What came first: the chicken or the egg? The same question can arise for colour names. ‘Yellow’, for example. In Ancient Egyptian, was there a word for ‘yellow’ or did things that happened to be yellow in colour have a common root?
Faulkner provides a start:
word
|
meaning
|
EngJSM
|
source
|
page/line
|
glyphs
|
(ḳny: qeni)
|
"be yellow"
|
yellow
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[280:6]
|
<slope water reeds EGG-ears: pour>
|
qeni: ‘be yellow’
(ḳnỉt: qeni-t)
|
"a yellow pigment"
|
yellow what is
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[280:4]
|
<slope water reed bun ring PLURAL>
|
(ḳnỉt: qeni-t)
|
"yellowness"
|
yellow what is
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[280:5]
|
<slope water reed bun eye>
|
(ḳnt: qen-et)
|
"yellowness"
|
yellow what is
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[279:6]
|
<slope water bun tallhorns>
|
Looking at the root ‘qen’ offers some insights, and inevitably some distractions. The insights first:
‘Yellow’ insights
(ḳnỉ: qeni)
|
"sheaf"
|
sheaf
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[279:16]
|
<slope water reed magnet: bar>
|
(ḳnỉ: qeni)
|
"sheaf"
|
sheaf
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[279:16]
|
<slope water reed magnet: bar>
|
(ḳn: qen)
|
"mat"
|
mat
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[279:14.1]
|
<fence water grid>
|
(ḳn: qen)
|
"mat"
|
mat
|
Gardiner
|
[596.2:5]
|
<fence water MAGNET: bar>
|
(ḳnỉ: qeni)
|
"ceremonial garment"
|
garment ceremonial
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[279:15]
|
<slope water reed U-rope>
|
(ḳni: qeni)
|
"palanquin"
|
Gardiner
|
[620.2:7]
|
<slope water reed magnet: bar>
|
|
(ḳnỉw: qeniyu)
|
"portable shrine"
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[280:3]
|
<slope water reed quail temple: basin>
|
A sheaf of wheat might have been seen as a yellow object. A rush mat might equally have been yellow. And what colour might the ceremonial garment have been, or the palanquin, given these ideas? There might be a connection between palanquin and portable shrine, and perhaps the next group might offer a suggestion: one might need to be strong to carry either.
No connection with ‘yellow’
word
|
meaning
|
EngJSM
|
source
|
page/line
|
glyphs
|
(ḳni: qeni)
|
"embrace"
|
hug
|
Gardiner
|
[596.2:6]
|
<slope water reed arms: down>
|
(qnj: qeni)
|
"embrace"
|
hug
|
Allen
|
[469.2:8]
|
<slope water reed arms: down>
|
(ḳnỉ: qeni)
|
"brave"
|
strong
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[279:7]
|
<slope water stander: stick>
|
(qnj: qeni)
|
"diligent"
|
strong
|
Allen
|
[469.2:5]
|
<slope water stander: stick>
|
(qn: qen)
|
"audacity"
|
strong bravery
|
Allen
|
[469.2:6]
|
<slope water CROSS-X>
|
(ḳn: qen)
|
"strong"
|
strong
|
Gardiner
|
[596.2:3]
|
<slope water stander: stick>
|
(ḳn: qen)
|
"fat"
|
plump
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[279:5]
|
<slope water tallhorns>
|
(ḳn: qen)
|
"complete"
|
complete
|
Gardiner
|
[596.2:4]
|
<fence water PLANE>
|
(ḳn: qen)
|
"complete"
|
complete
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[279:13]
|
<fence water PLANE-v>
|
(ḳn: qen)
|
"offence"
|
offence
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[279:12]
|
<slope water sparrow>
|
(ḳnḳnyt: qen qenit)
|
"mallet"
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[280:13]
|
<slope water slope water reeds bun branch>
|
|
(ḳnḳn: qen qen)
|
"beat"
|
beat
|
Faulkner Concise
|
[280:12]
|
<slope water slope water cross-X arm: stick>
|
In this second group the main idea might be ‘strong’. Coupled with the idea of ‘big’ and ‘power’ and its exercising, one can group hug, beat, mallet, and offence together, as well as plump (big). Complete seems to be another idea. None of these suggest a link to yellow.
Jeremy Steele
Friday 29 March 2013
=================
Jeremy Steele
Friday 29 March 2013
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