ꜥnḫ

See also: Appendix:Variations of "nh"

Egyptian

Pronunciation

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

 

• (verb): (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈʕaːnaχ/ → /ˈʕaːnaχ/ → /ˈʕaːnəχ/ → /ˈʕoːnəχ/

• (verb): (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈʕaːnaχ/ (infinitive)
• (verb): (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈʕaːnaχ/ (infinitive)
• (verb): (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈʕaːnəχ/ (infinitive)
• (verb): (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈʕoːnəχ/ (infinitive)

 

• (noun meaning ‘oath’): (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ʕaˈnaχ/ → /ʕaˈnaχ/ → /ʕaˈnaχ/ → /ʕaˈnaχ/

• (noun meaning ‘oath’): (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ʕaˈnaχ/
• (noun meaning ‘oath’): (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ʕaˈnaχ/
• (noun meaning ‘oath’): (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ʕaˈnaχ/
• (noun meaning ‘oath’): (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ʕaˈnaχ/

Verb

 3-lit.

1. (intransitive) to live, to be(come) alive
   • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 113–114:

     m.k nṯr rḏj.n.f ꜥnḫ.k jn.f tw r jw pn n(j) kꜣ

     Look, the god, he has let you live, as he has brought you to this island of the ka.

   1. (+ m) to subsist or live on (something)
   2. (+ m) to dwell in (some place)
   3. (+ ḥr) to occupy (a throne) or dwell in (a foreign land)
2. (intransitive, of the dead) to come to life or live again after death in an afterlife
3. (intransitive, figuratively) to ‘come to life’ (wake up or regain liveliness) upon the rising of the sun or upon seeing the sun
4. (intransitive, figuratively) to ‘come to life’ whenever one’s name is pronounced
5. (intransitive, of a name) to still be remembered
6. (intransitive, especially of body parts) to be vigorous or full of vitality
7. (intransitive, medicine, of food) to be fresh
8. (intransitive, as a non-attributive relative/emphatic form) used in introductory formulae for oaths, usually with a king or god as subject: As long as … lives, … [since the Old Kingdom]
9. used at the beginning of inscriptions before the names of kings and gods: originally ‘May … live’, later meaningless [meaningless since the 18th Dynasty]

Inflection

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

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive1	singular	plural
ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫw, ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫt	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ

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

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

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms	participles
	active	active	passive
perfect	ꜥnḫ.n	—	—
perfective	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ, ꜥnḫw5, ꜥnḫy5
imperfective	ꜥnḫ, ꜥnḫy, ꜥnḫw5	ꜥnḫ, ꜥnḫj6, ꜥnḫy6	ꜥnḫ, ꜥnḫw5
prospective	ꜥnḫ, ꜥnḫtj7	ꜥnḫtj4, ꜥnḫt4
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 ꜥnḫ  

ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ
		[New Kingdom]	[Late Period, Greco-Roman Period]	[Late Period, Greco-Roman Period]
	when used at the start of inscriptions/before divine/royal names

Derived terms

• jmj ꜥnḫk
• jḫt nbt ꜥnḫt
• jtn ꜥnḫ
• ꜥnḫ.s-n-jmn
• ꜥnḫ.tj
• ꜥnḫ.tj ḏt
• ꜥnḫj
• ꜥnḫj mrj wj rꜥ
• ꜥnḫj nj ꜥnḫk nj
• ꜥnḫ wꜣs
• ꜥnḫ wꜣs snb
• ꜥnḫ wḏꜣ snb
• ꜥnḫ mj rꜥ
• ꜥnḫ m whm
• ꜥnḫ mswt
• ꜥnḫ msḫꜥ
• ꜥnḫ nj
• ꜥnḫ nj mrj wj rꜥ
• ꜥnḫ-n-nwt
• ꜥnḫ ḥtp
• ꜥnḫ snb
• ꜥnḫ ḏt
• ꜥnḫ ḏt mj rꜥ
• ꜥnḫ ḏd
• ꜥnḫ ḏd wꜣs
• whm ꜥnḫ
• bꜣ ꜥnḫ
• ḥꜥ ꜥnḫ
• ḥtp m ꜥnḫ
• sꜥnḫ
• snb.t ꜥnḫ.t
• sḫm-ꜥnḫ-jmn
• sqr ꜥnḫ
• kꜣ nswt ꜥnḫ
• twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn
• twt-ꜥnḫ-jmn-ḥqꜣ-jwnw-šmꜥw
• twt-ꜥnḫ-jtn

 

Descendants

• Demotic: ꜥnḫ
  • Akhmimic Coptic: ⲱⲛⳉ (ōnx)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲱⲛϧ (ōnx)
  • Fayyumic Coptic: ⲱⲛϩ (ōnh)
  • Lycopolitan Coptic: ⲱⲛϩ (ōnh)
  • Coptic Dialect P: ⲱⲳϧ (ōnx)
  • Sahidic Coptic: ⲱⲛϩ (ōnh)

Noun

 m

1. life (the state of being alive)

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Derived terms

• jrj ꜥnḫ
• ꜥnḫ-jmj
• ꜥnḫ-wꜣs
• ꜥnḫ mrr
• ꜥnḫ-nṯr
• ꜥnḫ-tꜣwj
• wḏꜣ n ꜥnḫ
• pr-ꜥnḫ
• mr.s-ꜥnḫ
• nb-ꜥnḫ
• nbt-ꜥnḫ
• ḫt n ꜥnḫ
• ḏj ꜥnḫ
• ḏj ꜥnḫ ḏd wꜣs

 

Noun

 m

1. someone who lives, a living person or dweller
   • c. 13th Dynasty, Naos of Hori, Kunsthistorisches Museum 186, Vienna:

     j ꜥnḫw tp(j)w tꜣ ẖrw-ḥbt nb wꜥbw nb […]

     O living ones upon the earth, all lector-priests, all temple-cleaners […]

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥnḫ  

ꜥnḫ

Derived terms

• ꜥnḫj
• ꜥnḫw tpjw tꜣ
• ꜥnḫ n mšꜥ
• ꜥnḫ n nwt
• ꜥnḫ n ḫꜣ tpj
• ꜥnḫ n ṯt ḥqꜣ
• ꜥnḫt
• ꜥnḫt n nwt
• pr n ꜥnḫw
• nꜣ n ꜥnḫw
• nwt nt ꜥnḫw
• tꜣ n ꜥnḫw

 

Noun

 m

1. The meaning of this term is uncertain. It is a piece of equipment illustrated among coffin offerings, at the foot end of the mummy, and depicted in the hieroglyph used to write its name. Possibilities include:
   1. A sandal strap
   2. An elaborate amuletic bow or knot
   3. A sort of tied belt
2. ankh (symbol of life)

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥnḫ  

ꜥnḫ

Descendants

• → English: ankh

Noun

 m

1. (usually with pꜣ in Late Egyptian) oath, vow [since the Middle Kingdom]

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine consonant-stem)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥnḫ  

ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ

Derived terms

• jnj ꜥnḫ
• jrj ꜥnḫ n nb
• ꜥnḫ n nb
• ꜥnḫ nṯr
• rdj ꜥnḫ n nb
• ḏd ꜥnḫ

 

Descendants

• Akhmimic Coptic: ⲁⲛⲁⳉ (anax)
• Bohairic Coptic: ⲁⲛⲁϣ (anaš)
• Sahidic Coptic: ⲁⲛⲁϣ (anaš)

Verb

 3-lit.

1. (intransitive) to swear (an oath); (with m) to swear by (someone) [18th Dynasty]

Inflection

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

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive1	singular	plural
ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫw, ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫt	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ

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

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

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms	participles
	active	active	passive
perfect	ꜥnḫ.n	—	—
perfective	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ, ꜥnḫw5, ꜥnḫy5
imperfective	ꜥnḫ, ꜥnḫy, ꜥnḫw5	ꜥnḫ, ꜥnḫj6, ꜥnḫy6	ꜥnḫ, ꜥnḫw5
prospective	ꜥnḫ, ꜥnḫtj7	ꜥnḫtj4, ꜥnḫt4
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.

Noun

 m

1. prisoner of war [18th Dynasty]

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Noun

 m

1. bouquet or garland of flowers, typically as an offering [since the 18th Dynasty]

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥnḫ  

ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ

Noun

 m

1. a kind of beetle [Pyramid Texts]
2. an epithet of the sun [Greco-Roman Period]

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥnḫ  

ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ
[Old Kingdom]

Noun

 m

1. an epithet of the inundation [Greco-Roman Period]

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Noun

 m

1. The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include: [Middle Kingdom]
   1. alabaster
   2. something made from alabaster

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Noun

 m

1. mirror [since the Middle Kingdom]
   • c. 1295 BCE – 1186 BCE, The Admonitions of Ipuwer (pLeiden I 344 Recto) line 8.5:

     m.tn jwtt {m} pdsw.s m nbt ꜣtp gmḥt ḥr.s m mw m nbt ꜥnḫ

     Look, she who had no box is the owner of a chest; she who observed her face in the water is the owner of a mirror.

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥnḫ  

ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ	ꜥnḫ
[Middle Kingdom]	[Middle Kingdom]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]

Derived terms

• ꜥnḫ n mꜣꜣ ḥr

 

Noun

 m

1. a vessel in the form of an ankh, from which the gods pour life

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Noun

 m

1. a door leaf [Greco-Roman Period]

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Noun

 m

1. a kind of document [20th Dynasty]

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Noun

 m

1. sustenance, livelihood [since the 18th Dynasty]

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ꜥnḫ  

ꜥnḫ

Noun

 m

1. billy-goat^? [19th Dynasty]

Inflection

Declension of ꜥnḫ (masculine)

singular	ꜥnḫ
dual	ꜥnḫwj
plural	ꜥnḫw

Derived terms

• ꜥnḫt
• nꜣ ꜥnḫ

 

See also

• 𓋹

References

• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1926) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[1], volume 1, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 193.2–201.4, 202.3–203.5, 204.2–204.5, 204.7–204.17, 205.8, 205.13–205.14
• Atiya, Aziz Suryal, editor (1991), “Protodialect”, in The Coptic Encyclopedia‎^[2], New York: Macmillan, →ISBN
• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 386.