m-ꜥ

Egyptian

Etymology

m (“in”) +‎ ꜥ (“hand”), literally ‘in the hand’.

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /ɛm ɑː/
  • Conventional anglicization: em-a

Preposition

1. in the possession of, possessed by
   • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 13–17:

     jꜥ tw jmj mw ḥr ḏbꜥw.k jḫ wšb.k wšd.t(w).k mdw.k n nswt jb.k m-ꜥ.k wšb.k nn njtjt

     Wash yourself, put water on your fingers,
     so you might answer when you are addressed, speak to the king with your mind in your possession, and answer without stammering.

   • c. 1550 BCE – 1295 BCE, Great Hymn to Osiris (Stela of Amenmose, Louvre C 286) lines 11–12:

     tꜣ pn m-ꜥ.f mw.f ṯꜣw.f sm(w).f mnmnt.f nbt pꜣyt nbt ḫnnt nbt ḏdfwt.f ꜥwt.f ḫꜣst smꜣꜥ.w n zꜣ nwt tꜣwj hr.w ḥr.s

     This land is in his hand — its water and its wind, its plants and all its cattle, all that flies and all that lands, its creeping creatures and its quadrupeds of the desert, were given to the son of Nut, and the Two Lands (Egypt) are pleased with it.

2. from the possession or hand of, from
   • c. 2353 BCE – 2323 BCE, Pyramid Texts of Unas — gable of the east wall of the antechamber, spell 273–274.58:

     nj nḥmm sꜥḥw wnjs m-ꜥ.f

     • Translation by Allen

       The dignities of Unas will not be taken away from him.

3. with (someone)
4. by means of, through
5. because of
   • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 129–130:

     ꜥḥꜥ.n sbꜣ hꜣ.w pr.n nꜣ m ḫt m-ꜥ.f

     Then a star fell. They went up in flames because of it.

6. Used after ḫpr (“to happen”) to indicate whom the action happened to; to
   • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 20–23:

     swrd pw ḏd n.k sḏd.j r.f n.k mjtt jrj ḫpr(.w) m-ꜥ.j ḏs.j

     It’s tiring to talk to you. Even so, let me recount to you something similar to this that happened to me myself.

7. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see m,‎ ꜥ.

Derived terms

• m-ꜥ ntt

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 117, 127, 298, 457.
• Hoch, James (1997) Middle Egyptian Grammar, Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN, pages 96, 112
• Allen, James Peter (2015) Middle Egyptian Literature: Eight Literary Works of the Middle Kingdom, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 15