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Egyptian Vocabulary

Here is a list of ancient Egyptian vocabulary that I have found very useful in my design purposes for naming places or things.

Abydos Triad - This consists of Osiris, his wife Isis, and their son Horus.

Amarna - The name given to the historical time period under the rule of Amenophis IV (Akhenaten). During this time period there were unprecedented changes in the government, art, and religion.

Ankh - A symbol that meant life. It was carried by the gods and pharaohs. Later the ankh was adopted as a Christian symbol.

Ba - An Egyptian word for a person's spirit, similar to the word soul.

Bastet - A cat-headed goddess. As a sun goddess, she represents the warm, life-giving power of the sun.

Benben - A stone resembling a pyramid, representative of a sun ray and associated with the idea of eternal rebirth. A representation of the primordial mound.

Black Land - The fertile soil in the River Nile valley and delta. The ancient Egyptians called this land "Kemet."

Book of the Dead - Sheets of papyrus paper covered with magic texts and pictures. These were places with the dead in ancient Egypt to help them pass through the dangers of the underworld.

Canopic jars - Small jars used in ancient Egypt for storing the organs of a dead person when the body was mummified.

Cartonnage - A material made from scraps of linen or papyrus glued together with plaster or resin. Cartonnage was light, strong, and often used in ancient Egypt for mummy cases instead of wood.

Cenotaph - From the Greek word meaning "empty tomb." A tomb built for ceremonial purposes that was never intended to be used for the interment of the deceased.

Cush - A country to the south of Egypt, probably where North Sudan is now located.

Deben - A metal ring used by traders for measuring weight. One deben weighed about 4 oz. (90g).

Deshret - The red crown. this was the crown that represented Lower Egypt in the north.

Divine Adoratrice - Chief priestess of Amun in Thebes, an office known from the New Kingdom through the Late Period. The office was an important vehicle of political control.

Dolerite - A hard rock used by the ancient Egyptians to grind and crush other rocks.

Dromos - A straight, paved avenue flanked by sphinxes.

Electrum - A mixture of gold and silver.

Elephantine Triad - This consists of the god Khnum, Satet, and Anuket.

Embalmer - A person who treats a dead body with spices and oils to prevent it decaying.

Fetish - An animal skin hanging from a stick. it was used by the cults of Osiris and Anubis.

Flail - A tool carried by a god or pharaoh in ancient Egypt to symbolize kingship and the fertility of the land.

Flax - A plant from which thread can be made and woven into linen.

Frieze - A strip of painting or carving on a temple or tomb wall that told a story.

Funerary Offerings - Bread, beer, wine, and other food items provided by mourners or magically through inscriptions and pictures in the tomb.

Giza - The plateau on which the most famous Egyptian pyramids are located, next to the city of Cairo. In older texts, it is spelled "Gizeh."

Hedjet - A white crown. This was the crown of Upper Egypt in the south.

Hieratic Script - A faster form of writing than hieroglyphs used in ancient Egypt. It was always written from right to left , unlike European languages, which are often written from left to right.

Hieroglyphs - From the Greek word meaning "sacred carving." The ancient Egyptian form of writting in which pictures or symbols represented sounds, objects, and ideas. The symbols are individual pictures that do not join together.

Hypostyle Hall - From the Greek word meaning "bearing pillars." It is a term used to describe the grand, outermost halls. They are believed to represent a grove of trees.

Ibu - The tent of purification. This is the place where mummification was performed.

Ka - An Egyptian word for a person's life force created at birth and released at death.

Malachite - A copper ore. When crushed, it was used as green eye paint and symbolized fertility.

Memphite Triad - This consists of the god Ptah, the goddess Sekhmet, and the goddess Nefertem.

Mummification - A process of drying and embalming that preserves the dead body of a person or an animal.

Natron - A natural salt from the desert that absorbs moisture. The ancient Egyptians used it for mummification. It is a mixture of four salts that occur in varying proportions: sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium chloride, and sodium sulfate.

Nebu - This is the Egyptian word for gold, which was considered a divine metal. It was thought to be the flesh of the gods. It s polished surface was related to the brilliance of the sun. Gold was important to the afterlife as it represented aspects of immortality. By the New Kingdom, the royal burial chamber was called the "House of Gold."

Necropolis - The Greek word meaning "city of the dead," normally describes large and important burial areas that were in use for long periods.

Nemes - A striped headcloth worn by Pharaohs.

Nilometer - Staircase descending into the Nile and marked with levels above low water; used for measuring, and in some cases recording, inundation levels. The most famous are on Elephantine island and on Roda island in Cairo.

Nine Bows - A term given tot he defeated enemies of Egypt.

Nomarch - An official in charge of a province or region called a "nome." There were 42 nomes in ancient Egypt.

Nome - From the Greek , nomos ("prefecture"). This is an administrative province of Egypt. The nome system started in the Early Dynastic Period. During some periods, when there was a highly centralized government the nomes had little political importance.

Obelisk - A tall, thin monument that is pointed at the top and usually square at the bottom.

Ostracon (s.)/Ostraca (pl.) - A fragment of pottery or large flake of stone used by students to practice their writing.

Papyrus - A kind of paper made from the papyrus plant. It was used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.

Pharaoh - The ruler of ancient Egypt. The name comes from the ancient Egyptian word "per-ao," meaning "the great house." It referred to the palace where the pharaoh lived. The easiest way to remember to spell this one is "Phara-oh."

Pigment - A powder that is mixed with a liquid to make ink or paint.

Prophet - This translates as "God's Servant." There was usually a ranking of prophets. The high priest of Amun at Thebes was called "The First Prophet of Amun." Below him were the Second Prophet, and so on. The head of the local cults was often called "Overseer of the Prophets."

Pshent - The crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, the red crown (deshret) and the white crown (hedjet) put together to represent a unified Egypt. Although Egypt was not always a unified nation, it was stronger that way. Therefore unification was desirable. Narmer (Menes), the founder of the First Dynasty around 3100 BCE, was teh first man recorded wearing this crown.

Pylon - From the Greek word meaning "gate," it is a monumental entrance wall of a temple. Pylons are the largest and least essential parts of a temple that is usually built last. Some temples have more than one set of pylons. The temple of Karnak has ten pylons.

Pyramidion - Capstone of a pyramid or top of an obelisk. Sometimes called a benben stone or primordial mound. The pyramidion was decorated and became a symbolic object that was the focal point of the small brick pyramids of private tombs.

Red Land - The desert that lay beyond the river valley and delta. The ancient Egyptians called this land "Deshret."

Sarcophagus (s.)/Sarcophagi (pl.) - From the Greek word meaning "flesh eater." It was the name given to the large stone box that enclosed a mummy's coffin. The surfaces were usually carved in relief.

Sed Festival - This is a ritual meant to show royal regeneration. It was traditionally celebrated after thirty years of a pharaoh's reign. It is a scene usually found decorating the mortuary temples of a king.

Sekhmet - A lion-headed goddess. As a sun goddess, she represents the scorching, burning, destructive heat of the sun. She was a fierce goddess of war, the destroyer of the enemies of Ra and Osiris.

Senet - A game played by the Egyptians with a board and counters. It had lucky and unlucky squares and was a little like the modern game of checkers.

Sepat - The ancient Egyptian term for an administrative province of Egypt. While we call them nomes because of our Greek influences, the Egyptians called them sepat.

Set/Seth - Early in Egyptian history, Seth is spoken of in terms of reverence as teh god of wind and storms. He was even known as the Lord of Upper Egypt. Later he became the god of evil.

Shabti - A model figure that acted as the servant of the deceased and carried out all the work requried in the afterlife.

Shaduf - An irrigation device made from a bucket and a counterweight. It transferred water from the Nile into canals. These are still in use today.

Sphinx - A mythical creature usually depicted with teh head of a woman and the body of a lion. A figure with the body of a lion and the head of a human, hawk, or ram.

Stela/Stele - A stone slab, sometimes wood, decorated with paintings, reliefs, or texts. They usually commemorate an event.

Theban Triad - This consists of the gods Amun, his wife Mut, and their son Khons.

Vizier - Chief adviser to the pharaoh and second only to him in importance. At times there were two viziers.

Tributary - A stream of water that flows into a larger stream of water. The Egyptian Nile's main tributaries are the Blue Nile and the White Nile.

Tuareg tribesmen - The largest group of nomads living in the Sahara Desert. They herd camels, goats, sheep, and cattle and move about, finding pasture for their animals. They are sometimes called the Blue Men of the Desert because they wear robes that are dyed indigo, and blue marks are often left on their skin.