ꜣ

ꜣ

1. The lowercase letter alef, used in most Egyptian transliteration schemes to represent the sound of the hieroglyph .

• ʿ
• 3

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /ɑ/
  • Conventional anglicization: a

 m

1. the Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) [Pyramid Texts]
   • c. 2289 BCE – 2255 BCE, Pyramid Texts of Pepi I — south wall of the vestibule, line 1, spell 539.1–539.2:[1]

     ḏd-(mdw) tp n(j) mry-rꜥ pn m ꜣ pr.f r.f šwy.f r.f jr pt

     Recitation (of words): The head of this Meryra is as a vulture, so he should go forth, so he should soar up to the sky.

2. a bird in general [11th Dynasty]
   • c. 2061–2010 BCE, Stela of Irtisen, Louvre C14, lines 9–10:

     [sic]

     jw(.j) rḫ.kw šmt twt nmtt rpwt ꜥḥꜥw nw ꜣ mḏw-wꜥ

     I know the gait of a male figure, the stride of a female figure, and the stances of the eleven birds.

 enclitic

1. intensifying or emphasizing particle, indeed [Pyramid Texts to New Kingdom and Greco-Roman Period]
2. (in clauses with a verbal predicate in the perfect) marks a statement as hypothetical or contrafactual
3. (Neo-Middle Egyptian) also, and [Greco-Roman Period]

This particle is enclitic; it follows the word which it is intensifying or marking as contrafactual. It can also apply its effect to whole phrases. Often the exact nuance imparted by this particle is unclear.

Frequently this particle is found following (and thus adding emphasis to) jsk, ḥwj, m.k, or ḥꜣ, and in the Pyramid Texts it is also found in nominal sentences preceding pw. In Neo-Middle Egyptian it precedes rather than follows (j)sk and js but is often found following jw.

(possibly:)

• Late Egyptian: yꜣ (see there for further descendants)

1. (intransitive, with n) to enter or tread (a place)^? [from Papyrus Westcar]
2. (intransitive, of feet) to tread [Greco-Roman period]

Gardiner considers the proper interpretation of this word “impossible in the lack of better evidence”. It is a dis legomenon, with only two certain attested occurrences (but possibly up to four in total).

1. Only used in jrj ꜣ r gs; possibly a variant of the verb ‘to tread’ above. [from Papyrus Westcar]

• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, § 16.7, 18.8, 234 page 196, 234.
• Faulkner, Raymond (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 1
• Erman, Adolf; Grapow, Hermann (1926) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache, volume 1, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, page 1.1–1.10
• Gardiner, Alan (1948) “The First Two Pages of the Wörterbuch” in The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 34, p. 12–13
• Gardiner, Alan (1957) Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, third edition, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, § 245, page 184
• Meeks, Dimitri (2010) Dictionnaire égyptien ancien-français, Fascicule 1: ꜣ-ꜣbḏw, Montpellier: Institut d’Égyptologie François Daumas, page 1–2
• Wilson, Penelope (1991) A Lexicographical Study of the Ptolemaic Texts in the Temple of Edfu, Liverpool: University of Liverpool, page 1–2