Perhaps from a form such as Proto-Afroasiatic *nx̣m . Cognate with Proto-Semitic *nʿm- .[ 1]
3-lit.
( intransitive ) to taste sweet
( intransitive ) to smell sweet or pleasant
( intransitive , often of air, water, or temperature) to be(come) pleasant or refreshing
c. 1450 BCE , The Poetical Stela of Thutmose III: Part I, Cairo Museum 34010 :[ 2]
nḏm wj jmꜣt.k r šnbt.jHow pleasant is your grace to my breast!
( intransitive , of people) to be(come) healthy or well
c. 1550 BCE – 1295 BCE ,
Great Hymn to Osiris (Stela of Amenmose, Louvre C 286) line 21:
bw-nb ḫntš(.w) jbw nḏm (.w) ḥꜣtjw ẖr ršwt Everybody is glad, minds are sweet , hearts are in joy.
Conjugation of nḏm (triliteral / 3-lit. / 3rad.) — base stem: nḏm , geminated stem: nḏmm
infinitival forms
imperative
infinitive
negatival complement
complementary infinitive1
singular
plural
nḏm
nḏmw , nḏm
nḏmt
nḏm
nḏm
‘pseudoverbal’ forms
stative stem
periphrastic imperfective 2
periphrastic prospective 2
nḏm
ḥr nḏm
m nḏm
r nḏm
suffix conjugation
aspect / mood
active
passive
contingent
aspect / mood
active
passive
perfect
nḏm.n
nḏmw , nḏm
consecutive
nḏm.jn
active + .tj 1 , .tw 2
active + .tj 1 , .tw 2
terminative
nḏmt
perfective 3
nḏm
active + .tj 1 , .tw 2
obligative1
nḏm.ḫr
active + .tj 1 , .tw 2
imperfective
nḏm
active + .tj 1 , .tw 2
prospective 3
nḏm
nḏmm
potentialis1
nḏm.kꜣ
active + .tj 1 , .tw 2
active + .tj 1 , .tw 2
subjunctive
nḏm
active + .tj 1 , .tw 2
verbal adjectives
aspect / mood
relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms
participles
active
passive
active
passive
perfect
nḏm.n
active + .tj 1 , .tw 2
—
—
perfective
nḏm
active + .tj 1 , .tw 2
nḏm
nḏm , nḏmw 5 , nḏmy 5
imperfective
nḏm , nḏmy , nḏmw 5
active + .tj 1 , .tw 2
nḏm , nḏmj 6 , nḏmy 6
nḏm , nḏmw 5
prospective
nḏm , nḏmtj 7
—
nḏmtj 4 , nḏmt 4
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 hieroglyphic writings of nḏm
Coptic:
Sahidic Coptic: ⲛⲟⲩⲧⲙ̄ ( noutm̄ )
Bohairic Coptic: ⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉⲙ ( noutem )
perfective active participle of nḏm : sweet , pleasant
Declension of nḏm (perfective active participle)
masculine
feminine
singular
nḏm
nḏmt
dual
nḏmwj
nḏmtj
plural
nḏmw
nḏmwt 1 , nḏmt 2
Archaic in Middle Egyptian when modifying a noun.
From Middle Egyptian, this feminine singular form was generally used for the plural. In Late Egyptian, the masculine singular form was used with all nouns.
See under the verb section above.
Erman, Adolf , Grapow, Hermann (1928 ) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache [1] , volume 2, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN , pages 378.9–381.8
Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962 ) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian , Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN , page 144
James P[eter] Allen (2010 ) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs , 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN , pages 121, 241 .
Hoch, James (1997 ) Middle Egyptian Grammar , Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN , page 128