The Influence of Ancient Egyptian on Western Languages
The languages of the Latin, Germanic, and Slavic branches all belong to the great family of Indo-European languages. A study conducted some time ago by Bernal indicates that the Indo-European root appears clearly in over fifty percent of the words commonly used in the various languages we know, such as French, Italian, German, English, etc. The remaining approximately fifty percent belong to etymologies that linguists refer to as originating from the Mediterranean area. Scholars indeed talk about Indo-European and Mediterranean roots which, as previously mentioned, according to Bernal, are almost equal. The Mediterranean area encompasses all those words largely borrowed from Semitic or Hamito-Semitic languages, with these percentages roughly dividing equally between them. About 25% of the words in use, especially in countries bordering the northern Mediterranean, are derived from ancient Egyptian. The claims made by Bernal about the aforementioned percentages seem, according to many scholars, excessive and not easily verifiable in a clear manner, meaning that many etymologies appear to be of doubtful origin and thus not certainly attributable to any original branch, barring contrary evidence.
However, it is undeniable that Western languages, primarily Greek, owe much to the languages of the ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations. One could strictly say that in the West, not purely Indo-European languages but rather mixed languages are in use. There are indeed many words of uncertain origin, making them the subject of research, dissertations, confirmations, refutations, etc., by scholars. For some time, I have been conducting research to identify the origin of dubious words that have been adopted in Greek and other European areas, even those far from the Mediterranean, such as in the Germanic or even Scandinavian areas. It is surprising to find phonetic similarities, for instance, between Old Norse and ancient Egyptian, yet such connections exist.
In this brief piece, I will present some illuminating examples.
𓁈
st = chair/throne or even
𓃀
st = verb to sit, place, locality.
These signs with the phonetic value st (cf. Gardiner: Egyptian Grammar, p. 500) have a resemblance to ḥwt/ḥt = house/colony/settlement, etc., which should always be read with a sound very close to zwt/zt or even swt/st and not with the aspirated ḥ sound as the sign ḥ would suggest.
Furthermore, the English verb (to) seat = to sit also indicates the locality where people settled, thus = place of colonization/house. Similar words can be found in the Nordic languages (part of the Germanic group along with English): Old Norse sæti, Icelandic setur/staður. Naturally, similar considerations apply to Latin and Neo-Latin terms such as the Italian verb sedere and the derived terms for sedia (chair), etc., whose semantic value, although modified over the centuries, fundamentally finds its root in the concept of rest/stop, words related to the concept of colonization/house/shelter, etc. From this, it emerges with sufficient reliability that words such as sedia/sedere/seat/settlement/Old English sitja/French (être) assis/German sitzen/Latin sedeo, etc., all have a single root in ancient Egyptian ḥwt/ḥt (i.e., swt/st – cf. note 2) or even, as seen, from st.
tḥn = to rise/shine and similar concepts (cf. Hannig HWB, p. 961 German glänzend sein/leuchten/erglänzen, etc.). This word is phonetically similar to tnj, also meaning to rise/lift, etc. (cf. Gardiner EG, p. 601). Analyzing the semantic value of these words, it becomes evident that their meanings do not deviate from the concept of extending/stretching but also growing/developing/increasing, etc. In short, an action leading to an upward phenomenon, an increase. Rising is an augmentative action of something (e.g., the sun, etc.). To show that tnj is phonetically similar to the Latin tendere, the step is short. The surprises do not end here; this discovery brings even greater news because the phonetic similarities lead us to the misty and cold lands of Iceland. In Icelandic, Þenja means to rise, from which þinur (tree that grows). These words, found also in Old Norse, derive the word indicating the supreme deity of the Nordic Valhalla Óðinn, whose literal meaning is the highest deity – the one who rises, who elevates above all others. The Icelandic and Old Norse characters in these words correspond to: þ=ð=th=>t. The surprises continue by linking Nordic deities to Mediterranean ones; indeed, the highest deity of the Etruscan pantheon is Tinja/Tin, corresponding to the Latin Jupiter and the Greek Zeus. The meaning of this name is practically identical to the Norse god Odin, i.e., the greatest, the one who rises above all. The derivation of all these words and their similarities from ancient Egyptian seems to leave no room for doubt.
The Icelandic word ýmir is linked in meaning to the Nordic Valdemar (Italian Valdemaro), the Russian Vladimir, and surprisingly the Semitic Omar. All these terms indicate the concept of a giant, that is, a powerful man, hence the male name used predominantly in Nordic countries but also in Arab countries. But where does this male appellation, one might say "globalized," come from? In this case too, the origin can be traced back to Ancient Egypt. In ancient Egyptian (Middle Kingdom), the word mr (conventionally read as mer) means lord/master/the first among all, i.e., the strongest. The phonetic similarity between mr and the Northern European and Arabic words, I believe, requires no further explanation.
The Greek toponym Hermonthis indicates a temple site in Upper Egypt (Thebes) dedicated to the god Montu, the Egyptian god of war, with indestructible strength. This appellation derives from the Saidic armant/armont or even ermont/erment (cf. EAW Budge, An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, II V. 988 A). This word, also found in other Coptic dialects, for example, Akhmimic, derives from the ancient Egyptian (Middle Kingdom) pr-mnt (conventionally read as per-menet), meaning the house of Montu/of the god Montu. This word astonishingly resembles the Old Norse ráðamaður = lord, commander, but also by analogy “the strongest of all.” The phonetic similarity with the Coptic armant appears even more evident than with the ancient Egyptian pr-mnt as well as with the previously mentioned names Omar/Vladimir/Valdemar, etc. It should be noted, to complement what has been said, that the Icelandic word hermaður means warrior, and I believe any further comment on this is entirely superfluous. This issue, however, deserves further investigation, which could lead to new surprises. The word manður = man is generally the root of the concept of man found in all Germanic languages, i.e., man/mann, etc. The difference between man (expressing the concept of man, therefore strength, virility, and similar concepts) and Menet/Montu (Egyptian god of war, symbolizing strength - virility) seems, even in this case, not excessive.
The Greek word βασιλεύς = king/ruler derives from the Mycenaean qa-sj-re-u. That said, the Egyptian term ks/ks(j) verb 3ae-infirmae means to pay homage/to be prostrate and similar concepts (cf. Faulkner ME, p. 287), a word that when combined with Ra becomes ks-Ra = to pay homage to the god Ra. This concept, in a broader sense, could be interpreted as something "great," ultimately a person to whom the highest respect is given, ergo a king. Starting from this, the interpretation is still debated, one can then arrive at the German kaiser, Russian tzar, Latin caesar, or even Old Scandinavian keisari, all words designating the sovereign. This word is also the progenitor of Carlo/Carolus, etc., from which kiraly in Hungarian, karalius in Lithuanian, krol in Polish, and ultimately the English king. In this way, the circle βασιλεύς – caesar would be closed through the Egyptian ks-Ra. It should be added that Caesar is the name of the person who laid the foundations of the Roman Empire, alias Gaius Julius Caesar. It is known that from this name derive the various Czar/Tzar/Kaiser, etc., mentioned earlier. This particular does not discredit what has been said because the name of the illustrious Roman represented, in my view, the Latinized name of the Mycenaean qa-sj-re-u. If this interpretation is accepted, fate willed that this illustrious person of ancient Rome had a name as an omen, a leader, a king.
The Old Germanic talks about Kubbáttir (Old Norse and Icelandic) a term akin to Latin Jupiter/Cupitor/caput, all terms referring to the King of the gods, the Greek Zeus. In particular, the concept of Cupitor and the subsequent caput, which designates the head, but also the first, the leader of something. All words that have a phonetic resemblance to the ancient Egyptian term k3-Ptḥ, i.e., Ka-Ptah, meaning the Ka of Ptah, the spirit of Ptah, Ptah himself, one of the highest deities of the Egyptian pantheon. But the word Kubbáttir is also connected to Hávaði/hávaður terms used in the Faroe Islands to indicate the concept of = great noise/central part of something/something higher than others (from which the English high and the Icelandic hái = high). All these terms naturally have a phonetic resemblance to the Latin caput – cupitor – Jupiter, and the latter, incidentally, is the god of thunderbolts, ergo of great noise.
I have often noticed that the sign ḳ (also q – N29) in Middle Egyptian is softened into the sign c (manual de codage = a – D36). In this case, it can be seen that the signs ḳ3j – ḳ3t – ḳ3w, all substantially meaning high/heights, hills, above, etc. (cf. Hannig, HWB, p. 847), show identical phonetic resemblance to c3 – c3t – c3w, all terms that substantially express the same meaning of height/size, etc. (cf. ibid., pp. 125-126). These words have an undeniable phonetic resemblance to há/háj/háa (Old Norse and Icelandic), all words expressing the meaning of high and derived nouns hæð (height/hill) and haugur (artificial hill, i.e., man-made), where the final part of the word gur/ger means to make/build, etc. Based on these observations, it can also be established that the word pr-c3 (per-aA), which in Middle Egyptian indicates the pharaoh and literally expresses the concept of high house, i.e., great house, has an undeniable resemblance to the Scandinavian word var-háa meaning high refuge/shelter and substantially similar concepts, whose semantic value can only refer us to the Egyptian term indicating the "great house" alias "the pharaoh."
In Middle Egyptian, c rd (ard) means fear (cf. Hannig HWB, p. 152), and the related term rwd means twisted rope, shoelaces, sling (for stone-throwing), and similar concepts. But this word also means to stretch/pull, essentially a concept similar to the previously mentioned Middle Egyptian word. (cf. Hannig HWB, p. 463). Therefore, these Egyptian words have a phonetic resemblance to the Icelandic herða = to stiffen/stretch, herðsla = to stiffen, hræða = fear, from which the term hræðsla = tense/stiffened (understood as "from fear"). Based on this, it can be concluded that these latter words derive, somehow, from Middle Egyptian.
In English, the word reed means cane, while the word rope means cord/rope. These two words show some phonetic resemblance due to the fact that rope was often and still is made from fibers obtained by macerating reeds. Similar phonetic resemblances are found in various Germanic languages: reip/reipi/rep/rap/rope/reep/reif/raip/raoib/reifa/reiva/reipa, all terms expressing similar concepts. In Coptic-Sahidic, the word riby means rope used for mooring boats, ships (cf. Crum, A Coptic Dictionary, Oxford, p. 291 B). This word, in turn, derives from Middle Egyptian ry = rope/cord (cf. E.A.W. Budge, An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary, New York, I Vol. 419B). This, I believe, unequivocally demonstrates the derivation of the aforementioned Germanic terms from ancient Egyptian. Returning to the initial concept of the English word reed, in Icelandic this noun becomes sef (with very different sounds from both reed and rope). Interestingly, the Icelandic word sef almost perfectly or coincidentally aligns with cybe (a Coptic-Sahidic word indicating both the concept of reed and thread/tube and similar meanings). This word, like the previous case, derives from Middle Egyptian sjb.w/‘3/‘wtj/‘bbt (cf. Hannig HWB), all nouns alluding to identical meanings. Therefore, this shows another instance of a Scandinavian term derived from ancient Egyptian.
Similar and undeniable phonetic resemblance is found between Old Norse and Icelandic eins (like/similar, from which the English twins = two eins, i.e., two alike) and Coptic Sahidic eine and Middle Egyptian jnw meaning model/sample but also pairing (cf. R.A. Caminos: Literary Fragments in the Hieratic Script, p. 12).
It can be considered with sufficient reliability that from the Middle Egyptian word nfr = good/beautiful, etc., derives the Greek Aφροδίτη and its derivatives such as Aphrodite, etc. The fundamental concept of this word indicates the foam of the sea, but upon closer examination, the term also designates the concept of love, charm, and beauty (cf. L. Rocci: Vocabolario Greco-Italiano, ed. 1983, p. 325).
The Coptic word twwbe/twwbi = brick/protrusion and similar concepts (cf. Crum, ibid. p. 398) certainly derived from Middle Egyptian tbt with a similar meaning (cf. Budge, ibid. Vol. II 827 B) or even from tbtb = to raise/lift, etc. (cf. Faulkner: Middle Egyptian, p. 297) has a phonetic resemblance as well as a similar meaning to the Latin tuber-tuberis, from which tumor/tumulus, etc., all terms indicating the concept of roughness and thus indisputably connected to Coptic and ancient Egyptian. The unique root is Tewç/Tû, which according to many scholars, should be of Indo-European origin and not Mediterranean. If so, it is difficult to understand how an Indo-European term influenced ancient Egyptian in ancient times.
The examples presented are just a small part of a glossary that I have been patiently compiling for a long time to create a true lexicon of Egyptian words that have given rise to terms used in Indo-European languages. Below are other words (under research) that have flowed into Western languages of clear/possible/presumable Egyptian derivation:
Aithos - Ammaccare - Amore - Apseustos - Aster - Atomos - Balla - Barca - Barrito - /Barrire - Bee - Biblos - Bubbone - Bugna/Bugnato - Bunos - Cammello - Cassia - Chera/Cheros - Chimica - Conoscere - Crocos - Csantòs - Desèrto - Ebur - Eburneo - Ermes - Estate - Europa - Gar - Gheron - Glossa - Glottide/Glottologia - Gnosi - Gnosticismo - Iris - Macŭla - Macchia - macŭlare - macchiare - Madre - Maktos - Monumento - Morte - Noeo - Ofidi - Orao - Orizzonte - Osios - Palla - Rosso - Sain - SedÏa - Senectus - Shake - Sisma - Sistro - Sorseggiare - sorso - Sos - Succhiare - Sud - Tanatos - Terrazza - terra - terreno.
