mḫꜣt

Egyptian

Etymology

From m- (noun-forming prefix) +‎ ḫꜣj (“to measure”) +‎ -t (feminine ending).

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈmiχʀit/ → /ˈmiχʀiʔ/ → /ˈmeʔχa/ → /ˈmeʔχə/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈmiχʀit/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈmiχʀiʔ/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈmeʔχa/
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈmeʔχə/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /mɛxɑt/
  • Conventional anglicization: mekhat

Noun

 f

1. balance, scales

   Synonym: jwsw

2. (figuratively) fair measurer of rightness or worth, especially in reference to fair-dealing officials

Inflection

Declension of mḫꜣt (feminine)

singular	mḫꜣt
dual	mḫꜣtj
plural	mḫꜣwt

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mḫꜣt  

mḫꜣt	mḫꜣt	mḫꜣt	mḫꜣt	mḫꜣt
[since the Old Kingdom]	[since the Middle Kingdom]	[Middle Kingdom]	[Middle Kingdom]	[Middle Kingdom]

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mḫꜣt  

mḫꜣt	mḫꜣt	mḫt	mḫt	mḫꜣt	mḫꜣt	mḫꜣt	mḫꜣt
[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[since the New Kingdom]	[Late Period]	[Late Period]
					abbreviation	abbreviation	abbreviation

Derived terms

• jrj-mḫꜣt
• mḫꜣ
• mḫꜣt-tꜣwj

 

Descendants

• Demotic: mḫj, mḫjt, mḫꜥ
  • Akhmimic Coptic: ⲙⲁⳉⲉ (maxe)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲙⲁϣⲓ (maši)
  • Sahidic Coptic: ⲙⲁϣⲉ (maše)

References

• “mḫꜣ.t (lemma ID 74300)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎^[1], Corpus issue 18, Web app version 2.1.5, Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning by order of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils by order of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 2004–26 July 2023
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1928) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[2], volume 2, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 130.8–130.13
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 115
• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 84, 129.