bjt

See also: BJT

Egyptian

Etymology

Heavily disputed. The final -t is usually considered a separate feminine ending in origin rather than a part of the root, but this is not wholly certain. Etymological hypotheses include:

• Cognate with Beja wíyu.
• From an earlier form *brt, in which case there are a number of mutually exclusive possibilities:
  • Cognate with El Molo póruat (“bee”).
  • Cognate with Western Rift *baʾara (“bee”) and its descendants: Iraqw baʾārmō (“bee”), Burunge băʾălĭmŭ (“bee”), Alagwa baʾaramo (“fly, bee”).
  • Cognate with Mofu-Gudur béber (“horsefly”).
  • Cognate with Pévé b̰úr (“honey (?)”)
• From an earlier form *blt, cognate with Kulere ʾabyál (“honey”), Mazagway bŏlŏ́m (“honey”), Musey mbulyuma (“honey”), Lele (Chad) bùlò (“hive”).

Several linguists have also proposed an areal connection with Proto-Indo-European *bʰey- (“bee”), noting the existence of a number of parallels between Afroasiatic and Indo-European bee-keeping terminology.

Bee hieroglyph from the tomb complex of Senusret I (d. 1,926 BC)

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /biˈjat/ → /biˈjaʔ/ → /bəˈjaʔ/ → /βəˈjaʔ/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /biˈjat/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /biˈjaʔ/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /bəˈjaʔ/
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /βəˈjaʔ/

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

Noun

 f

1. honey bee

Usage notes

Commonly used as a symbol of Lower Egypt.

Derived terms

• bjtj
• nswt-bjtj
• pr-bjt
• ḥwt bjt

Egyptians gathering honey

Noun

 f

1. honey

Descendants

• Demotic: ⁠⁠⁠ (jby)
  • Coptic: ⲉⲃⲓⲱ (ebiō)

References

• Takács, Gábor (2001) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 2, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 107–110, →ISBN