zft

Egyptian

Etymology

Related to zf (“to slaughter, cut up”), zfṯ (“to slaughter”). Also compare Arabic سيف (sayf), Amharic ሰይፍ (säyf).

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈziːfat/ → /ˈsiːfaʔ/ → /ˈseːfə/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈziːfat/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈsiːfaʔ/
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈseːfə/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /zɛfɛt/
  • Conventional anglicization: zefet

Noun

 f m

1. (feminine) (metal) sword [since the 18th Dynasty]
2. (masculine) knife [since the 18th Dynasty]

Inflection

Declension of zft (feminine)

singular	zft
dual	zftj
plural	zfwt

Declension of zft (masculine)

singular	zft
dual	zftwj
plural	zftw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of zft  

sft	sft	zft	zt
	[19th-20th Dynasty]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]

Descendants

• Demotic: sfy
  • Coptic: ⲥⲏϥⲉ (sēfe) (Sahidic, Akhmimic, Lycopolitan), ⲥⲏϥⲓ (sēfi) (Bohairic, Fayyumic)
• → Ancient Greek: ξίφος (xíphos)

References

• Černý, Jaroslav (1976) Coptic Etymological Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1926–1961) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN