nw
Egyptian
Etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (modern Egyptological) IPA(key): /nuː/
- Conventional anglicization: nu
Pronoun
| |
proximal, later copular demonstrative pronoun
- (Old Egyptian) this, that
- (Middle Egyptian, formal) O (vocative reference)
Usage notes
This demonstrative is a pronoun, and so does not directly modify nouns. In Middle Egyptian it becomes used as a demonstrative for plural nouns in place of the old adjectives jpw and jptw and comes to serve as a plural definite article. When used in this way, it precedes the noun, with the genitival adjective n(j) in between, e.g. "these feet" is nw n(j) rdw (literally "this of feet").
In Old Egyptian it forms a contrastive pair with the demonstrative pronoun nf, in which nw is proximal.
Inflection
| determiners | pronouns1 | adverbs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | dual | plural | unmarked | |||||
| masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine | masculine | feminine | |||
| proximal to speaker | pn |
tn |
*jpnj |
jptnj, jptntj |
jpn |
jptn |
nn |
— |
| distal | pf |
tf |
*jpfj |
*jptfj, *jptftj |
jpf |
jptf |
nf |
— |
| proximal to spoken of | pj, pw, p |
tj, tw |
jpwj |
jptwj, jptwtj |
jpw |
jptw, jptwt |
nw |
— |
| vocative | pꜣ |
tꜣ |
— |
— |
— |
— |
nꜣ |
ꜥꜣ |
1 Unmarked for number and gender, but treated syntactically as masculine plurals when used with participles and relative forms, and as feminine singulars when referred to by resumptive pronouns.
| determiners and pronouns | adverbs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural1 | |||
| masculine | feminine | |||
| proximal | pn |
tn |
nn |
ꜥn |
| distal | pf, pfꜣ |
tf, tfꜣ |
nf, nfꜣ |
ꜥf |
| ‘copula’ and vocative | pw, pwy |
tw, twy |
nw |
— |
| anaphoric | pꜣ |
tꜣ |
nꜣ |
ꜥꜣ |
1 Joined by n(j) to nouns they modify.
| masculine | feminine | plural | adverb | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pronoun | pꜣw |
dj | |||
| determiners and pronouns | pꜣj |
tꜣj |
nꜣj | ||
| possessive determiners1 | pꜣy |
tꜣy |
nꜣy | ||
| relational pronouns (‘possessive prefixes’) | p-n, pꜣ |
t-nt, tꜣ |
nꜣyw, nꜣ | ||
| definite articles | pꜣ |
tꜣ |
nꜣ2 | ||
| indefinite articles | wꜥ2 |
nhꜣy2 | |||
1 Used with suffix pronouns.
2 Originally joined by n(j) to nouns they modify; later without it.
Etymology 2
Pronunciation
- (modern Egyptological) IPA(key): /nuː/
- Conventional anglicization: nu
Contraction
| |
Alternative forms
| |||
| nw |
Etymology 3
Pronunciation
- (reconstructed) IPA(key): /ˈnuwwuw/ → /ˈnuwwuw/ → /nuwwə/ → /nøww/
- (modern Egyptological) IPA(key): /nuː/
- Conventional anglicization: nu
Noun
| |
m
Inflection
| singular | nw |
|---|---|
| dual | nwwj |
| plural | nww |
Derived terms
Descendants
- Akhmimic Coptic: ⲛⲟ (no)
- Bohairic Coptic: ⲛⲁⲩ (nau)
- Fayyumic Coptic: ⲛⲉⲩ (neu), ⲛⲱ (nō)
- Lycopolitan Coptic: ⲛⲉⲩ (neu)
- Old Coptic: ⲛⲟ (no)
- Sahidic Coptic: ⲛⲁⲩ (nau), ⲛⲟⲩ (nou)
Etymology 4
Pronunciation
- (modern Egyptological) IPA(key): /nuː/
- Conventional anglicization: nu
Verb
| |
- The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
- (transitive) to hunt
References
- James P[eter] Allen (2010), Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 54–55, 72, 381.
- Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962), A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN
- Loprieno, Antonio (1995), Ancient Egyptian: A Linguistic Introduction, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN
Igbo
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ŋʷ/
Letter
nw (upper case Nw)
Tarifit
Alternative forms
- ŋw, ww
Etymology
From Proto-Berber *ănwəʔ.
Compare Central Atlas Tamazight ⵏⵡ (nw, “to be cooked”), Tashelhit nw (“to be cooked”), Kabyle eww (“to be cooked”), Northern Saharan Berber eww (“to be cooked”), Tuareg ăŋwu, ǝŋwu (“to become ripe”).
Pronunciation
Verb
nw (Tifinagh spelling ⵏⵡ)
Conjugation
This verb needs an inflection-table template.
Tashelhit
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Berber *ănwəʔ.
Compare Central Atlas Tamazight ⵏⵡ (nw, “to be cooked”), Tarifit nw (“to be cooked”), Kabyle eww (“to be cooked”), Northern Saharan Berber eww (“to be cooked”), Tuareg ăŋwu, ǝŋwu (“to become ripe”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /nw/
Verb
nw (intensive aorist nggʷa or nwwa, verbal noun tinwi, Tifinagh spelling ⵏⵡ, Arabic spelling نو)
- to be cooked, to cook
- اينوا وغروم. ― inwa uġrum. ― the bread is baked (litt. cooked).
- to become ripe, to ripen
- اورتا تنوا تازارت. ― ur ta tnwa tazart. ― the figs are not yet ripe.
- to be ready
- اينوا سّيفار. ― inwa ssifar. ― the trip is ready.
Derived terms
- snu (“to cook”)
See also
- anwal (“kitchen”)
- cc (“to eat”)
- tirmt (“meal”)
References
- Stroomer, Harry (2025), Dictionnaire berbère tachelḥiyt-français — Tome 3 m—š (Handbook of Oriental Studies – Handbuch der Orientalistik; 188/3) (in French), Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, , →ISBN, page 1841a