PERSONAL DECLARATION: I am neither a scholar nor an expert in Ancient Egyptian or hieroglyphs. Rather I am an amateur taking an interest in the language and its writing.
The views expressed are my own, and for the reasons just stated could be erroneous.
The suffix -(e)t
A very common suffix in Ancient Egyptian (AE) is -(e)t. It has at least two functions.
1. Feminine marker
First, as a marker indicating a feminine form:
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miyu: cat
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mit: cat, female
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bun in the above example on the right is the feminine (/t/) marker.
2. Nominaliser
Second, -et may convert a word into a noun.
The scholarly books to which I have access do not for the most part say much about this.
Gardiner
§48.4 (p.47) allocates three lines in a paragraph on adjectives used as nouns to this suffix. He does not enunciate the suffixing principle, but rather gives feminine examples featuring it:
neferet: ‘beautiful woman’
neferet: ‘beautiful cow”
Gardiner's paragraph is mainly about the determinative showing the difference between to the two words (woman in one case, cow in the other).
This is part of three lines, in a work of 646 pages.
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Gardiner, Sir Alan Henderson. 1957 (2007). Egyptian Grammar: being an introduction to the study of hieroglyphs. 3rd ed., rev. ed. Oxford: Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, by Oxford University Press.
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Allen
(Middle Egyptian), in over 500 pages, states on p. 61:
The feminine singular adjective nfrt, for instance, can be used by itself to refer to any “good,” “beautiful,” or “perfect” person or thing: for example nfrt “the beautiful woman,” or nfrt “a good thing.”
And that is all.
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Allen, James P. 2000, 2001. Middle Egyptian: an introduction to the language and culture of hieroglyphs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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Collier/Manley
Fortunately Collier/Manley are more helpful, at pages 69, 94 and 147. At p. 69:
“... ‘what I did myself’ is expressed by using another verb-form — the past relative form: irt.n(=i). In this usage, there is no separate word for ‘what’ or ‘which’, rather the verb-form shows a -t in its writing, so irt.n (=i) in itself means ‘what I did’ without needing extra words.”
On page 147 they provide four related pairs of examples, in the present and past tense. Two are:
sdmt=f: ‘what he hears’
(sdmt=f: sedjem-et-ef) "hearing he: what" hear what he Col/Man [147:13] <ear: ox owl bun viper>
rdit.n=f: what he gave
(rdit.n=f: redi-t-en-ef) "give (past) he: what" give what did he Col/Man [147:20] <mouth arm: TEEPEE bun viper bun water viper>
[The key portions (/t/ and 'what' have been identified in bold type in this entry.]
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Collier, Mark, and Bill Manley. 1998. How to read Egyptian hieroglyphs: a step by step guide to teach yourself. London: British Museum Press.
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Finding the -(e)t suffix, and noting its significance
Equipped with Collier/Manley's information, we can now see that the AEs made prolific use of the technique, with illuminating results. For example,
djeret: hand
transcription / respelling
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translation
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EngJSM
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source
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glyph sequence
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(drt: djeret)
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"hand"
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hand
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Gardiner [614.2:9.2]
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<skip: bow mouth bun hand: cupped>
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(drt: djeret)
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"Hand"
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hand
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Nureldin [218:33.2]
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<hand bun stroke>
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(drt: djeret)
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"hand"
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hand
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Allen [472.1:9]
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<hand bun stroke>
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(drt: djeret)
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"hand"
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hand
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Faulkner Concise [323:3]
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<hand bun STROKE>
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Nedj Nedj Databases
The examples, and the graphics above, quoted in this entry are taken from the Nedj Nedj Databases.
For more on these databases see <nedjnedjhieroglyphs.blogspot.com>.
As this word is suffixed in -et, does it have a root of interest?
djer: end
(dr: djer)
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"end"
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end
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Gardiner [617.1:37]
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<skip: bow mouth road>
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(dr: djer)
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"end up"
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end
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Allen [472.1:7]
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<skip: bow mouth>
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(dr: djer)
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"end"
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end
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Faulkner Concise [323:6]
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<skip: bow mouth stander: stick>
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djer-et, consequently, would appear literally to mean: ‘what is at the end’, and what is at the end of one’s arm if not one’s hand?
An alternative meaning for djer-et is 'the trunk of an elephant', a feature the end of which might be in the mind of a beholder.
Other -(e)t examples are:
transcription / respelling
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translation
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EngJSM
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source
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glyph sequence
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(bnrt: bener-et)
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"sweetness"
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sweet what is
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Faulkner Concise [83:8.1]
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<leg water mouth reed bun pod: sunrise>
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(bint: bin-et)
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"evil"
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bad what is
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Col/Man [94:4]
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<leg reed water bun sparrow>
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(dmdt: demedj-et)
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"collection"
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assemble what is
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Faulkner Concise [313:11]
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<flails: ten hand bun twist STROKE>
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(dšrt: desher-et)
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"wrath"
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anger what is
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Faulkner Concise [316:12]
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<hand pool mouth bun diagonal>
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(dšrt: desher-et)
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"desert"
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red what is
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Gardiner [610.1:36.1]
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<flamingo mouth bun hills>
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(ḥ3qt: HAq-et)
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"plunder"
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capture what is [goods]
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Allen [463.1:9]
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<pap eagle slope bun arm: stick PLURAL>
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(ḥnskt: Henesek-et)
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"braided lock"
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tie what is
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Faulkner Concise [173:3]
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<rope herb: hn water bolt cup bun hair>
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(ỉmnt: imen-et)
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"secret"
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hide what is
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Faulkner Concise [21:5]
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<reed comb water bun kneeler: praise>
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(ỉmntt: imenet-et)
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"West"
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west what is
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Faulkner Concise [21:12.1]
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<feather: bun&cloth bunx2 hills>
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(ỉntt: inetj-et)
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"fetter"
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fetter what is
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Faulkner Concise [24:13.1]
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<reed water tether bun unwind>
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(ỉ3btt: iyabet-et)
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"East"
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east what is
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Faulkner Concise [8:17.1]
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<telegraph leg bunx2 hills>
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(hnmt: khenem-et)
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"joined (with)"
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join what is
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Col/Man [29:19]
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<jug bun>
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(mdt: medj-et)
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"depth"
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deep what is
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Faulkner Concise [123:5.1]
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<owl cobra-J bun magnet: bar rails STROKE>
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(nbt: neb-et)
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"every"
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all what is every
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Gardiner [573.2:2.2]
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<basin bun>
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(ne'teset: nedjes-et)
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"little"
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little what is
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EAWB [189:8.6]
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<sparrow bun>
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(nḫnt: nekhen-et)
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"childhood"
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young what is
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Gardiner [575.2:3.2]
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<water string water bun child>
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(snnt: senen-et)
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"likeness"
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likeness what is
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Faulkner Concise [232:14]
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<cloth rushx2 waterx2 bun>
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(stt: set-et)
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"spearing"
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pierce what is
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Col/Man [14:8]
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<cloth bunx2 target: arrows>
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(sỉnt: sin-et)
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"clay seal"
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what is ......
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Faulkner Concise [213:2]
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<cloth reed fish: fatfin water bun PLURAL>
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(t3rt: tjAr-et)
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"cabin"
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secure what is [cabin]
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Faulkner Concise [303:16]
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<duckling eagle mouth bun magnet: ears house>
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(wrt: wer-et)
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"greatly"
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big what is
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Allen [457.1:22]
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<swallow mouth bun>
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Consider the root verb for a few of these:
(bnr: bener)
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"sweet"
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sweet
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Col/Man [137:28]
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<tassel>
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(bin: bin)
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"evil"
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bad
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Col/Man [154.1:4]
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<leg reed water sparrow>
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(dmd: demedj)
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"total"
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total
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Gardiner [627.1:32]
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<flails: ten hand PLANE>
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(dšr: desher)
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"red"
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red
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Gardiner [603.1:6]
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<hand pool mouth flamingo>
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(nḫn: nekhen)
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"young"
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young
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Gardiner [575.2:3.1]
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<water string water child>
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(t3r: tjAr)
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"fasten"
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secure
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Gardiner [601.1:15.1]
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<duckling eagle mouth MAGNET: ears>
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bener: ‘sweet’ bener-et: ‘what is sweet’ (sweetness)
demedj: ‘total’ demedj-et: ‘what is assembled’
desher: ‘red’ desher-et: ‘what is red’ (the desert, ‘Red Land’, even ‘wrath‘ — red-in-the-face)
nekhen: ‘young’ nekhen-et: ‘what is young’ (childhood)
tjAr:’fasten’ tjAr-et: ‘what is secure / safe’ (cabin)
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So what about the sin-et ‘clay seal’ example above?
There are several possibilities.
transcription / respelling
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translation
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EngJSM
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source
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glyph sequence
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(zjn: sin)
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"rub"
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Allen [465.2:27]
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<bolt fish: fatfin water arm: stick>
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(sỉn: sin)
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"rub"
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Faulkner Concise [213:4.11]
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<bolt reed water arm>
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(sỉn: sin)
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"clay"
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Faulkner Concise [213:1]
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<cloth reed water egg: ears rails>
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(sỉn: sin)
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"rub out"
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Faulkner Concise [213:4.21]
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<bolt fish: fatfin water>
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(sỉn: sin)
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"pass away"
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Faulkner Concise [213:7.21]
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<cloth reed water egg: ears legs>
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(sin: sin)
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"smear"
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Gardiner [588.2:11]
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<cloth reed fish: fatfin water arm>
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As sin means ‘rub’, ‘rub out’, ‘smear’, ‘clay’ and ‘pass away’ (die), sin-et might refer to something that is rubbed, rubbed out, smeared, or made of clay. All of these could apply to ‘clay seal’. Or the clay seal might be connected to ‘passing away‘ — sealing up a canopic jar, perhaps.
Conclusion
For such a richly rewarding suffix as -et, it is a surprise that is has been accorded slight attention by the major grammarians.
