Egyptian edit

 
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Etymology edit

Probably from šꜣs (to travel, to wander). A borrowing derived from Hebrew שָׁסָה (šāsā) or שָׁסַס (šāsas, to plunder) has also been suggested.

Pronunciation edit

Proper noun edit

SAAswwT14A1
Z2

 m

  1. the Shasu, Semitic nomads originally from the area around Edom and Mount Seir, later also throughout southern Canaan [since the 18th Dynasty]
  2. the land of the Shasu, the area around Edom and Mount Seir [since the 18th Dynasty]
  3. (possibly) warlike nomads in general

Usage notes edit

Conventionally this word is sometimes translated as bedouin, but the Shasu were not (necessarily) Arabs; some scholars have suggested links to other Semitic groups, such as the Israelites.

Alternative forms edit

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

  • Akhmimic Coptic: ϣⲁⲥ (šas, herd, shepherd)
  • Sahidic Coptic: ϣⲱⲥ (šōs, herd, shepherd)

References edit

  • Erman, Adolf; Grapow, Hermann (1926–1961) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN
  • Černý, Jaroslav (1976) Coptic Etymological Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN
  • Ward, William A. (1972) “The Shasu ‘Bedouin’: Notes on a Recent Publication” in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Volume 15, Issue 1, pp. 35-60
  • Giveon, Raphael (1971) Les Bédouins Shosou des documents égyptiens