nḥm

See also: nhm

Egyptian

FWOTD – 2 October 2021

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːħam/ → /ˈnaːħam/ → /ˈnaːħəm/ → /ˈnoːħəm/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːħam/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːħam/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnaːħəm/
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈnoːħəm/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /nɛhɛm/
  • Conventional anglicization: nehem

Verb

 3-lit.

1. (transitive) to take away
   • c. 2353 BCE – 2323 BCE, Pyramid Texts of Unas — gable of the east wall of the antechamber, spell 273–274.58:

     nj nḥmm sꜥḥw wnjs m-ꜥ.f

     • Translation by Allen

       The dignities of Unas will not be taken away from him.

2. (transitive) to save, to rescue
   • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 17–19:

     jw r(ꜣ) n z nḥm.f sw jw mdw.f ḏj.f ṯꜣm n.f ḥr

     The mouth of a man saves him; his speech gains him leniency (literally, “gives cloaking of the face for him”).

   • c. 1552 BCE, Kamose, Carnarvon Tablet I (Cairo JE 41790):

     jb.j r nḥm kmt ḥ(w)t ꜥꜣmw

     I intend to save Egypt and smite the Asiatics.

Inflection

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

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive1	singular	plural
nḥm	nḥmw, nḥm	nḥmt	nḥm	nḥm

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

suffix conjugation
aspect / mood	active	passive	contingent
			aspect / mood	active	passive
perfect	nḥm.n	nḥmw, nḥm	consecutive	nḥm.jn	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
terminative	nḥmt
perfective3	nḥm	active + .tj1, .tw2	obligative1	nḥm.ḫr	active + .tj1, .tw2
imperfective	nḥm	active + .tj1, .tw2
prospective3	nḥm	nḥmm	potentialis1	nḥm.kꜣ	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
subjunctive	nḥm	active + .tj1, .tw2

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms		participles
	active	passive	active	passive
perfect	nḥm.n	active + .tj1, .tw2	—	—
perfective	nḥm	active + .tj1, .tw2	nḥm	nḥm, nḥmw5, nḥmy5
imperfective	nḥm, nḥmy, nḥmw5	active + .tj1, .tw2	nḥm, nḥmj6, nḥmy6	nḥm, nḥmw5
prospective	nḥm, nḥmtj7	—	nḥmtj4, nḥmt4
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 nḥm  

nḥm

Descendants

• Akhmimic Coptic: ⲛⲟⲩϩⲙⲉ (nouhme)
• Bohairic Coptic: ⲛⲟϩⲉⲙ (nohem)
• Fayyumic Coptic: ⲛⲟⲩϩⲉⲙ (nouhem)
• Sahidic Coptic: ⲛⲟⲩϩⲙ (nouhm)

References

• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 164, 180, 228, 251, 253, 298–299, 311, 313.