ⲥⲟⲛⲓ

Coptic

Alternative forms

• ⲥⲟⲟⲛⲉ (soone) — Sahidic
• ⲥⲟⲛⲉ (sone) — Sahidic
• ⲥⲁⲛⲉ (sane) — Akhmimic, Lycopolitan
• ⲥⲁⲛⲓ (sani) — Lycopolitan
• ⲥⲁⲁⲛⲓ (saani) — Fayyumic

Etymology

Probably with an original meaning of ‘vagrant’, derived from ⲥⲓⲛⲓ (sini, “to pass by”) or its predecessors, Demotic sny and Egyptian (znj). Vycichl reconstructs an Egyptian predecessor *znw derived from znj.

Noun

ⲥⲟⲛⲓ • (soni) m (plural ⲥⲓⲛⲱⲟⲩⲓ (sinōoui) or ⲥⲟⲛⲓ (soni))

1. (Bohairic) robber, thief

References

• Černý, Jaroslav (1976) Coptic Etymological Dictionary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 155
• Vycichl, Werner (1983) Dictionnaire Étymologique de la Langue Copte, Leuven: Peeters, →ISBN, page 191
• Crum, Walter E. (1939) A Coptic Dictionary‎^[1], Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN, page 344