wpt-r

Egyptian

Etymology

wpt (infinitive of wpj (“to open”)) +‎ r (“mouth”), thus ‘opening of the mouth’.

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /wVˈpaːwatɾaʀ/ → /wVˈpaːtɾaʀ/ → /wəˈpaːʔɾə/ → /wəˈpoːʔɾ/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /wVˈpaːwatɾaʀ/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /wVˈpaːtɾaʀ/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /wəˈpaːʔɾə/
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /wəˈpoːʔɾ/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /wɛpɛt ɛr/
  • Conventional anglicization: wepet-er

Noun

 m

1. the opening of the mouth ceremony, a funerary ritual that symbolically reanimates the deceased and lets them regain the senses and physical powers they had in life

Descendants

• → Ancient Greek: οὐφῶρ (ouphôr)
• Old Coptic: ⲟⲩⲡⲁⲓⲣⲉ (oupaire)

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 321.