wꜥb

Egyptian

FWOTD – 19 August 2017

Pronunciation

 

• (verb): (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /waˈʕab/ → /waˈʕab/ → /wəˈʕab/ → /wəˈʕap/

• (verb): (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /waˈʕab/ (infinitive); IPA^(key): /waʕba-/ (stative stem)
• (verb): (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /waˈʕab/ (infinitive)
• (verb): (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /wəˈʕab/ (infinitive)
• (verb): (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /wəˈʕap/ (infinitive)

 

• (noun): (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈwiːʕab/ → /ˈwiːʕab/ → /ˈweːʕəb/ → /ˈweːʕəβ/

• (noun): (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈwiːʕab/
• (noun): (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈwiːʕab/
• (noun): (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈweːʕəb/
• (noun): (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈweːʕəβ/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /wɑːb/
  • Conventional anglicization: wab

Verb

 3-lit.

1. (intransitive) to be(come) pure or clean
   • c. 13th Dynasty, Naos of Hori, Kunsthistorisches Museum 186, Vienna:

     ḫt nbt nfrt wꜥbt ꜥnḫt nṯr jm

     […] all things good and pure on which a god lives.

2. (reflexive) to purify or bathe (oneself)

Inflection

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

infinitival forms imperative infinitive negatival complement complementary infinitive1 singular plural wꜥb wꜥbw, wꜥb wꜥbt wꜥb wꜥb ‘pseudoverbal’ forms stative stem periphrastic imperfective2 periphrastic prospective2 wꜥb ḥr wꜥb m wꜥb r wꜥb suffix conjugation aspect / mood active passive contingent aspect / mood active passive perfect wꜥb.n wꜥbw, wꜥb consecutive wꜥb.jn active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 terminative wꜥbt perfective3 wꜥb active + .tj1, .tw2 obligative1 wꜥb.ḫr active + .tj1, .tw2 imperfective wꜥb active + .tj1, .tw2 prospective3 wꜥb wꜥbb potentialis1 wꜥb.kꜣ active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 subjunctive wꜥb active + .tj1, .tw2 verbal adjectives aspect / mood relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms participles active passive active passive perfect wꜥb.n active + .tj1, .tw2 — — perfective wꜥb active + .tj1, .tw2 wꜥb wꜥb, wꜥbw5, wꜥby5 imperfective wꜥb, wꜥby, wꜥbw5 active + .tj1, .tw2 wꜥb, wꜥbj6, wꜥby6 wꜥb, wꜥbw5 prospective wꜥb, wꜥbtj7 — wꜥbtj4, wꜥbt4 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.

Derived terms

• jꜣt wꜥbt
• wꜥbw
• swꜥb

Descendants

• Akhmimic Coptic: ⲟⲩⲁⲡ (ouap)
• Sahidic Coptic: ⲟⲩⲟⲡ (ouop)
• Bohairic Coptic: ⲟⲩⲁⲃ^† (ouab^†)
• Fayyumic Coptic: ⲟⲩⲉⲉⲃ^† (oueeb^†), ⲟⲩⲉⲃ^† (oueb^†), ⲟⲩⲉϥ^† (ouef^†), ⲟⲩⲏⲏⲃ^† (ouēēb^†)

Adjective

1. perfective active participle of wꜥb: pure, clean

Inflection

Declension of wꜥb (perfective active participle)

	masculine	feminine
singular	wꜥb	wꜥbt
dual	wꜥbwj	wꜥbtj
plural	wꜥbw	wꜥbwt1, wꜥbt2

¹ Archaic in Middle Egyptian when modifying a noun.
² From Middle Egyptian, this feminine singular form was generally used for the plural.
In Late Egyptian, the masculine singular form was used with all nouns.

Noun

 m

1. the lowest level of priest, literally a “cleaner”, responsible for cleaning and purifying the temple and preparing ritual offerings
   • c. 2015 B.C.E., Meru, Stela of Meru (Turin 1447), textfield lines 2-4:

     
     
     

     j ꜥnḫw tp(j)w tꜣ
     wnnt(j).s⟨n⟩ m šmsw n(j) ḫnt(j)-jmntjw n(j) wp-wꜣwt mrrw ꜥnḫ msḏḏw ḫpt
     wꜥbw nw nṯr-ꜥꜣ ḥmw-nṯr nbw nw ꜣbḏw

     O living ones who are on the earth,
     who will be in the retinue of Khentamentiu and Wepwawet, who love life and hate dying,
     cleaner-priests of the elder god and all priests of Abydos!

Inflection

Declension of wꜥb (masculine)

singular	wꜥb
dual	wꜥbwj
plural	wꜥbw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of wꜥb  

wꜥb	wꜥb

Descendants

• Demotic: ⁠⁠ (wꜥb)
  • Akhmimic Coptic: ⲟⲩⲓⲉⲓⲃⲉ (ouieibe), ⲟⲩⲉⲓⲃⲉ (oueibe), ⲟⲩⲓⲃⲉ (ouibe)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲟⲩⲏⲃ (ouēb)
  • Fayyumic Coptic: ⲟⲩⲏⲏⲃ (ouēēb), ⲟⲩⲏⲃ (ouēb), ⲟⲩⲉⲃ (oueb), ⲟⲩⲉϥ (ouef), ⲟⲩⲏⲉⲃ (ouēeb)
  • Lycopolitan Coptic: ⲟⲩⲏⲏⲃ (ouēēb)
  • Sahidic Coptic: ⲟⲩⲏⲏⲃ (ouēēb)

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 58, 62, 74, 118, 362.
• Hoch, James (1997) Middle Egyptian Grammar, Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN, pages 41, 54