Likely a babble word in origin, like many of its Afroasiatic parallels.[ 1] Militarev and Stolbova derive it from a supposed Proto-Afroasiatic form instead, but also note it may be a nursery word.[ 2] If not, perhaps cognate with Proto-Semitic *ʔimm- .
f
mother
c. 1900 BCE ,
The Instructions of Kagemni (
pPrisse /pBN 183) lines 1.11–1.12:
ḫr (tw)r n(j) ḥr r dfꜣ jb jmꜣ n.f kꜣhs r mwt .f One who is averted of face against feeding the heart (i.e. one who doesn’t indulge himself), the harsh man has to be more kindly to him than his (own) mother .
Declension of mwt (feminine)
Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mwt
Demotic: mwt
Akhmimic Coptic: ⲙⲟ ( mo ) , ⲙⲱ ( mō )
Bohairic Coptic: ⲙⲁⲩ ( mau )
Fayyumic Coptic: ⲙⲉⲉⲩ ( meeu ) , ⲙⲉⲟⲩ ( meou ) , ⲙⲏⲟⲩ ( mēou )
Lycopolitan Coptic: ⲙⲉⲉⲩ ( meeu )
Old Coptic: ⲙⲉⲟⲩ ( meou )
Sahidic Coptic: ⲙⲁⲁⲩ ( maau ) , ⲙⲁⲩ ( mau )
Mwt , Luxor, c.1279-1213 BC
f
( Egyptian mythology ) the primordial waters [Old Kingdom]
Mut , the vulture goddess worshipped as part of the Theban Triad
(Possibly:)
→ Meroitic: 𐦨𐦴 ( mt /mata/ )
From Proto-Afroasiatic *mawVt- ( “ to die, to kill ” ) . Cognate with Proto-Semitic *mawut- , Central Atlas Tamazight ⵎⵎⵜ ( mmt ) and Hausa mutù .
3-lit.
( intransitive ) to die
c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE ,
Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 122–123:
šm.k ḥnꜥ.sn r ẖnw m(w)t .k m nwt.k You will go home with them, and you will die in your (own) town.
( intransitive , figuratively , of ships) to sink
c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE ,
Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 37–39:
ꜥḥꜥ.n dpt m(w)t(.tj) ntjw jm.s nj zp wꜥ jm Then the boat died , and of those in it, not one of them survived.
( intransitive , figuratively ) to die inside, to despair
c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE ,
Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 131–132:
ꜥḥꜥ.n.j m(w)t .kw n.sn gm.n.j st m ẖꜣyt wꜥt Then I died for them, having found them as a single heap of corpses.
Conjugation of mwt (triliteral / 3-lit. / 3rad.) — base stem: mwt , geminated stem: mwtt
infinitival forms
imperative
infinitive
negatival complement
complementary infinitive1
singular
plural
mwt
mwtw , mwt
mwtt
mwt
mwt
‘pseudoverbal’ forms
stative stem
periphrastic imperfective 2
periphrastic prospective 2
mwt
ḥr mwt
m mwt
r mwt
suffix conjugation
aspect / mood
active
contingent
aspect / mood
active
perfect
mwt.n
consecutive
mwt.jn
terminative
mwtt
perfective 3
mwt
obligative1
mwt.ḫr
imperfective
mwt
prospective 3
mwt
potentialis1
mwt.kꜣ
subjunctive
mwt
verbal adjectives
aspect / mood
relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms
participles
active
active
passive
perfect
mwt.n
—
—
perfective
mwt
mwt
mwt , mwtw 5 , mwty 5
imperfective
mwt , mwty , mwtw 5
mwt , mwtj 6 , mwty 6
mwt , mwtw 5
prospective
mwt , mwttj 7
mwttj 4 , mwtt 4
Used in Old Egyptian; archaic by Middle Egyptian.
Used mostly since Middle Egyptian.
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.
Declines using third-person suffix pronouns instead of adjectival endings: masculine .f /.fj , feminine .s /.sj , dual .sn /.snj , plural .sn .
Only in the masculine singular.
Only in the masculine.
Only in the feminine.
Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mwt
Demotic: mwt
Akhmimic Coptic: ⲙⲟⲩ ( mou ) , ⲙⲟⲩⲧ ( mout )
Bohairic Coptic: ⲙⲟⲩ ( mou ) , ⲙⲱⲟⲩⲧ ( mōout )
Fayyumic Coptic: ⲙⲟⲩ ( mou )
Lycopolitan Coptic: ⲙⲟⲩ ( mou ) , ⲙⲟⲩⲟⲩⲧ ( mouout )
Old Coptic: ⲙⲟⲩ ( mou )
Sahidic Coptic: ⲙⲟⲩ ( mou ) , ⲙⲟⲩⲟⲩⲧ ( mouout )
m
death
Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mwt
Demotic: mwt
Coptic: ⲙⲟⲩ ( mou ) ( Akhmimic, Bohairic, Fayyumic, Lycopolitan, Old Coptic, Sahidic )
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium .)
f
( physics ) weight
Declension of mwt (feminine)
^ Takács, Gábor (2007 ) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian , volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN , pages 193–195 , →ISBN
^ Militarev, Alexander and Stolbova, Olga (2007 ) “*ˀVma/*ma(y)”, in Afroasiatic etymology database at StarLing [1]
^ Loprieno, Antonio (1995 ) Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN , page 245 : “*/ˈmeʔwat/ ”