nb

See also: Nb, NB, nB, n.b., N.B., NB., and N.-B.

Translingual

Symbol

nb

1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Norwegian Bokmål.

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Pronoun

nb

1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Abbreviation of nobody.
   • 2023 May 10, @mkarrdashh, Twitter‎^[1], archived from the original on 3 November 2023:

     i hate when i text in the gc and nb replys^[sic]

   • 2023 June 29, @imkaay, Twitter‎^[2], archived from the original on 3 November 2023:

     everybody say they hiring but nb hiringggg fr 🙄

   • 2023 August 31, u/Regular_Fisherman_51, “first day of high school coming up i need some advice quick”, in Reddit‎^[3], r/BruceDropEmOff, archived from the original on 3 November 2023:

     Do yo own thing and don't gaf about what nb else say

   • 2023 October 5, u/Colors100, “Just need someone to talk to”, in Reddit‎^[4], r/SuicideWatch, archived from the original on 3 November 2023:

     Public school was hell bc nb wanted to be my friend or associate with me due to me being trans.

Noun

nb

1. (cricket) Initialism of no ball.

Phrase

nb

1. Initialism of nota bene.

Adjective

nb (not comparable)

1. Alternative form of NB (“non-binary”)

Anagrams

• B.N., Bn, Bn., bn, bn.

Demotic

Etymology 1

From Egyptian (nb, “all, every”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /niːβ/

Determiner

1. (definite) all, every
2. (indefinite) any

Descendants

• Akhmimic Coptic: ⲛⲓⲙ (nim)
• Bohairic Coptic: ⲛⲓⲃⲉⲛ (niben)
• Fayyumic Coptic: ⲛⲓⲃⲓ (nibi)
• Lycopolitan Coptic: ⲛⲓⲙ (nim)
• Oxyrhynchite Coptic: ⲛⲓⲙ (nim)
• Coptic Dialect P: ⲛⲓⲃ (nib)
• Sahidic Coptic: ⲛⲓⲙ (nim)

Etymology 2

From Egyptian (nb, “lord”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /neːβ/

Noun

 m

1. lord

Descendants

• Bohairic Coptic: ⲛⲏⲃ (nēb)
• Old Coptic: ⲛⲏⲃ (nēb)

Etymology 3

From Egyptian (nbt, “mistress, lady”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈneːβə/

Noun

 f

1. mistress, lady (woman with authority over something)

References

• Erichsen, Wolja (1954) Demotisches Glossar, Copenhagen: Ejnar Munksgaard, pages 212–213
• Johnson, Janet (2000) Thus Wrote ꜥOnchsheshonqy: An Introductory Grammar of Demotic‎^[5], third edition, Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, →ISBN, page 7

Egyptian

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /nɛb/
  • Conventional anglicization: neb

Determiner

1. all, every
2. every other
3. all sorts of, all kinds of
4. (especially in negated clauses) any

Inflection

Declension of nb

	masculine	feminine
singular	nb	nbt
dual	nbwj	nbtj
plural	nbw	nbwt1, nbt2

¹ Archaic in Middle Egyptian when modifying a noun.
² 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.

In the Pyramid Texts of Unas, among certain other Old Egyptian texts, nb is usually not inflected by gender and number but invariably appears as nb. Even within these texts, however, inflected forms sporadically appear.

In Late Egyptian, as all forms collapsed together with the masculine singular, the usual writing of the word came to follow the old feminine singular,

(nbt).

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of nb  

nb	nbt	nbw	nb	nb
[Old and Middle Kingdoms]	[Late Egyptian]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]
rare

Derived terms

• bw-nb
• nj zp jwt ḫt nb jm
• ntj nb
• rꜥ nb
• ḥr-nb

Descendants

• Demotic: (nb)
  • Akhmimic Coptic: ⲛⲓⲙ (nim)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲛⲓⲃⲉⲛ (niben)
  • Fayyumic Coptic: ⲛⲓⲃⲓ (nibi)
  • Lycopolitan Coptic: ⲛⲓⲙ (nim)
  • Oxyrhynchite Coptic: ⲛⲓⲙ (nim)
  • Coptic Dialect P: ⲛⲓⲃ (nib)
  • Sahidic Coptic: ⲛⲓⲙ (nim)

Etymology 2

Ehret attempts to derive this term from a Proto-Afroasiatic *ruub- (“to send”); as with other attempts at reconstructing Proto-Afroasiatic, academic consensus is lacking, and in this case the derivation is not particularly plausible.

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈniːbuw/ → /ˈniːbuw/ → /neːbə/ → /neːβ/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈniːbuw/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈniːbuw/, in some circumstances reduced early to IPA^(key): /nib/ (by dialect? contingent on phonological context?)
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /neːbə/ (Lower Egypt?), IPA^(key): /neb/ (Upper Egypt?)
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /neːβ/ (Lower Egypt?), IPA^(key): /nep/ (Upper Egypt?)

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /nɛb/
  • Conventional anglicization: neb

Noun

 m

1. lord, master, ruler (of a place or people)
   • 12th Dynasty, Stela of Nakhti, British Museum EA 143:

     wsjr nb-ḏdw nṯr-ꜥꜣ […]

     Osiris, Lord of Djedu, the elder god […]

   • c. 1550 BCE – 1295 BCE, Great Hymn to Osiris (Stela of Amenmose, Louvre C 286) line 23:

     jwyt zb(.w) sjw(w) rw.w tꜣ m ḥtpw ẖr nb.f

     Wrongdoing has gone, the Slanderer has departed, and the land is in peace under its lord.

2. (without following genitive noun, often as a term of address) master, superior
3. master (of a span of time)
4. owner, possessor, bearer (of an object)
5. possessor (of an abstract quality)
   • 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.

6. an epithet of the king
7. an epithet of various gods, especially Osiris

Inflection

Declension of nb (masculine u-stem)

singular	nb
dual	nbwj
plural	nbw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of nb  

nb	nb	nb	nb	nbw	nb	nb	nbt	nb	nb
					[since the Pyramid Texts]	[Pyramid Texts]	[Late Period]	[Late and Greco- Roman Periods]	[Late and Greco- Roman Periods]
	in reference to a person	in reference to the king	in reference to a king or god	rare	common only in the Old Kingdom

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of nb  

nb	nb	nb	nbw	nb	nb	nb
[since the New Kingdom]	[since the New Kingdom]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]
abbrevation	abbrevation	abbrevation	abbrevation	abbrevation	abbrevation	abbrevation

By the Late Period, the usual writing of the word came to follow the old feminine equivalent nbt (“lady, mistress”), as the two words merged into one.

Derived terms

• nb-ꜣꜥꜥw
• nb-ꜣbḏw
• nb-jmꜣḫ
• nb-jmꜣt
• nb-ꜥnḫ
• nb-ꜥḥ
• nb-wꜥ
• nb-pt
• nb-mꜣꜥt
• nb-mdw-nṯr
• nb-nswt-tꜣwj
• nb-r-ḏr
• nb-ḫꜥw
• nb-sḫm
• nb-kꜣ
• nbt
• nb-tꜣwj
• nb-tꜣ-ḏsr
• nb-tm
• nḫt-nb.f
• ḥr-nb-ꜥḥ

Descendants

• Demotic: (nb)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲛⲏⲃ (nēb)
  • Old Coptic: ⲛⲏⲃ (nēb)

Etymology 3

From m- (noun-forming prefix) +‎ *bw(j) (“abomination”) with regular dissimilation of m- to n- before a labial; for the stem, compare bwt (“abomination”), bwj (“to abominate”).

Pronunciation

• (reconstructed Late Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈnaβi/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /nɛb/
  • Conventional anglicization: neb

Noun

 m

1. (hapax legomenon) sin, damage, impurity [Greco-Roman Period]

Descendants

• Demotic: ⁠⁠ (nby), ⁠⁠⁠ (nbe.t)
  • Akhmimic Coptic: ⲛⲁⲃⲉ (nabe)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲛⲟⲃⲓ (nobi)
  • Fayyumic Coptic: ⲛⲁⲃⲓ (nabi), ⲛⲁϥⲓ (nafi)
  • Lycopolitan Coptic: ⲛⲁⲃⲉ (nabe)
  • Sahidic Coptic: ⲛⲟⲃⲉ (nobe)

Etymology 4

Romanization

nb

1. Alternative transliteration of nbw (“gold”).

References

• “nb (lemma ID 81660)”, “nb (lemma ID 81650)”, and “nbw (lemma ID 82730)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎^[6], Corpus issue 18, Web app version 2.1.5, Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning by order of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils by order of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 2004–26 July 2023
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1928) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[7], volume 2, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 227.5–230.14, 234.3–236.5
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, pages 128–129
• Wilson, Penelope (1991) A Lexicographical Study of the Ptolemaic Texts in the Temple of Edfu, Liverpool: University of Liverpool, pages 896–897, 903
• Černý, Jaroslav (1976) Coptic Etymological Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 106
• Hoch, James (1997) Middle Egyptian Grammar, Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN, page 42