qite

See also: qítè

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Demotic qt, from Egyptian qdt, with the vowels supplied by the word’s descendant, Coptic ⲕⲓⲧⲉ (kite).

Noun

qite (plural qite)

1. (Egyptology) Alternative spelling of kite (“measure of weight equivalent to ¹⁄₁₀ deben (about 0.32 ounces or 9.1 grams)”)
   • 1981, Pierre Montet, “The Arts and the Professions”, in A[ymer] R[obert] Maxwell-Hyslop, Margaret S[tefana] Drower, transl., Everyday Life in Egypt in the Days of Ramesses the Great, Philadelphia, Pa.: University of Pennsylvania Press, →ISBN, page 167:

     [I]n the great Harris papyrus, […] precise quantities are recorded by weight in terms of the deben (about 2½ oz.) and the qite (¼ oz.) of gold, silver, copper and precious stones, without any reference to their value. […] Five pots of honey were bought for five qite of silver and an ox for five qite of gold.

   • 2003, Pascal Vernus, “The Plunder of Western Thebes”, in David Lorton, transl., Affairs and Scandals in Ancient Egypt: Translated from the French, Ithaca, N.Y., London: Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 25:

     The scribe of the temple Sedy set out with the pure priest and goldsmith Tuty for the frames; they removed one deben and three and a half qite of gold, which they took for the chief of the gang Pameniu.