zfṯ

See also: zft

Egyptian

Etymology

Related to zf (“to slaughter, cut up”), zft (“sword, knife”).

Pronunciation

 

• (verb): (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ˈzaːfac/ → /ˈsaːfaʔ/ → /ˈsaːfa/ → /ˈsoːfə/

• (verb): (Old Egyptian, c. 2500 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈzaːfac/
• (verb): (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈsaːfaʔ/
• (verb): (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈsaːfa/
• (verb): (latest Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ˈsoːfə/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /zɛfɛt͡ʃ/
  • Conventional anglicization: zefetj

Verb

 3-lit.

1. (transitive) to slaughter, to butcher (animals) [since the Old Kingdom]
   • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 144–146:

     zft.j n.k kꜣw m zj n sḏt wšn.n.j n.k ꜣpdw

     I will slaughter bulls for you as a burnt offering, having wrung the necks of birds for you.

2. (transitive) to kill (enemies) in battle [since the New Kingdom]

Inflection

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

infinitival forms imperative infinitive negatival complement complementary infinitive1 singular plural zfṯ zfṯw, zfṯ zfṯt zfṯ zfṯ ‘pseudoverbal’ forms stative stem periphrastic imperfective2 periphrastic prospective2 zfṯ ḥr zfṯ m zfṯ r zfṯ suffix conjugation aspect / mood active passive contingent aspect / mood active passive perfect zfṯ.n zfṯw, zfṯ consecutive zfṯ.jn active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 terminative zfṯt perfective3 zfṯ active + .tj1, .tw2 obligative1 zfṯ.ḫr active + .tj1, .tw2 imperfective zfṯ active + .tj1, .tw2 prospective3 zfṯ zfṯṯ potentialis1 zfṯ.kꜣ active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 subjunctive zfṯ active + .tj1, .tw2 verbal adjectives aspect / mood relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms participles active passive active passive perfect zfṯ.n active + .tj1, .tw2 — — perfective zfṯ active + .tj1, .tw2 zfṯ zfṯ, zfṯw5, zfṯy5 imperfective zfṯ, zfṯy, zfṯw5 active + .tj1, .tw2 zfṯ, zfṯj6, zfṯy6 zfṯ, zfṯw5 prospective zfṯ, zfṯtj7 — zfṯtj4, zfṯt4 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 zfṯ  

zft

[since the Middle Kingdom]

Derived terms

• zfṯyw

Noun

 m

1. butcher

Inflection

Declension of zfṯ (masculine)

singular	zfṯ
dual	zfṯwj
plural	zfṯw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of zfṯ  

sft

[New Kingdom]

References

• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1929) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[1], volume 3, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 443.15–444.2
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 225
• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 332.