snfj

Egyptian

Etymology

s- (causative prefix) +‎ nfj (“to blow, to breathe out”).

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /sɛnɛfi/
  • Conventional anglicization: senefi

Verb

 caus. 3ae inf.

1. (transitive) to let breathe or vent out

Inflection

Conjugation of snfj (causative third weak / caus. 3ae inf. / caus. III. inf.) — base stem: snf, geminated stem: snff

infinitival forms imperative infinitive negatival complement complementary infinitive1 singular plural snft, snfj snfw, snf snft, snfwt, snfyt snf snf, snfy ‘pseudoverbal’ forms stative stem periphrastic imperfective2 periphrastic prospective2 snf ḥr snft, ḥr snfj m snft, m snfj r snft, r snfj suffix conjugation aspect / mood active passive contingent aspect / mood active passive perfect snf.n snfw, snf, snfy consecutive snf.jn active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 terminative snft perfective3 snf active + .tj1, .tw2 obligative1 snf.ḫr active + .tj1, .tw2 imperfective snf, snfy active + .tj1, .tw2 prospective3 snfw, snf, snfy snfw, snf, snfy potentialis1 snf.kꜣ active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 subjunctive snf, snfy active + .tj1, .tw2 verbal adjectives aspect / mood relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms participles active passive active passive perfect snf.n active + .tj1, .tw2 — — perfective snfw1, snfy, snf active + .tj1, .tw2 snf snfy, snf imperfective snff, snffy, snffw5 active + .tj1, .tw2 snff, snffj6, snffy6 snff, snffw5 prospective snfw1, snfy, snf, snftj7 — snfwtj1 4, snftj4, snft4 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.

Allen instead treats this verb as a causative strong triliteral snfꜣ, based on the variant form nfꜣ of its stem verb nfj; in this case the final consonant is unwritten because it is weak:

Conjugation of snfꜣ (causative triliteral / caus. 3-lit. / caus. 3rad.) — base stem: snfꜣ

infinitival forms imperative infinitive negatival complement complementary infinitive1 singular plural snfꜣ snfꜣw, snfꜣ snfꜣt snfꜣ snfꜣ ‘pseudoverbal’ forms stative stem periphrastic imperfective2 periphrastic prospective2 snfꜣ ḥr snfꜣ m snfꜣ r snfꜣ suffix conjugation aspect / mood active passive contingent aspect / mood active passive perfect snfꜣ.n snfꜣw, snfꜣ consecutive snfꜣ.jn active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 terminative snfꜣt perfective3 snfꜣ active + .tj1, .tw2 obligative1 snfꜣ.ḫr active + .tj1, .tw2 imperfective snfꜣ active + .tj1, .tw2 prospective3 snfꜣw, snfꜣ, snfꜣy snfꜣw, snfꜣ, snfꜣy potentialis1 snfꜣ.kꜣ active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 subjunctive snfꜣ active + .tj1, .tw2 verbal adjectives aspect / mood relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms participles active passive active passive perfect snfꜣ.n active + .tj1, .tw2 — — perfective snfꜣ active + .tj1, .tw2 snfꜣ snfꜣ, snfꜣw5, snfꜣy5 imperfective snfꜣ, snfꜣy, snfꜣw5 active + .tj1, .tw2 snfꜣ, snfꜣj6, snfꜣy6 snfꜣ, snfꜣw5 prospective snfꜣ, snfꜣtj7 — snfꜣwtj1 4, snfꜣtj4, snfꜣt4 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.

However, writings of the verb with a final ꜣ are unattested, unlike writings with a final j, and the writing of the verb nfꜣ itself is very rare and only occurs since the New Kingdom (compared to early Middle Kingdom attestations of nfj), so this is perhaps unlikely.

References

• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 150.