ꜣ U+A723,ꜣ LATIN SMALL LETTER EGYPTOLOGICAL ALEF ←Ꜣ [U+A722] Latin Extended-D Ꜥ → [U+A724]

ꜣ (upper caseꜢ)

1. (Egyptological transliteration) The lowercase letteralef, used in most Egyptian transliteration schemes to represent the sound of the hieroglyph.

• ʿ
• 3

• (modern Egyptological)IPA^(key): /ɑ/
  • Conventional anglicization:a

Possibly fromProto-Afroasiatic*ʔay-(“bird of prey”).^[1] Compare alsoProto-Semitic*ʔayy-(“bird of prey”).

 m

1. theEgyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus)[Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts]
   • c. 2289BCE – 2255BCE,Pyramid Texts of Pepi I — south wall of the vestibule, line 1, spell 539.1–539.2:^[2]

     ḏd-(mdw) tp n(j) mry-rꜥ pn mꜣ pr.f r.f šwy.f r.f jr pt

     Recitation (of words): The head of this Meryra is as avulture, so he should go forth, so he should soar up to the sky.

   • c. 2050BCE – 1950BCE,Coffin Texts, version B1Bo (outer coffin ofDjehutinakht, Boston 20.1822–27) line 323–324, spell 677:^[3]

     
     

     sḏr.n ḏḥwt(j)-nḫt pn m wr pf ḫr ḥr gs.f wrš.fꜣ j.snḏw sḫm m tpt.f

     • Translation by Faulkner^[4]

       Djehutinakht has spent the night as yonder Great One who fell on his side, he passes the day as thevulture which is feared, being mighty by means of what is on him (i.e. his protective amulets).

2. abird in general[11th Dynasty]
   • c. 2061–2010BCE,Stela of Irtisen (Louvre C14), lines 9–10:

     [sic]

     jw(.j) rḫ.kw šmt twt nmtt rpwt ꜥḥꜥw nwꜣ mḏw-wꜥ

     I know the gait of a male figure, the stride of a female figure, and the stances of the elevenbirds.

Declension ofꜣ (masculine)

singular	ꜣ
dual	ꜣwj
plural	ꜣw

Alternative hieroglyphic writings ofꜣ  

ꜣ

 enclitic

1. intensifying oremphasizing particle,indeed[Pyramid Texts to New Kingdom and Greco-Roman Period]
2. (in clauses with a verbal predicate in the perfect)marks a statement ashypothetical orcontrafactual
3. (Neo-Middle Egyptian)also,and[Greco-Roman Period]

This particle is enclitic; it follows the word which it is intensifying or marking as contrafactual. It can also apply its effect to whole phrases. Often the exact nuance imparted by this particle is unclear.

Frequently this particle is found following (and thus adding emphasis to)jsk,ḥwj,m.k, orḥꜣ, and in the Pyramid Texts it is also found in nominal sentences precedingpw. In Neo-Middle Egyptian it precedes rather than follows(j)sk andjs but is often found followingjw.

Neo-Middle Egyptian hieroglyphic writings from Edfu that may also representyꜣ  

jꜣ	ꜣw	ꜣjw	ꜣwj	ꜣj
[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]

• >? Late Egyptian:yꜣ (see there for further descendants)

Possibly fromProto-Afroasiatic*ʔa-(“to walk, to go”).^[5]

1. (intransitive, withn) toenter ortread (a place)^?[from Papyrus Westcar]
2. (intransitive, of feet) totread[Greco-Roman period]

Gardiner considers the proper interpretation of this word “impossible in the lack of better evidence”. It is adis legomenon, with only two certain attested occurrences (but possibly up to four in total).

Alternative hieroglyphic writings ofꜣ  

ꜣ	ꜣ
[Second Intermediate Period?]	[Greco-Roman Period]
from Papyrus Westcar 9.16

1. only used injrj ꜣ r gs;possibly a variant of the verb ‘to tread’ above.[from Papyrus Westcar]

• 𓄿

• James P[eter] Allen (2010),Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,→ISBN,§ 16.7, 18.8,pages196, 234.
• Erman, Adolf;Grapow, Hermann (1926),Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[1], volume 1, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag,→ISBN,pages1.1–1.10
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962),A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute,→ISBN,page 1
• Gardiner, Alan (1948) “The First Two Pages of theWörterbuch” inThe Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 34, p. 12–13
• Gardiner, Alan (1957),Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, third edition, Oxford: Griffith Institute,→ISBN,§ 245,page184
• Meeks, Dimitri (2010),Dictionnaire égyptien ancien-français, Fascicule 1: ꜣ-ꜣbḏw, Montpellier: Institut d’Égyptologie François Daumas, pages1–2
• Wilson, Penelope (1991),A Lexicographical Study of the Ptolemaic Texts in the Temple of Edfu, Liverpool: University of Liverpool, pages1–2
• van der Molen, Rami (2000),A Hieroglyphic Dictionary of Egyptian Coffin Texts, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill,→ISBN, page 1

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