Fellowship of the Secret Word/Glossary

A

• Aah Iah - Moon sacred to Osiris, Djehuty (Thoth) and Khonsu
• Akh (Ax) - at times translated as 'soul', cf. Body and Soul
• Akhu, akhet (Ax.t): The blessed dead, ancestors
• Amen, Ammon, Amon, Amun, Amoun, Amun-Re or Amen-Re - Main God during the New Kingdom, identified with Zeus by the Greeks
• Amenirdis - Wife of the God (High priestess of Amen)
• Amenti - Realm of the Dead, cf Duat
• Ammit, Ammut - Chimaera, destroyer of the hearts of dead who were not justified
• Amulet - charm or talisman
• Anch, ankh (anx) - Symbol of enduring life
• Anubis, Anpu, Khenty-Imentiu, Hermanubis - God, conductor of souls
• Apis, Serapis, Osiris-Apis - Bull symbolizing fertility venerated at Memphis
• Apophis, Apopis, Apep - The serpent of Chaos, sometimes equated with Seth
• Apotropaic (from Greek) - Having the power to avert evil
• Atef - Crown worn by Osiris
• Aten, Aton - The sun disk, unique god of Akhenaten

B

• Ba (bA)
  • The "soul"
  • Spiritual force such as an anonymous divinity
  • Manifestation of a god
  • The king's power to rule
  • The eternal forces of a human, depicted in tombs as a bird with a human head.
• Ba'ah, Seba-djai - The planet Venus
• Bast, Bastet, Ubasti, Pasht - Goddess of the home, Artemis to the Greeks. Her cultural centre was at Bubastis
• Bat - Goddess with the form of a cow, from the Middle Kingdom on merged with Hathor
• Bau - Messenger or appearance of a deity
• Benben
  • The first land to rise from the primordial waters.
  • Pyramid shaped sacred stone at Heliopolis
• Bes, Bisu - Dwarf god
• Book of the Dead - Better The Book of Going Forth by Day. A collection of magical writings placed in tombs since the New Kingdom with the intention of helping the deceased in the after-life.
• Canopic jars (from Latin, Greek) - Vessels containing the inner organs of the deceased, generally four, in the form of the sons of Horus (from Canopus, see above)
• Cartonnage (French) - Expression used by Egyptologists for the masks and coffins made of cardboard like materials.
• Cartouche (French) - The name of a pharaoh in hieroglyphs surrounded by an oval band denoting eternity

D

• Decans (from Latin decem, ten) - 36 star constellations, each rising above the horizon at sunrise during ten days every year, used by the ancient Egyptian calendar
• Djehuti, Thoth - God of knowledge and wisdom, moon god, identified with Hermes Trismegistus by the Greeks;
• Djet (Dt) - Eternity, continuous and linear as opposed to neheh
• Duat (dwA.t)
  • Originally the starry sky.
  • The Realm of the Dead, populated by the deceased who have become stars. Often somewhat misleadingly referred to as Underworld or Netherworld.

E

• Ennead (from Greek enneas, nine)

   A group of nine deities, such as the Ennead of Heliopolis
   All the gods of a locality

F

• False door - symbolic door for the ka, painted or carved on a tomb wall

G

• Geb, Keb - Earth god
• Griffin - Chimaera with a lion's body and a falcon's head, since the OK symbol of the victorious ruler

H

• Hah - Personification of eternity, props up the heavens
• Hapi, Hapy

   1) God of the Nile; 
   2) One of the Four Sons of Horus

• Hathor - Goddess of sky, love, mirth, beauty and fertility
• Heka (HkA) Magic
• Horus, Hor, Heru, Hru - Sun god, son of Isis and Osiris
• House of Life - Repositories for knowledge in temples

I

• Isfet - disorder, chaos, opposed to Maat
• Isis, Auset, Aset, Ast - Goddess of fertility and nature, consort of Osiris. Identified with Demeter and Aphrodite

J

• Judgment of the Dead
• Justified - maa-kheru, lit. True of voice, dead person judged favourably Decision by the gods on the afterlife of a person

K

• Ka - Immortal part of a being, but needing nourishment, coming into existence together with the being: the "life force", continuity of existence. Cf. Body and Soul. To go to his ka: to die
• Kemet (km.t)

   The black (land)
   The fertile soil of the Nile flood plain
   Egypt which is also called the Two Lands

• Kenbet (qnb.t) - Judicial commission or court
• Khons, Khonsu

   1) Moon God, son of Amen and Mut, his main temple was at Karnak; 
   2) Called To: First prophet of Menkheperra under Ramses II

L

• Lector priest - Priest reading ritual texts

M

• Maa-kheru (mAa-xrw )

   True of voice, justified. Used for 
   1) the winning party in a trial, 
   2) the dead whose heart weighed less than a feather

• Maat, Ma'at, Mayet (maA.t) - Goddess of Truth; the world order, justice, proper conduct.
• Mafdet - Goddess, symbolizing judicial authority and the execution apparatus
• Menat (mnj.t)

   1) Musical instrument, castanet; 
   2) Broad collar or necklace, attribute of Hathor

• Montu, Mont - War god
• Mut

   1) Mother goddess, often equated with Isis
   2) Deceased with often malicious intentions

N

• Natron (from Spanish, originally Greek) - Carbonate salt mixture used in mummifying, found at Wadi Natrun
• Necropolis (Greek) - Greek lit. City of the dead, cemetery
• Nefer (nfr) - Amulet made of gold, good luck charm
• Neheh (nHH) - Eternity, perpetual renewal of cycles, as opposed to djet
• Nekhbet - Goddess of Upper Egypt represented in the form of a vulture
• Nephthys, Nepthys, Nebt-Het - Goddess, wife of Seth
• Neshmet (nSm.t) - The barque of Osiris
• Nun - Primordial god of water and fertility, depicted as a green or blue man
• Nut - Goddess of the sky

O

• Ogdoad (from Latin, Greek for eight) - The eight primeval gods of creation: Nun and Naunet, Kuk and Kauket, Huh and Hauhet, Amen and Amaunet
• Opening of the Mouth - ceremony performed for a deceased person
• Osiris, Asr, Ausar - God of Duat, consort of Isis. Equated with the Greek Dionysos
• Ostracon, Ostrakon (Greek) - a pottery sherd used for writing or sketching on, plural ostraka

P

• Phoenix (Greek), Bennu bird - Mythological bird (see Bestiary)
• Ptach, Ptah - Creator god, Hephaestos to the Greeks

Q

• Qebehsenuef, Kebhsenuf etc - One of the four sons of Horus

R

Glossary of ancient Egyptian terms and names The word form in bold type is the one generally used on this site. Some remarks concerning transliteration and pronunciation of ancient Egyptian

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Aah, Iah

   Moon sacred to Osiris, Djehuty (Thoth) and Khonsu

Abdu Heba

   Ruler of Jerusalem, contemporary of Akhenaten

Achotep, Ahhotep, Ahotep

   Apparently two queens, although it has been suggested that there may have been just one:
   1) Queen, daughter of Tao I, sister/wife of Tao II Sekenenre
   2) Queen, possibly wife of Kamose

Achenaten, Akhenaten, Akhenaton, Akhnaten, Akhnaton

   Amenhotep IV, a New Kingdom pharaoh, 18th dynasty

Aegis (Greek)

   Ornamental collar, menat

Ahmose, Amasis

   1) Two pharaohs - Ahmose I 18th dynasty and Ahmose II, 26th dynasty; 
   2) Ahmose-Nefertiri, Queen of the 18th Dynasty; 
   3) Ahmose Son of Ebana, admiral under king Ahmose I (Autobiography)
   4) Ahmose Pen-nekhbet, high official under Ahmose I (Autobiography)

Akhet (Ax.t [1]), Shait

   Season of inundation, from mid-July to mid-November in Ptolemaic times

Akhetaten, Al Amarna, El Amarna

   Capital of Akhenaten, 18th dynasty

Akh (Ax)

   at times translated as 'soul', cf. Body and Soul
   Akhu, akhet (Ax.t): The blessed dead, ancestors

Akhtoy, Kheti

Alashia, Alasyia

   Probably Cyprus

Amen, Ammon, Amon, Amun, Amoun, Amun-Re or Amen-Re

   Main God during the New Kingdom, identified with Zeus by the Greeks

Amenemhab, Amenemheb

   War companion of Thutmose III (Amenemhab's Biography)

Amenemhet, Amenemhat

   Four pharaohs of the 12th dynasty

Amenhotep

   1) 4 New Kingdom pharaohs, 18th dynasty, often called by the (incorrect) Greek form Amenophis; 
   2) Son of Hapu, scribe, favourite of Amenhotep III (Autobiographical inscription)

Amenemope, Amenemopet

   1) Family of high New Kingdom officials; 
   2) Vice-roy of Kush under Seti I; 
   3) Vizier under Amenhotep II

Amenirdis

   Wife of the God (High priestess of Amen)

Amenmes

   New Kingdom pharaoh, 19th dynasty

Amenmose

   1) Son of Thutmose I and Ahmose, general; 
   2) Brother of Nefertari, mayor of Thebes; 
   3) Son of Bekenptah, officer under the Ramessides

Amenophis

   according to Manetho Greek for Amenhotep and still often used in this sense; philologically correct for Amenemope (imn-m-ipt)

Amenti

   Realm of the Dead, cf Duat

Ammit, Ammut

   Chimaera, destroyer of the hearts of dead who were not justified

Amorites, Amurru

   People in Retenu (Today's Lebanon and western Syria)

Amratian

   Middle pre-dynastic period, 3550 to 3400 BCE, also called Naqada IA and IB

Amulet

   Charm

Anch, ankh (anx)

   Symbol of enduring life

Anchesenamen, Anchesenamun, Ankhesenamen, Ankhesenamun, Ankhesenaten, Ankhesenpaaten

   Wife of Tutankhamen, 18th dynasty

Anchnesmerire, Ankhnesmeryre

   Queen, Mother of Pepi II

Anhuret, Anhur, Onuris

   Identified with the Greek Ares. His main cult was at Papremis

Ankh

   Life, its hieroglyph was often worn as an amulet

Ankhmahor

   6th dynasty vizier

Ankhtifi

   nomarch in Upper Egypt during the FIP

Anubis, Anpu, Khenty-Imentiu, Hermanubis

   God, conductor of souls

Antef

   see Intef

Antefoker

   Mayor and vizier under Senusret I

Anubis, Anpu

   God of the necropolis

Apep

   see Apopis

Apepi

   Two Hyksos kings

Aphrodite

   the Greek equivalent of Hathor

Apis, Serapis, Osiris-Apis

   Bull symbolizing fertility venerated at Memphis

Apophis, Apopis, Apep

   The serpent of Chaos, sometimes equated with Seth

Apotropaic (from Greek)

   Having the power to avert evil

Artaxerxes

   2 Persian kings and Egyptian pharaohs (27th dynasty)

Arura, aroura (Greek)

   The ground covered by a yoke of ploughing oxen in one day, about 2700 m²

Artaba (Persian)

   Dry measure, about 36 litres in classical times, about 27 litres under the Ptolemies.

Aser, Asr, Ausas

   see Osiris

Aset, Ast, Auset

   see Isis

Ashur-Uballit

   King of Assyria, contemporary of Akhenaten

Atef

   Crown worn by Osiris

Aten, Aton

   The sun disk, unique god of Akhenaten

Avaris, Awaris

   Capital of the Hyksos kings in the Delta

Ay

   1) Merneferre, pharaoh of the 13th dynasty; 
   2) Ay, Aye, Ai, Kheperkheperure
   Vizier of Tutankhamen and pharaoh of the 18th dynasty

B

Ba (bA)

   The "soul"
   Spiritual force such as an anonymous divinity
   Manifestation of a god
   The king's power to rule
   The eternal forces of a human, depicted in tombs as a bird with a human head.

Ba'ah, Seba-djai

   The planet Venus

Badarian

   Early pre-dynastic period, 3800 to 3500 BCE, also Fayum A or Merimda

Bai, Bay

   Chancellor of Ramses Siptah, 19th dynasty

Bakare

   Listed in the Turin King list as successor of Khafre

Bakenkhons, Bakenkhonsu, Bekenkhonsu

   High Priest of Amen under Ramses II, possibly father of Nefertari, member of the Amenemope clan, block statue

Bast, Bastet, Ubasti, Pasht

   Goddess of the home, Artemis to the Greeks. Her cultural centre was at Bubastis

Bat

   Goddess with the form of a cow, from the Middle Kingdom on merged with Hathor

Bau

   Messenger or appearance of a deity

Benben

   1) The first land to rise from the primordial waters. 
   2) Pyramid shaped sacred stone at Heliopolis 

Bennu bird (bnw)

   see Phoenix

Bes, Bisu

   Dwarf god

Biridiya

   Ruler of Megiddo, contemporary of Akhenaten

Book of the Dead

   Better The Book of Going Forth by Day. A collection of magical writings placed in tombs since the New Kingdom with the intention of helping the deceased in the after-life.

Burnaburiash

   Kassite king of Babylonia, contemporary of Akhenaten

Byblos (Greek), Gebal, Gubla, Kubna (Egyptian)

   City in Lebanon, important to Egyptian trade

byssus

   fr. Greek bussos, fine linen

C

Cambyses, Kambyses

   Persian king, conqueror of Egypt, founder of the 27th dynasty

Canaan

   Today's Israel and southern Lebanon, above all the coastal region

Canobic, Heracleotic (from Latin, Greek)

   The westernmost arm of the Nile, after the city of Canobus (Canopus)

Canopic jars (from Latin, Greek)

   Vessels containing the inner organs of the deceased, generally four, in the form of the sons of Horus (from Canopus, see above)

Cartonnage (French)

   Expression used by Egyptologists for the masks and coffins made of cardboard like materials.

Cartouche (French)

   The name of a pharaoh in hieroglyphs surrounded by an oval band denoting eternity

Cataract (from Greek kataraktes down-rushing)

   Rapids, waterfall. The first Nile cataract was Egypt's southern border

Chadouf (Arabic)

   see Shadouf

Chafre, Chefren

   see Khafre

Chamudi

   see Khamudi

Cheops, Chufu

   see Khufu

Choachyte

   Greek for Egyptian wAH mw, lit. Dispenser of water, Priest in charge of the cult of the dead who, for a fee, carried out the role of undertaker

Chons, Chonsu

   see Khons

Chthonic (Greek)

   from the earth. Chthonic deities: Sepa, Heqet etc

Cippus (Latin)

   Pointed rectangular pillar, in Egyptology: Amulet or stela showing Horus triumphing over dangerous beasts

Circumcision

   The surgical modification of the genitals of boys and men

Coffin Texts

   Magical writings written on coffins since the FIP.

Corbel (from Latin)

   Projection jutting out from wall, supporting structure above it. Used to make false arches

Corvée (French)

   Tax in the form of labour

Crook, heka

   Originally a shepherd's staff it became a symbol of power carried by pharaohs and high officials

Cubit (Origninally from Latin)

   Linear measure.
   1) Short cubit: 6 palms = 24 fingers; 
   2) Royal cubit : 7 palms = 28 digits - 52.3 cm

D

Darius

   2 Persian kings and Egyptian pharaohs (27th dynasty)

Deben, (dbn)

   Weight, equal to 10 kit, originally 27gr (copper), 13gr (gold), from NK on about 91 grammes
   Greek period: monetary unit worth 20 silver drachmas, later 20 copper drachmas

Decans (from Latin decem, ten)

   36 star constellations, each rising above the horizon at sunrise during ten days every year, used by the ancient Egyptian calendar

Demotic (Greek)

   the last stage of development of the ancient Egyptian script

Demurrage

   Charge paid by the depositors of grain in the state granaries, see credit

Dendarah, Denderah

   Site of Hathor's main temple

Deshret (dSr.t)

   1) The red crown of Lower Egypt; 
   2) The red land, i.e. the desert

Dionysos

   Greek god, identified with Osiris

Djahi, Zahi

   Ill defined coastal region in Canaan

Djed pillar, djet pillar (Dd)

   Hieroglyph often carried as an amulet, linked to the Osiris myth

Djehuti, Thoth

   1) God of knowledge and wisdom, moon god, identified with Hermes Trismegistus by the Greeks; 
   2) Scribe, general and viceroy under Thutmose III

Djet (Dt)

   Eternity, continuous and linear as opposed to neheh

Djoser, Zoser

   Old Kingdom pharaoh, 3rd dynasty

Drachma

   Greek monetary unit, divided into 6 obols. The standard coin in use was the silver tetradrachma worth four drachmas.

Duat (dwA.t)

   Originally the starry sky.
   The Realm of the Dead, populated by the deceased who have become stars. Often somewhat misleadingly referred to as Underworld or Netherworld.

Dynasty (from Greek)

   Line of hereditary rulers

E

Early dynastic

   Historic period, 3050 to 2600 BCE, also called Naqada IIIA1 to IIIC1

Echnaton

   see Akhenaten

El Amarna, Al Amarna (Arabic), Akhetaten

   Capital of Egypt under Akhenaten, 18th dynasty

Electrum (from Greek)

   A gold and silver alloy, used for covering the tips of obelisks

Encaustic (from Greek)

   paint based on wax

Ennead (from Greek enneas, nine)

   A group of nine deities, such as the Ennead of Heliopolis
   All the gods of a locality

Execration texts

   Texts containing curses against (state) enemies, cf. Execration rituals

Eye of Re

   See Hathor

F

Faience (from French, after the Italian town of Faenza)

   Glazed ceramics, often blue or green

Faiyoum, Faiyum, Fayoum, Fayum, Fayyoum, Fayyum

   Fertile low-lying region west of the Nile

False door

   symbolic door for the ka, painted or carved on a tomb wall

FIP

   First Intermediate Period

Flail, flagellum (from Latin flagrum, scourge), nekhekh, nekhakha

   A flail carried by the pharaoh symbolizing his power; attribute of Osiris and Min.

G

Geb, Keb

   Earth god

Gebal, Gubla

   see Byblos

Genital mutilation

   The surgical modification of the genitals of girls and women

Gerzean

   Late pre-dynastic and protodynastic periods, 3400 to 3050 BCE, divided into 
   Early Gerzean, 3400 to 3300 BCE (Naqada IC, IIA, IIB) 
   Middle Gerzean, 3300 to 3200 BCE (Naqada IIC) 
   Late Gerzean, 3200 to 3050 (Naqada IID1, IID2)

Gesso (Italian)

   Mixture of plaster of Paris and glue, used as a kind of putty

God's Father

   Priest of intermediate rank.

God's Land, Egyptian tA nTr (Ta netjer)

   Term used for some foreign, generally wooded regions: Punt in the south, but also regions in Syria etc.

Great Green (literal translation of wAD-wr )

   Generally supposed to denote the Sea, especially the Mediterranean. It has also been proposed to stand for the Nile (delta) or the Fayum.

Griffin

   Chimaera with a lion's body and a falcon's head, since the OK symbol of the victorious ruler

H

Hah

   Personification of eternity, props up the heavens

Hamamat, Hammamat

   Wadi connecting the Nile valley to the Red Sea near Thebes

Hannu

   see Henenu

Hapi, Hapy

   1) God of the Nile; 
   2) One of the Four Sons of Horus

Hapiru, Apiru, Habiru

   Nomadic asiatics of the 2nd millennium BCE, often considered outlaws. Used to be wrongly identified with the Hebrews

Harakhte

   God, see also Horus, Re

Harem (Arabic), Egyptian ipet

   institution run by the pharaoh's first wife for the benefit of the pharaoh's wives and female relatives, not to be confounded with the muslim harem of later times

Haremhab

   see Horemheb

Hathor

   Goddess of sky, love, mirth, beauty and fertility

Hatshepsut, Hatshepsowe

   Female pharaoh, 18th dynasty

Hatti, Kheta

   Anatolian nation, in conflict with the Egyptians during the New Kingdom

Heb Sed (Hb-sd)

   festival (Hb) celebrated after 30 years of rule or more frequently. Its precise purpose is unknown, but is supposed to have to do with the pharaoh's rejuvenation.

Hedjet, nefer-hedjet (nfr-D.t)

   the white crown of Upper Egypt

Heka (HkA)

   Magic

Heka-khase (HqA-xAsw.t )

   see Hyksos

Hekat, Heket

   see Heqat

Heliopolis, On

   Main temple of the sun god Re

Hemaka

   Royal sealbearer (chancellor) under Den (1st dynasty)

Henenu, Hannu, Henu

   Steward and overseer of herds, 11th dynasty

Henku

   Nomarch, late OK (Inscription)

Hephaestos, Hephaistos

   The Greek equivalent of Ptah

Hepu

   Vizier under Thutmose IV

Hepuseneb

   First prophet of Amen under Hatshepsut

Heqa (HqA.t)

   Crook, symbol of pharaonic authority

Heqat (HqA.t)

   Measure of volume of varying size:
   1) Barrel, bushel. Divided into 10 hin, c. 4.8 litres, used throughout history
   2) Common bushel, double barrel, c. 9.6 litres, Middle to New Kingdom 
   3) Large bushel, also called oipe, about 19.2 litres

Heqat, Heqet, Hekt, Hekat, Heket (Hq.t)

   Goddess of birth in the form of a frog

Her-ka-pet

   The planet Saturn

Hermanubis, Anpu, Khenty-Imentiu

   see Anubis

Heru

   see Horus

Heru-deshret

   The planet Mars

Her-wepes-tawy

   The planet Jupiter

Heseb (Hsb)

   Square measure: One quarter of a tA, divided into 2 sA

Hesire

   Overseer over the royal scribes under Djoser (3rd dynasty), physician and dentist 

Hierakonpolis (Greek), Nekhen

   Ancient southern capital

Hieratic (from Greek hieratikos, priest)

   Cursive writing of Hieroglyphs

Hieroglyphics (from Greek hierogluphicos, sacred writing

   Egyptian writing using stylized pictures (hieroglyphs)

Hin (hnw)

   lit. jar, one tenth of a heqat, about half a litre

Hittites

   People of Hatti

Hor

   1) Hor, pharaoh, probably 13th dynasty; 
   2) Hor, priest during the Late Period; 
   3) Hor, mountain in northern Canaan; 
   4) see Horus

Horbaf

   Son of Khufu (4th dynasty), vizier

Hordjedef, Djedefhor

   Son of Khufu (4th dynasty)

Horemheb

   New Kingdom general and pharaoh, 18th dynasty

Horus, Hor, Heru, Hru

   Sun god, son of Isis and Osiris

Horus name

   First of the pharaonic titles, often written in a serekh

Hotep Senusret (Kahun)

   Middle Kingdom planned town

House of Life

   Repositories for knowledge in temples

Hyksos

   The Heqa-khasut, wrongly translated as Shepherd Kings, an Asiatic people, founded a kingdom in Northern Egypt, 15th and 16th dynasties

Hypostyle

   (Greek hupostulos, under columns) Building with roof supported by pillars

I

Ikhernofret

   Chancellor under Senusret III, (Stela)

Imhotep

   High official under of Djoser (3rd dynasty), later deified.

Intef, Antef, Inyotef

   Pharaohs of the 11th dynasty

IP

   Intermediary Period

Ipet

   see harem

Isfet

   disorder, chaos, opposed to Maat

Isis, Auset, Aset, Ast

   Goddess of fertility and nature, consort of Osiris. Identified with Demeter and Aphrodite

Iteru (jtrw)

   1) River-unit, measure of length, 20000 cubits, ca. 10 km, Greek skhoine
   2) ca. 2km according to Breasted
   3) River, Nile

Ithyphallic (from Greek ithuphallicos)

   Having an erect penis, a sign of fertility (depictions of ba-birds, Osiris, Min or Amen, etc)

J

Judgment of the Dead

   Decision by the gods on the afterlife of a person

Justified

   maa-kheru, lit. True of voice, dead person judged favourably

K

Ka

   Immortal part of a being, but needing nourishment, coming into existence together with the being: the "life force", continuity of existence. Cf. Body and Soul.
   To go to his ka: to die

Kadashman Enlil

   King of Babylon, contemporary of Amenhotep III

Kadesh, Kedesh, Qadesh

   1) Fortified town in Retenu, site of famous battle 
   2) Goddess

Kagemni

   1) Vizier under Snefru, author of the Instructions of Kagemni; 
   2) Vizier under Teti (6th dynasty) with famous mastaba

Kahun, Lahun, Illahun (Arabic)

   Middle Kingdom planned town near the site of Hotep Senusret

Kambyses

   see Cambyses

Kamutef

   Lit. 'Bull of his Mother'. Name of the ithyphallic, self-created Amen and Min

Kanofer

   Architect under Khasekhemwy (2nd dynasty), speculatively Imhotep's father

Karnak, Al Karnak (Arabic)

   modern village, occupying the northern half of pharaonic Thebes, Ipet isut, the site of many ancient temples

Kawab

   Son of Khufu (4th dynasty)

Keftiu

   described as a place in the midst of the Great Green, i.e. the Mediterranean, possibly Crete, sometimes identified with Cyprus or with the whole of the Aegean

Kemet (km.t)

   The black (land)
   The fertile soil of the Nile flood plain
   Egypt which is also called the Two Lands

Kenbet (qnb.t)

   Judicial commission or court

Kezweden, Kizzuwadna

   Hurrian vassal state of the Hittites in southern Anatolia

Khafre, Chafre, Chefren

   Old Kingdom Pharaoh, 4th dynasty

Khaemwaset

   Son of Ramses II, high priest of Ptah

Khamudi, Chamudi, Apepi II

   Hyksos king

Khar (XAr)

   Lit. sack, measure of capacity
   1) Deka-heqat, 10 heqat, ca.48 litres. (OK, MK) 
   2) Deka-heqat, khar, equals 4 oipe, i.e. 16 heqat, ca. 96 litres (MK-SIP)
   3) Khar, 4 oipe, 76 litres (NK-TIP)

Kheker sign (Xkr)

   architectural decoration

Khekheperre-sonbu

   Priest (Admonitions)

Khentamenti, Khenty-Imentiu, Chontamenti

   see Anubis, also Osiris

Kheops

   see Khufu

Khepresh, Kheperesh (xprS)

   The blue crown

Khet (xt), khet-en-nu

   Linear measure, 100 cubits, about 50 metres

Kheta

   see Hatti

Kheti, Akhtoy

   A number of kings ruling at Heracleopolis during the First Intermediate Period
   A number of nomarchs during the First Intermediate Period:
       1) Kheti son of Tefibi (inscription)
       2) Kheti son of Sit (inscription)

Khnumhotep, Khnumhotpe

   1) Khnumhotep I, nomarch (Inscription)
   2) Khnumhotep II, grandson of Khnumhotep I, nomarch (Inscription)

Khons, Khonsu

   1) Moon God, son of Amen and Mut, his main temple was at Karnak; 
   2) Called To: First prophet of Menkheperra under Ramses II

Khufu, Cheops

   Old Kingdom Pharaoh, 4th dynasty

Kiosk (from French kiosque, Turkish kösk)

   A roof supported by columns or poles

Kit, kite, qite, (qd.t)

   weight, one tenth of a deben, about 9 grammes (during the New Kingdom)
   Greek period: monetary unit worth one tenth of a deben = 2 drachmas

Kohl (fom Arabic kuhl )

   Black eyeliner (cf. Cosmetics)

Kubna, Gepen

   Egyptian name for Byblos

Kush, Kash

   Nubian region above the second cataract

KV

   Used by archaeologists together with a number to identify tombs in the Valley of the Kings

L

Labayu

   Ruler of Shechem, contemporary of Akhenaten (cf. Amarna Letters)

Lector priest

   Priest reading ritual texts

Libu, Ribu

   Libyans

Lesonis

   Greek for Egyptian mr-Sn, an elected official in charge of the economic management of a temple

LP

   Late Period

L.P.H.

   Life, prosperity, health (anx wDA snb) [1] - Wish for well-being, added after the names of pharaohs, "prosperity" should rather be "soundness"

Luxor (Arabic el Uksor)

   modern village, occupying the southern half of ancient Thebes, Ipet resyt

M

Ma

   see Meshwesh

Maa-kheru (mAa-xrw )

   True of voice, justified. Used for 
   1) the winning party in a trial, 
   2) the dead whose heart weighed less than a feather

Maat, Ma'at, Mayet (maA.t)

   Goddess of Truth; the world order, justice, proper conduct.

Mafdet

   Goddess, symbolizing judicial authority and the execution apparatus

Mammisi (Coptic)

   lit. House of Birth, sanctuary attached to a temple; dedicated to the birth of the child deity of a triad

Mastaba (Arabic mastaba, bench)

   Old Kingdom, underground tomb with above ground structure

Maziqda

   38 hin, about 19 litres

Medjay

   Nubian mercenaries since the First Intermediary Period, police under Ahmose I and his successors

Megiddo

   Important Canaanite town, site of battle

Meh-ta (mH-tA)

   Area measure, 100 cubits squared, ca.27 m², New Kingdom

Memphis (Greek), Mennefer, Mof

   Old Kingdom capital of Egypt (near Cairo)

Menat (mnj.t)

   1) Musical instrument, castanet; 
   2) Broad collar or necklace, attribute of Hathor

Men, Menes, Min

   First pharaoh of the united kingdom according to Herodotus, identified as Hor-aha

Menkaure, Mykerinos

   Old Kingdom Pharaoh, 4th dynasty

Menkheperreseneb

   High priest of Amon at Karnak, 18th dynasty

Mentuhotep, Montuhotep

   4 pharaohs of the 11th dynasty

Mereruka

   vizier under Teti (6th dynasty), successor of Kagemni

Meryre, Pepi I, Pepy I

   Old Kingdom pharaoh, 6th dynasty

Meryt-Amen

   Daughter of Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, wife of Smenkhkare(?)

Meskhenet

   Goddess personification of the birthing stone, two bricks placed under the feet of the woman giving birth in a crouching position

Meshwesh (mSwS), Ma

   Libyans settled in the Delta during the Third Intermediary Period, mercenaries

Metjen

   Official under Snofru (Biography)

Min

   Fertility god
   Pharaoh, see Menes

Mitanni

   Hurrian people living in Naharin (western Mesopotamia), disappeared as an independent nation during the Egyptian New Kingdom

MK

   Middle Kingdom

Moeris, Moiris

   1) possibly Amenemhet III. 
   2) Lake Moeris - lake in the Fayum excavated according to Herodotus by Moeris

Montu, Mont

   War god

Montuhotep

   see Mentuhotep

Mut

   1) Mother goddess, often equated with Isis
   2) Deceased with often malicious intentions

N

Nagada, Naqada

   Settlement 30 km northwest of Thebes. Name for predynastic periods from 3550 to 2600 BCE

Naharin, Naharina

   Region in Syria or Lebanon, at times identified with Aram Naharaim, the region between western Tigris and the Euphrates, at others with the region between the Litani and the Orontes.

Naos (Greek naos, temple)

   The sanctuary with the divine statues

Narmer

   King, thought by many to be the uniter of Upper and Lower Egypt

Natron (from Spanish, originally Greek)

   Carbonate salt mixture used in mummifying, found at Wadi Natrun

Naucratis, Naukratis (Greek)

   Ionian city in the Delta

Nebamen, Nebamon, Nebamun

   Chief of police in western Thebes under Thutmose IV and Amenhoteop III
   Superintendent of the grain stores under Thutmose III (cf. Abbott papyrus)

Nebwawi

   High Priest of Osiris under Thutmose III (Inscription)

Necho, Neco, Necos, Nekhau

   Two pharaohs of the Late Dynastic Period, 26th dynasty

Necropolis (Greek)

   Greek lit. City of the dead, cemetery

Nefer (nfr)

   Amulet made of gold, good luck charm

Neferkare, Pepi II, Pepy II

   Old Kingdom pharaoh, 6th dynasty

Nefertari, Nefertari-Mery-Mut

   Main wife of Ramses II

Nefertiti, Nefertete, Nofretete

   Wife of Akhenaten

Neferty

   Prophet

Neheh (nHH)

   Eternity, perpetual renewal of cycles, as opposed to djet

Nehes

   see Nubia

Nekhakha (nxx)

   see flagellum

Nekhbet

   Goddess of Upper Egypt represented in the form of a vulture

Nekhekh (nxx)

   see flagellum

Nekhen, Hierakonpolis

   Ancient southern capital

Nephthys, Nepthys, Nebt-Het

   Goddess, wife of Seth

Neshmet (nSm.t)

   The barque of Osiris

Nilometer

   Place, generally with column, where the height of the Nile could be measured

Nitocris, Nitokris

   daughter of Psammetic I, 26th dynasty, Wife of the God Amen

NK

   New Kingdom

Nomarch (Greek)

   Ruler of a nome

Nome (from Greek nomos division)

   Administrative region

Nub (nb)

   Gold

Nubia, Wawat

   Region above the first cataract, occupied by Egypt during the 2nd Millennium BCE

Nun

   Primordial god of water and fertility, depicted as a green or blue man

Nut

   Goddess of the sky

O

Obol

   Greek coin, one sixth of a drachma, divided into 8 chalkoi

Ogdoad (from Latin, Greek for eight)

   The eight primeval gods of creation: Nun and Naunet, Kuk and Kauket, Huh and Hauhet, Amen and Amaunet 

Oipe (jp.t)

   Measure of capacity, 4 heqat, about 20 litres (NK to Roman times)

OK

   Old Kingdom

On, Heliopolis (Greek)

   Main temple of the sun god Re

Opening of the Mouth

   ceremony performed for a deceased person

Osiris, Asr, Ausar

   God of Duat, consort of Isis. Equated with the Greek Dionysos

Ostracon, Ostrakon (Greek)

   a pottery sherd used for writing or sketching on, plural ostraka

P

Pabi

   Ruler of Lachish, contemporary of Akhenaten

Paramoné (Greek)

   In the Hellenist culture the obligation of a freed slave to perform services for his former master

Paser

   1) Viceroy under Ay and Horemheb
   2) Mayor and vizier under Sethi I and Ramses II

Pectoral (Latin)

   Piece of jewellery covering upper chest

Pelusiac, Pelusian (from Greek)

   The easternmost arm of the Nile, named after the town Pelusium

Pediese, Petiese, Pediaset

   A number of Late Period priests, cf. The Petition of Pediese

Pepi

   Two Old Kingdom pharaohs, 6th dynasty:
   1)  Pepi I, Pepy I, Meryre 
   2)  Pepi II, Pepy II, Neferkare, Son of Pepi I

Peleset

   One of the Sea Peoples, the Philistines, settled in Canaan

Peret, Pert, Proit (pr.t)

   Season of Growth, from mid November to mid March in Ptolemaic times

Pesesh-kaf (psS-kf)

   Ceremonial instrument used in the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony

Pharaoh (via Greek and Hebrew (par'oh) from Egyptian pr-aA - 'Great House')

   Since the first millennium BCE king of Egypt, 

Phoenix (Greek), Bennu bird

   Mythological bird (see Bestiary)

Piankhi, Piye

   Pharaoh of the Late Dynastic Period, 25th dynasty

Pre-dynastic, predynastic

   Prehistoric period, 5500 to 3050 BCE

Prehirwonnef

   Son of Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari, served in the army

Pronaos (from Greek)

   Room leading to the naos

Proto-dynastic, protodynastic

   Period 3200 to 3050, also called Late Gerzean

Prophet (from Greek)

   Hm nTr, lit. servant of the god, Head priest

Psammetichos, Psammetic, Psamtek, Psamtik

   Three pharaohs, 26th dynasty

Pseudoepigrapha (Greek)

   Writings of a later date than purported, often attributed to an ancient authority like a pharaoh

Pshent

   the double crown of the united Egypt

Ptach, Ptah

   Creator god, Hephaestos to the Greeks 

Ptahhotep

   vizier under Djedkare (5th dynasty), putative author of instructions of wisdom

Punt

   Apparently a region in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia and/or southern Arabia. At times identified with God's Land.

Pylon

   Massive structure at the entrance of a temple complex

Pyramid texts

   Texts written inside pyramids concerning the afterlife of the deceased

Pyramidion (from Greek)

   Capstone of a pyramid

Q

Qa'a

   Last pharaoh of the first dynasty

Qa'a

   High-roofed reception room in Egyptian houses (see The House of Djehutinefer )

Qadesh

   see Kadesh

Qebehsenuef, Kebhsenuf etc

   One of the four sons of Horus

Qenbet (qnb.t)

   Judicial court

Qoseir, Quseir

   Port on the Red Sea coast

R

• Re, Ra - Sun god, Helios to the Greeks, with the cult centre at Heliopolis

S

• Sabgu - The planet Mercury
• Sah (sAH) - The constellation of Orion, associated with Osiris
• Sarcophagus (Greek sarx + phagos, flesh eating) - Stone coffin
• Sau - Apotropaic amulet
• Scarab

   1) Dung beetle
   2) Amulet in the form of a dung beetle

• Sechmet, Sekhmet - Goddess of love and protection, cf. Hathor
• Serpopards (from Greek) - Long-necked chimaera of Mesopotamian origin
• Seshat - Goddess, her name means 'female scribe'. Perhaps a form of Nephthys
• Set, Seth - God of chaos, brother of Osiris
• Shabti, Shawabti (?) (mainly New Kingdom), Ushabti (mainly Late Period) - Mummyform statuette of the deceased placed since the Middle Kingdom in tombs to do manual labour
• Shu - God, often identified with Heracles by the Greeks
• Solar boat, ~ ship, ~ barque - Boat used by the sun god to cross the sky
• Sopdet (spd.t), Greek Sothis - Goddess, embodiment of the star Sirius
• Sphinx (Greek) - Statue with lion's body and human or animal head
• Stela, stele (plural stelae or steles) (from Greek) - Monumental stone slab with carvings

T

• Tauret, Taweret, Tauwret - fertility goddess
• Tefnut - Goddess of dew and rain
• Thoth, Thot, Toth, Tehuti, Djehuti - God of wisdom, his main temple was at Hermopolis, Hermes Trismegistus to the Greeks

Soul

To the Ancient Egyptian there is more to human beings than body and soul. They have (1) the khat (the physical body), (2) the saku (spiritual body), (3) the ab (heart), (4) the ka (double), (5) the ba (soul), (6) the khaibit (shadow), (7) the khu (intelligence), (8) the sekhem (form), (9) the ren (name). Some have direct connection with "the realm of the gods" and one actually exist in "the realm of the gods".

Khat

There is an aspect of the the khat (the physical body) that, if preserved, can be used to recreate the entire human body.

Saku

The the saku (spiritual body) sounds a lot like our present-day idea of an immortal soul. But it is connected to the body like information is connected to DNA. I have shown this as another dimension I call Information Space where genetic (DNA) memory is connected to the source of thought. This text translation uses terms like 'heaven', 'where the gods dwell', etc. It must be remembered that our translation uses English words for Ancient Egyptian concepts. It is a mistake to assume/believe the concepts represented by English words are, in fact, identical to the associated Ancient Egyptian concepts. We know this is not true in many cases. One such case is the comparison between Ancient Egyptian gods to the Greek gods. The Greek gods are far more human in every respect than most Ancient Egyptian gods. The ancient Egyptian gods more often represented forces of nature, including human nature, instead of individual human-like personalities: Ra is not Zeus or Helios.

Ib (heart)

An important part of the Egyptian soul was thought to be the Ib (jb), or heart. The Ib or metaphysical heart was believed to be formed from one drop of blood from the child's mother's heart, taken at conception. To ancient Egyptians, the heart was the seat of emotion, thought, will and intention. This is evidenced by the many expressions in the Egyptian language which incorporate the word ib, Awt-ib: happiness (literally, wideness of heart), Xak-ib: estranged (literally, truncated of heart). This word was transcribed by Wallis Budge as Ab.

In Egyptian religion, the heart was the key to the afterlife. It was conceived as surviving death in the nether world, where it gave evidence for, or against, its possessor. It was thought that the heart was examined by Anubis and the deities during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. If the heart weighed more than the feather of Maat, it was immediately consumed by the monster Ammit.

When the heart got tired the body died. When the deceased set out on his journey through the underworld, the jb as a record of his moral past was weighed by Anubis against a feather representing Maat. If found too heavy, the heart was devoured by the monster Ammit, destroying its owner for eternity.

The heart of Osiris hath in very truth been weighed, and his Heart-soul hath borne testimony on his behalf; his heart hath been found right by the trial in the Great Balance. There hath not been found any wickedness in him; he hath not wasted the offerings which have been made in the temples; he hath not committed any evil act; and he hath not set his mouth in motion with words of evil whilst he was upon earth. ~Book of the Dead

During the embalming the heart was not removed together with the other interior organs. A scarab was inserted into the mummy's bindings right above the heart in an attempt to prevent it from speaking out against its owner, lest my name appear stinking and putrid before the lord of the other world. Heart scarabs, the earliest examples of which date to the 17th dynasty, were often inscribed with texts from the 30th chapter of the Book of the Dead, but at times other texts were chosen, such as the one below which, with its invocation of Nut, is exceptional:

I have come and I have brought to you. I am your guide Nut. I open my wing and spread it over you. I keep your heart in its place: It will not be removed from your coffin until you come to life again, O blessed Tjatenbastet-tanedjemtjaut. ~ Book of the Dead

Sheut (shadow)

A person's shadow or silhouette, Sheut (šwt in Egyptian), is always present. Because of this, Egyptians surmised that a shadow contains something of the person it represents. Through this association, statues of people and deities were sometimes referred to as shadows.

The shadow was also representative to Egyptians of a figure of death, or servant of Anubis, and was depicted graphically as a small human figure painted completely black. Sometimes people (usually pharaohs) had a shadow box in which part of their Sheut was stored.

Ren (name)

As a part of the soul, a person's ren (rn 'name') was given to them at birth and the Egyptians believed that it would live for as long as that name was spoken, which explains why efforts were made to protect it and the practice of placing it in numerous writings. For example, part of the Book of Breathings, a derivative of the Book of the Dead, was a means to ensure the survival of the name. A cartouche (magical rope) often was used to surround the name and protect it. Conversely, the names of deceased enemies of the state, such as Akhenaten, were hacked out of monuments in a form of damnatio memoriae. Sometimes, however, they were removed in order to make room for the economical insertion of the name of a successor, without having to build another monument. The greater the number of places a name was used, the greater the possibility it would survive to be read and spoken.

Ba

Ba takes the form of a bird with a human head.

The 'Ba' (bꜣ) was everything that makes an individual unique, similar to the notion of 'personality'. (In this sense, inanimate objects could also have a 'Ba', a unique character, and indeed Old Kingdom pyramids often were called the 'Ba' of their owner). The 'Ba' is an aspect of a person that the Egyptians believed would live after the body died, and it is sometimes depicted as a human-headed bird flying out of the tomb to join with the 'Ka' in the afterlife.

In the Coffin Texts one form of the Ba that comes into existence after death is corporeal, eating, drinking and copulating. Louis Žabkar argued that the Ba is not part of the person but is the person himself, unlike the soul in Greek, or late Judaic, Christian or Muslim thought. The idea of a purely immaterial existence was so foreign to Egyptian thought that when Christianity spread in Egypt they borrowed the Greek word psyche to describe the concept of soul and not the term Ba. Žabkar concludes that so particular was the concept of Ba to ancient Egyptian thought that it ought not to be translated but instead the concept be footnoted or parenthetically explained as one of the modes of existence for a person.[3]

In another mode of existence the Ba of the deceased is depicted in the Book of Going Forth by Day returning to the mummy and participating in life outside the tomb in non-corporeal form, echoing the solar theology of Re (or Ra) uniting with Osiris each night.[4]

The word 'bau' (bꜣw), plural of the word ba, meant something similar to 'impressiveness', 'power', and 'reputation', particularly of a deity. When a deity intervened in human affairs, it was said that the 'Bau' of the deity were at work [Borghouts 1982].

Ka

The Ka (kꜣ) was the Egyptian concept of vital essence, that which distinguishes the difference between a living and a dead person, with death occurring when the ka left the body. The Egyptians believed that Khnum created the bodies of children on a potter's wheel and inserted them into their mothers' bodies. Depending on the region, Egyptians believed that Heket or Meskhenet was the creator of each person's Ka, breathing it into them at the instant of their birth as the part of their soul that made them be alive. This resembles the concept of spirit in other religions.

The Egyptians also believed that the ka was sustained through food and drink. For this reason food and drink offerings were presented to the dead, although it was the kau (kꜣw) within the offerings that was consumed, not the physical aspect. The ka was often represented in Egyptian iconography as a second image of the king, leading earlier works to attempt to translate ka as double.

Akh

The Akh (Ꜣḫ meaning '(magically) effective one'),[5] was a concept of the dead that varied over the long history of ancient Egyptian belief.

It was associated with thought, but not as an action of the mind; rather, it was intellect as a living entity. The Akh also played a role in the afterlife. Following the death of the Khat (physical body), the Ba and Ka were reunited to reanimate the Akh.[6] The reanimation of the Akh was only possible if the proper funeral rites were executed and followed by constant offerings. The ritual was termed: se-akh 'to make (a dead person) into an (living) akh.' In this sense, it even developed into a sort of ghost or roaming 'dead being' (when the tomb was not in order any more) during the Ramesside Period. An Akh could do either harm or good to persons still living, depending on the circumstances, causing e.g., nightmares, feelings of guilt, sickness, etc. It could be evoked by prayers or written letters left in the tomb's offering chapel also in order to help living family members, e.g., by intervening in disputes, by making an appeal to other dead persons or deities with any authority to influence things on earth for the better, but also to inflict punishments.

The separation of Akh and the unification of Ka and Ba were brought about after death by having the proper offerings made and knowing the proper, efficacious spell, but there was an attendant risk of dying again. Egyptian funerary literature (such as the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead) were intended to aid the deceased in "not dying a second time" and becoming an akh.