nfj

Egyptian

Etymology

Compare with Proto-Semitic *napaḫ-.

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈniːfit/ → /ˈniːfiʔ/ → /ˈniːfa/ → /ˈniːfə/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈniːfit/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈniːfiʔ/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈniːfa/
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈniːfə/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /nɛfi/
  • Conventional anglicization: nefi

Verb

 3ae inf.

1. (transitive or intransitive) to exhale or blow (+ r: on)

Inflection

Conjugation of nfj (third weak / 3ae inf. / III. inf.) — base stem: nf, geminated stem: nff

infinitival forms imperative infinitive negatival complement complementary infinitive1 singular plural nft, nfj nfw, nf nft, nfwt, nfyt nf nf, nfy ‘pseudoverbal’ forms stative stem periphrastic imperfective2 periphrastic prospective2 nf8, nff8 ḥr nft, ḥr nfj m nft, m nfj r nft, r nfj suffix conjugation aspect / mood active passive contingent aspect / mood active passive perfect nf.n nfw, nf, nfy consecutive nf.jn active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 terminative nft, nfyt perfective3 nf active + .tj1, .tw2 obligative1 nf.ḫr active + .tj1, .tw2 imperfective nf, nfy active + .tj1, .tw2 prospective3 nfw, nf, nfy nfw, nf, nfy potentialis1 nf.kꜣ active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 subjunctive nf, nfy active + .tj1, .tw2 verbal adjectives aspect / mood relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms participles active passive active passive perfect nf.n active + .tj1, .tw2 — — perfective nfw1, nfy, nf active + .tj1, .tw2 nf nfy, nf imperfective nff, nffy, nffw5 active + .tj1, .tw2 nff, nffj6, nffy6 nff, nffw5 prospective nfw1, nfy, nf, nftj7 — nfwtj1 4, nftj4, nft4 1 Used in Old Egyptian; archaic by Middle Egyptian. 2 Used mostly since Middle Egyptian. 3 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. 4 Declines using third-person suffix pronouns instead of adjectival endings: masculine .f/.fj, feminine .s/.sj, dual .sn/.snj, plural .sn. 5 Only in the masculine singular. 6 Only in the masculine. 7 Only in the feminine. 8 Third-person masculine statives of this class often have a final -y instead of the expected stative ending.

Descendants

• Bohairic Coptic: ⲛⲓϥⲓ (nifi)
• Sahidic Coptic: ⲛⲓϥⲉ (nife)

References

• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1928) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[1], volume 2, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 250.11–250.13