zbṯ

Egyptian

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈzaːbac/ → /ˈsaːbaʔ/ → /ˈsaːba/ → /ˈsoːβə/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈzaːbac/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈsaːbaʔ/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈsaːba/
• (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈsoːβə/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /zɛbɛt͡ʃ/
  • Conventional anglicization: zebetj

Verb

 3-lit.

1. (intransitive) to laugh
   • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 149–150:

     ꜥḥꜥ.n sbt.n.f jm.j m nn ḏd.n.j m nf m jb.f ḏd.f n.j (j)n wr n.k ꜥntjw ḫpr.t(j) ⟨m⟩ nb sntr

     Then he laughed at me – and at this that I’d said – as being wrong to his mind, saying to me: Are you abundant in myrrh, turned into a lord of incense?

Inflection

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

infinitival forms imperative infinitive negatival complement complementary infinitive1 singular plural zbṯ zbṯw, zbṯ zbṯt zbṯ zbṯ ‘pseudoverbal’ forms stative stem periphrastic imperfective2 periphrastic prospective2 zbṯ ḥr zbṯ m zbṯ r zbṯ suffix conjugation aspect / mood active contingent aspect / mood active perfect zbṯ.n consecutive zbṯ.jn terminative zbṯt perfective3 zbṯ obligative1 zbṯ.ḫr imperfective zbṯ prospective3 zbṯ potentialis1 zbṯ.kꜣ subjunctive zbṯ verbal adjectives aspect / mood relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms participles active active passive perfect zbṯ.n — — perfective zbṯ zbṯ zbṯ, zbṯw5, zbṯy5 imperfective zbṯ, zbṯy, zbṯw5 zbṯ, zbṯj6, zbṯy6 zbṯ, zbṯw5 prospective zbṯ, zbṯtj7 zbṯtj4, zbṯt4 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.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of zbṯ  

sbt

Descendants

• Bohairic Coptic: ⲥⲱⲃⲓ (sōbi)
• Sahidic Coptic: ⲥⲱⲃⲉ (sōbe)

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 12.
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1929) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[1], volume 3, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 434.5–434.11