ⲥⲓⲙⲓ

Coptic

Alternative forms

Panel painting of a woman in a blue mantle

• ϩⲓⲙⲉ (hime) — Sahidic, Lycopolitan, Akhmimic, Old Coptic
• ⲥϩⲓⲙⲓ (shimi) — Bohairic, Fayyumic
• ⲥⲓⲙⲉⲓ (simei), ϩⲏⲙ (hēm) — Fayyumic
• ⲥⲓⲙⲉ (sime) — Old Coptic
• ⲥⲉⲓⲙⲉ (seime), ⲥϩⲉ (she), ϩⲓⲙ (him) — Sahidic

Etymology

From Demotic s-ḥmt (“woman”), from Egyptian zt-ḥmt (“woman”), from (zt, “woman”) + (ḥmt, “wife, woman”), a compound that arose because the feminine ending -t in zt eventually became silent, making zt homophonous with z (“man”), so that it became necessary to add ḥmt to distinguish between them. By surface analysis, ⲥⲁ (sa) +‎ ϩⲓⲙⲉ (hime).

Noun

ⲥⲓⲙⲓ • (simi) f (plural ⲥⲓⲙⲓ (simi))

1. (Fayyumic) woman
2. (Fayyumic) wife
3. (Fayyumic) female (animal)

Adjective

ⲥⲓⲙⲓ • (simi)

1. (Fayyumic) female

References

• Crum, Walter E. (1939) A Coptic Dictionary‎^[1], Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, page 385
• Černý, Jaroslav (1976) Coptic Etymological Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 173–174