Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
π. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
π, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
π in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
π you have here. The definition of the word
π will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
π, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Egyptian
Glyph origin
Representing a lake or pool. Compare the Chinese character
π£Ά. Detailed Old Kingdom forms cover the interior with vertical zigzags of green or blue rippling water:
(
π). A form with a few diagonal lines across the interior
(
π) appeared in hieratic and semi-cursive hieroglyphs during the Old Kingdom but rarely appeared in hieroglyphs proper before the Late Period. Another variant adds lines, perhaps to suggest depth:
(
π). In general, the outline and ripples of the glyph are usually colored black or dark blue, the water green or lighter blue (compare the canal glyph
π and the ripple glyph
π). The phonogrammatic value of
Ε‘ is derived by the
rebus principle from its use as a logogram for
Ε‘ (βpool, lakeβ).
Symbol
(Ε‘)
- Uniliteral phonogram for Ε‘.
- Occasional biliteral phonogram for zn in zn (βto openβ), by confusion with , a variant of (π).
- Logogram for Ε‘ (βpool, lakeβ).
- Determinative for bodies of water, interchanging with (π).
- Occasional determinative for irrigated land, by confusion with (π).
- Occasional determinative for stone, by confusion with (π).
Usage notes
This glyph
and the
jnr (βstoneβ) logogram and determinative
(
π) are extremely similar. The stone hieroglyph is often drawn shorter/squatter than the pool hieroglyph to distinguish the two. In some inscriptions they could also be distinguished by color: the sides of the pool glyph were blue and the interior water was green, while the stone glyph was often white, although sometimes the stone glyph was colored blue instead, see
its entry for more.
References
- Gardiner, Alan (1957) Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, third edition, Oxford: Griffith Institute, βISBN, page 491
- Henry George Fischer (1988) Ancient Egyptian Calligraphy: A Beginnerβs Guide to Writing Hieroglyphs, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, βISBN, page 13
- BetrΓ², Maria Carmela (1995) Geroglifici: 580 Segni per Capire l'Antico Egitto, Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., βISBN
- Peust, Carsten (1999) Egyptian Phonology: An Introduction to the Phonology of a Dead Language, GΓΆttingen: Peust und Gutschmidt Verlag GbR, page 48
- David Nunn, A Palaeography of Polychrome Hieroglyphs (2020)
Further reading
- Nina Davies, Picture Writing in Ancient Egypt (1958)
