zfṯ

See also: zft

Egyptian

Etymology

Related to zf (“to slaughter, cut up”), zft (“sword, knife”).

Pronunciation

 

• (verb): (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈzaːfac/ → /ˈsaːfaʔ/ → /ˈsaːfa/ → /ˈsoːfə/

• (verb): (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈzaːfac/
• (verb): (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈsaːfaʔ/
• (verb): (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈsaːfa/
• (verb): (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈsoːfə/

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

Verb

 3-lit.

1. (transitive) to slaughter, to butcher (animals) [since the Old Kingdom]
   • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 144–146:

     zft.j n.k kꜣw m zj n sḏt wšn.n.j n.k ꜣpdw

     I will slaughter bulls for you as a burnt offering, having wrung the necks of birds for you.

2. (transitive) to kill (enemies) in battle [since the New Kingdom]

Inflection

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

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive1	singular	plural
zfṯ	zfṯw, zfṯ	zfṯt	zfṯ	zfṯ

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

suffix conjugation
aspect / mood	active	passive	contingent
			aspect / mood	active	passive
perfect	zfṯ.n	zfṯw, zfṯ	consecutive	zfṯ.jn	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
terminative	zfṯt
perfective3	zfṯ	active + .tj1, .tw2	obligative1	zfṯ.ḫr	active + .tj1, .tw2
imperfective	zfṯ	active + .tj1, .tw2
prospective3	zfṯ	zfṯṯ	potentialis1	zfṯ.kꜣ	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
subjunctive	zfṯ	active + .tj1, .tw2

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms		participles
	active	passive	active	passive
perfect	zfṯ.n	active + .tj1, .tw2	—	—
perfective	zfṯ	active + .tj1, .tw2	zfṯ	zfṯ, zfṯw5, zfṯy5
imperfective	zfṯ, zfṯy, zfṯw5	active + .tj1, .tw2	zfṯ, zfṯj6, zfṯy6	zfṯ, zfṯw5
prospective	zfṯ, zfṯtj7	—	zfṯtj4, zfṯt4
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 zfṯ  

zft

[since the Middle Kingdom]

Derived terms

• zfṯyw

Noun

 m

1. butcher

Inflection

Declension of zfṯ (masculine)

singular	zfṯ
dual	zfṯwj
plural	zfṯw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of zfṯ  

sft

[New Kingdom]

References

• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1929) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[1], volume 3, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 443.15–444.2
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 225
• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 332.