nfr

See also: NFR

Egyptian

FWOTD – 13 January 2016

Etymology

Possibly from Proto-Afroasiatic *fir- (“to be good”) with an additional *nV- prefix. Compare also Tamahaq ⵉⴼⵔⴰⵔ (ifrar, “best”) and Saho feer (“good”).

Pronunciation

 

• (adjective): (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːfiɾ/ → /ˈnaːfiʔ/ → /ˈnaːfa/ → /ˈnoːfə/

• (adjective): (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːfiɾ/
• (adjective): (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːfiʔ/
• (adjective): (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːfa/; compare the Akkadian transcription 𒈾𒀀𒉺 (na-a-pa)
• (adjective): (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnoːfə/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /nɛfɛr/
  • Conventional anglicization: nefer

Verb

 3-lit.

1. (intransitive) to be(come) of superior or admirable quality, to be(come) fine, good, or wonderful
   • 12th Dynasty, coffin of Nakhtankh, British Museum EA 35285:

     […] qrst nfrt m jz.f nfr n ẖrt-nṯr […]

     […] a good burial in his wonderful tomb of the necropolis […]

2. (intransitive) to be(come) pleasant or gratifying to the senses
   1. (intransitive) to be(come) beautiful or fair, to look good
   2. (intransitive, of scents and flowers) to smell good
   3. (intransitive, of food and drinks) to taste good
3. (intransitive, of periods of time) to be(come) pleasant or enjoyable to live through
4. (intransitive, of people) to acquire or have good or pleasant qualities, to be capable, agreeable, or benevolent
5. (intransitive, of work) to be done well or competently
6. (intransitive, of medicine) to be(come) effective
7. (intransitive, of names) to acquire or have a good reputation

Inflection

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

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive1	singular	plural
nfr	nfrw, nfr	nfrt	nfr	nfr

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

suffix conjugation
aspect / mood	active	contingent
		aspect / mood	active
perfect	nfr.n	consecutive	nfr.jn
terminative	nfrt
perfective3	nfr	obligative1	nfr.ḫr
imperfective	nfr
prospective3	nfr	potentialis1	nfr.kꜣ
subjunctive	nfr

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms	participles
	active	active	passive
perfect	nfr.n	—	—
perfective	nfr	nfr	nfr, nfrw5, nfry5
imperfective	nfr, nfry, nfrw5	nfr, nfrj6, nfry6	nfr, nfrw5
prospective	nfr, nfrtj7	nfrtj4, nfrt4
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 nfr  

nfr

Derived terms

• ꜣst-nfrt
• jnr ḥḏ nfr n rwḏt
• wnn-nfr
• bw nfr
• pr nfr
• mwt-nfr.t
• mdwt nfrt
• nfr.f-rꜥ
• nfr-jb
• nfr-jr-kꜣ-rꜥ
• nfrw
• nfr-mꜣꜥt
• nfr-nfrw-jtn
• nfr-nfrw-rꜥ
• nfr-ḥtp
• nfr-ḥtp.s
• nfr-kꜣ-rꜥ
• nfrt
• nfr-tm
• nṯr-nfr
• rn nfr
• snfr

 

Adjective

1. perfective active participle of nfr: fine, beautiful, pleasant, etc.

Inflection

Declension of nfr (perfective active participle)

	masculine	feminine
singular	nfr	nfrt
dual	nfrwj	nfrtj
plural	nfrw	nfrwt1, nfrt2
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.

Along with bjn and ꜥꜣ, nfr is one of the few Egyptian adjectives that continued to show remnants of gender and number inflection into Late Egyptian (and beyond).

Alternative forms

See the ‘Alternative forms’ section under the verb above.

Derived terms

See the ‘Derived terms’ under the verb above.

Descendants

• Demotic: nfr
  • Coptic: ⲛⲟⲩϥⲉ (noufe) (Sahidic, Akhmimic), ⲛⲟⲩϥⲓ (noufi) (Bohairic, Fayyumic)

Noun

 m

1. fine or good person
2. (with following genitive) benefactor (of someone), welldoer
3. (with following plural genitive) the best (person) among…, the best one of…

Inflection

Declension of nfr (masculine)

singular	nfr
dual	nfrwj
plural	nfrw

Alternative forms

See the ‘Alternative forms’ section under the verb above.

Noun

 m

1. good, goodness, pleasingness (in opposition to bjn)
2. good qualities or deeds (of a person)
3. something fine, good, beautiful, pleasing

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of nfr  

nfr	nfr
	[New Kingdom]

Interjection

1. good, sure, fine
2. correct, that’s right

Adverb

1. well

Alternative forms

See the ‘Alternative forms’ section under the verb above.

Particle

 proclitic

1. not even, not at all

Usage notes

In Middle Egyptian, this particle is found only in the constructions nfr pw, nfr n, and nfr ꜣ.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of nfr  

nfr

Derived terms

• nfr ꜣ
• nfr pw
• nfr n

 

Related terms

• nfrw (“depletion, deficiency, zero”)

References

• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1928) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[1], volume 2, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 253.1–256.15, 257.12–257.15, 258.11–258.17
• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 94–95, 194–195.
• Hoch, James (1997) Middle Egyptian Grammar, Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN, page 42