ꜣw-ḥr

Egyptian

Etymology

ꜣw (“long, extended”) +‎ ḥr (“face”), thus literally ‘the (one who is) long of face’.

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /ɑuː hɛr/
  • Conventional anglicization: au-her

Noun

 m

1. (hapax) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
   1. happy or well-disposed one
   2. farsighted one
   • c. 1860–1839 BCE, The Eloquent Peasant, version B1, Papyrus Berlin P 3023:

     n(n) n.k st ḫpr ꜣw-ḥr m ḥwꜥ-jb

     It does not befit you that a happy^?/farsighted^? one becomes anxious^?.

     (literally, “It is not for you, the long of face becoming the short of heart.”)

   • late 12th Dynasty, The Eloquent Peasant, version B2, Papyrus Berlin P 3025:

     nn n.k st ḫpr ꜣw-ḥr m ḥwꜥ-jb

     It does not befit you that a happy^?/farsighted^? one becomes anxious^?.

     (literally, “It is not for you, the long of face becoming the short of heart.”)

Usage notes

This is a hapax legomenon attested only in copies of The Eloquent Peasant, where it is found in a sentence contrasted with another hapax legomenon, ḥwꜥ-jb. As such, the meaning of this word is very uncertain. Attempts to interpret it often draw a parallel with the similar term ꜣwj-jb (“to be happy”, literally “to be long of heart”).

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜣw-ḥr  

ꜣw-ḥr

from version B2 of The Eloquent Peasant

References

• Allen, James Peter (2015) Middle Egyptian Literature: Eight Literary Works of the Middle Kingdom, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 299–301
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 1