms		participles
	active	passive	active	passive
perfect	nḏm.n	active + .tj1, .tw2	—	—
perfective	nḏm	active + .tj1, .tw2	nḏm	nḏm, nḏmw5, nḏmy5
imperfective	nḏm, nḏmy, nḏmw5	active + .tj1, .tw2	nḏm, nḏmj6, nḏmy6	nḏm, nḏmw5
prospective	nḏm, nḏmtj7	—	nḏmtj4, nḏmt4
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 nḏm  

nḏm	nḏm	nḏm

Descendants

• Coptic:
  • Sahidic Coptic: ⲛⲟⲩⲧⲙ̄ (noutm̄)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉⲙ (noutem)

Adjective

1. perfective active participle of nḏm: sweet, pleasant

Inflection

Declension of nḏm (perfective active participle)

	masculine	feminine
singular	nḏm	nḏmt
dual	nḏmwj	nḏmtj
plural	nḏmw	nḏmwt1, nḏmt2
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.

Alternative forms

See under the verb section above.

References

• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1928) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[1], volume 2, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 378.9–381.8
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 144
• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 121, 241.
• Hoch, James (1997) Middle Egyptian Grammar, Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN, page 128