- Overview
- Compound prepositions
- Pronominal objects of prepositions
- πΆπ ππ°ππ ± jmjtw “between, among”
- ππ°π jn “by (an agent)”
- ππ mj “like, as”
- π π mm(j) “among, amid”
- ππΏ αΈ₯κ’ “behind, around”
- πππ°π αΈ₯nκ€ “with”
- ππ±ππ°π αΈ«ft “against, opposite, face-to-face with”
- πππ°π αΈ«nt “before (in order), ahead of”
- ππ°π αΈ«r “near, in the presence of”
- π±π°πππ°π» αΈ«t “throughout”
- π¨π°π αΊr “under”
- πΆπ°π€ tp “above, atop”
- π₯π°π αΈr “since”
- Summary
- Vocabulary
- Exercises
In this lesson we will look at compound prepositions and learn about using pronouns with prepositions. Then we will cover the rest of the primary prepositions and how their meanings and usage differ from their “simple” English counterparts.
Compound Prepositions
A compound preposition, or complex preposition, is several words together which function like a preposition. These are common in both English and Egyptian. English examples would be phrases like “in spite of”, “away from”, “on account of”, and the like.
A compound preposition in Egyptian always contains one of the primary prepositions, and can be constructed in three essential ways:
- Preposition plus noun (or noun phrase). This is the most common construction. Here are three examples just using the noun ππ°ππ±π€ αΈ₯κ’t “front, forepart”: π ππ°ππ±π€ m-αΈ₯κ’t “in front of”, πππ°ππ±π€ r-αΈ₯κ’t “to the front of”, and π¨π°πππ°ππ±π€ αΊr-αΈ₯κ’t “at the front of”, literally “under the front of” (we will see αΊr “under” later in this lesson).
- Preposition plus infinitive or infinitival phrase. This is a bit of a preview for infinitives, which we will soon learn about. An example is ππ₯ππ r-αΈbκ’ “instead of, in exchange for”. This comes from the preposition r plus the infinitive π₯ππ αΈbκ’ “to replace”. Since r can indicate the purpose of something, the compound preposition literally means “in order to replace”.
- Adverb (or adverbial phrase) plus preposition. An example is π·π°ππ ±ππ°π αΈ₯rw-r “as well as”, “apart from”, “besides”. This is the adverb π·π°ππ ±π αΈ₯rw “apart” and then the preposition r. In this case, this is r in its comparative role: “apart, in respect to this other thing”. And remember that most of the prepositions have an adverbial usage, so a special case of this is preposition plus preposition.
There are lots of compound prepositions in Egyptian but fortunately, their meaning can usually be found just by reading the components and thinking through them, much as the examples above.
Pronominal objects of prepositions
The object of a preposition, if it’s a pronoun, is expressed by the suffix pronoun: ππ±ππ°ππ αΈ«ft.j “opposite me”, “against me”, etc. This also works with compound prepositions: π ππ°ππ±π€π m-αΈ₯κ’t.j “in front of me”, which could be analyzed as “in my front”; or π·π°ππ ±ππ°ππ‘ αΈ₯rw-r.k “apart from you”, which is analyzed as “apart, in comparison/respect to you”.
There is a preposition, mj, which is not attested with pronouns as objects. We will learn about that in this lesson. There is another word sometimes considered a preposition, jn, which also does not.
πΆπ π΄ππ ±π³π jmjtw “between, among”
As an adverb: πΆπ π΄ππ ±π³πππ°π jmjtw-nj “between/among (them)”
With a dual or plural it means “between” or “among” respectively: jmjtw prwj “between the two houses”, jmjtw zjw “among the men”. If saying “between” for two different things, jmjtw precedes the first and r the second: jmjtw αΈ₯m-nαΉ―r r nswt “between the priest and the king”.
ππ°π jn “by (an agent)”
jn shows the agent of a verb, like “by” in English: αΈd jn nswt “said by the king”. This is for use with passive verbs and isn’t a preposition quite like other prepositions. It is not used with pronouns, nor as a standalone adverb; only used before nouns (and noun phrases).
ππ mj “like, as”
As an adverb: πππ mjj “like, likewise”.
- “like, as, similar to” a thing: πππΉπ mj mdw-nαΉ―r “like hieroglyphs”
- “like, according to” a custom, law, etc.: ππππ°πππ°π€ππ°π₯πππ°πππ°ππ³π±π€π°π mj nt-κ€.f nt rκ€ nb “according to his daily custom”, lit. “like his custom of every day” (Westcar 3, 11β12)
- “as well as” a thing: t mj αΈ₯nqt “bread as well as beer”, lit. “bread like beer”.
Interestingly, mj is not used with pronominal objects. To say something like “a man like me”, one actually uses a noun derived from the nisbe of mj, that being πππ ± mj.tw “likeness”, in apposition: zj mjtw.j “a man, my likeness”.
π π mm(j) “among, amid”
As an adverb: means “among (them)”.
When compared with jmjtw, this refers to a more general, non-specific position: If you are mmj rmαΉ―, you are hanging out somewhere among a group of people; if you are jmjtw rmαΉ―, it really means being roughly in the middle of the group. If you are π π πΉππ°ππ ± mm κ€nαΈ«w “among the living”, you are one of the living, not actually in the middle of all living people.
ππΏ αΈ₯κ’ “behind, around”
Also written ππΏπΆ, and derives from the noun of that same writing, meaning “back of the head”.
- π²π°ππ»ππΏπΆπππ°πππ pαΊr αΈ₯κ’ jnb “going around the wall” (Urk. IV, 261, 6)
- αΈ₯κ’ t “behind bread”, figurative for “at a meal” (Ptahhotep 135).
πππ°π αΈ₯nκ€ “with”
As an adverb: πππ°π, πππ°ππ°π₯ αΈ₯nκ€w “with, together with (them/it)”.
- “with, together with”. Serves the role of “and” for a group of things: t αΈ₯nκ€ αΈ₯nqt “bread with beer”, “bread and beer”.
- Rarely acts as a conjunction for a clause. Gardiner cites Urk. V. 12: “on that day on which the enemies … were destroyed, αΈ₯nκ€ his son Horus was caused to rule” (αΈ₯nκ€ sαΈ₯qκ’.tw zκ’.f αΈ₯r). The αΈ₯nκ€ seems to be a coordinating conjunction for the clauses, so it should be translated “and his son Horus …”
ππ±ππ°π αΈ«ft “against, opposite, face-to-face with”
As an adverb: written thus or as ππ±ππ°ππ ± αΈ«ftw. Means “opposite, accordingly”.
- “opposing, facing“: αΈd αΈ«ft “speak to/before”, π’ππ°π»ππ±ππ°π κ€αΈ₯κ€ αΈ«ft “stand before”.
- “according to, in accordance with”: αΈ«ft zαΊκ’ pn “according to this writing”. (Presumably “according to” something was thought of as being “face to face” with it.)
πππ°π αΈ«nt “before (in order), ahead of”
As an adverb: written thus or as πππ°ππ ± αΈ«ntw. Means “before, ahead of”.
When “before” means “in front of (and facing)”, as in “bow before the king”, that is αΈ«ft (see above), but when it means “at the head of a line” or “previously”, it is αΈ«nt. It often implies superiority: αΈ«nt nαΉ―rw “at the head of the gods”.
ππ°π αΈ«r “near, in the presence of”
Not attested adverbially. Shows inferiority to the prepositional object: ππ³π§ππ°πππ€π°π αΈd αΈ«r αΈ₯m.f “speak to His Incarnation”, lit. “speak in the presence of His Incarnation”, because one is too lowly to speak to him. Two common phrases use this:
- αΈ«r αΈ₯m n “in the presence of the Incarnation of” a pharaoh, meaning “during the reign of”, when the world is in the pharaoh’s presence.
- ππ³πͺπ°πππππ°π jmκ’αΈ«y αΈ«r “honored in the presence of”: ππ³πͺπ°πππππ°πππ°ππππ°ππ jmκ’αΈ«y αΈ«r nbt-αΈ₯wt “honored before Nephthys”.
When an Egyptian speaks to an equal or inferior, they speak n “to”, but speaking to a god, the king, or his children, the Egyptian speaks αΈ«r “near”.
π±π°ππ±ππ» αΈ«t “throughout”
Not attested adverbially. Basically just like “throughout, pervading” in English: π£π°ππ±π°ππ±ππ»π°πΎ αΈ«pr αΈ«t tκ’ “happen throughout the land”.
π¨π°π αΊr “under”
As an adverb: π¨π°πππ°π αΊrj “under (it)”.
This preposition has an important use. In addition to the English sense of “under”, it can mean carrying or bearing a thing; the idea is that you are being weighed down “under” the thing carried: prj αΊr nbw “emerge with gold”, literally “emerge under gold”. The “burden” need not be tangible: π ¨π°ππππ¨π°πππ ππ°π» wrαΈ αΊr Ε‘mt “weary from walking”, literally “weary under walking”; π¨π°πππ°ππ ±πππ°π₯ αΊr rΕ‘wt “in joy”, lit. “under/carrying joy”.
πΆπ°π€ tp “above, atop”
With personal pronouns: often πΆπ°πͺ. Not used adverbially.
In contrasting αΈ₯r with tp, αΈ₯r is closer to the object: πΉππ°ππΆπ°πͺπΎ κ€nαΈ« tp tκ’ “live on the land” versus π΄π₯π°πππ·π°π€πΎ sαΈr αΈ₯r tκ’ “lie on the ground”. Some things are thought of as “above” by the Egyptians that are not so in English: the Egyptians think speech happens tp r “atop the mouth”.
We’ve mentioned the tp/dp debate about the reading of the biliteral before. You will see this word transliterated dp.
π₯π°π αΈr “since”
As an adverb: “to the end, finally, finished”.
Usually “since” a time: π₯π°πππ°π‘π³πΉπΉπΉ αΈr rk nαΉ―rw “since the time of the gods”. It can, however, be “since” an event or cause: π₯π°πππ΄ππ ±π αΈr ms.tw.f “since he was born” (Sin. R 93). (We will learn about the verb suffix tw in an upcoming lesson.)
Summary: Prepositions II
Vocabulary
- π£π°π€ jb “heart”
- Used for concepts like “mind”, “center”, “emotions” as well as literal
- π‘π°ππ±π€ wκ€ “one”
- π€π ±π ͺπ°π₯ nfrw “deficiency, lack, depletion”
- π¨ αΈ₯αΈ₯ “million, vast number”
- ππ°πͺπ±π zp “occasion, iteration, time”
- π΄ππ‘π΄ππ‘π‘ sksk “destroy”
- π§π΄π ds “jug”
Exercises
(forthcoming)