𐎱𐎡𐎼𐎠𐎺

Old Persian

Etymology

From Demotic pꜣ yr-ꜥꜣ (“the Nile”) (borrowed with the definite article), based on Egyptian jtrw (“river”), ꜥꜣ (“great”).

Proper noun

𐎱𐎡𐎼𐎠𐎺 (p-i-r-a-v /Pirāva/)

1. the Nile
   • 522-486 BC, DZc

     𐎠𐎭𐎶 𐏐 𐎴𐎡[𐎹𐏁]𐎫𐎠𐎹𐎶 𐏐 𐎡𐎶𐎠𐎶 [𐏐 𐎹𐎢𐎻𐎡𐎹𐎠]/𐎶 𐏐 𐎣𐎫𐎴𐎡𐎹 𐏐 𐏃𐎨𐎠 𐏐 𐎱𐎡𐎼𐎠𐎺 𐏐 𐎴𐎠𐎶 𐏐 𐎼𐎢𐎫 𐏐 𐎫𐎹 𐏐 𐎸𐎢𐎭𐎼𐎠𐎹𐎡𐎹 𐏐 𐎭𐎵𐎢[𐎺𐎫𐎡𐎹 𐏐 𐎠𐎲]/𐎡𐎹[𐏐 𐎭]𐎼𐎹 𐏐 𐎫𐎹 𐏐 𐏃𐎨𐎠 𐏐 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿𐎠

     adam ni[yaš]tāyam imām [yaṷviyā]m kantana+ hacā Pirāva nāma raṷta Muδrāya+ danu[vati ab]i [dra]ya tya hacā Pārsā

     I ordered to dig this canal from the river that is called Nile and flows in Egypt, to the sea that begins in Persia.

References

• Mahlich, Elena. "The Appellation of the River Nile in Achaemenid Texts". Egyptian Loanwords in Languages of the Ancient Near East. Ménant (1897), 131-157.