jmj wrt

Egyptian

Etymology

From jmj (“(one) being in; interior”) +‎ wrt. The identity and meaning of the second term are unclear. It is written identically to wrt (“great one”), but perhaps it is instead to be connected with wrt (“a kind of barque”).

Any attempt to determine the etymological meaning of the term should probably take it in conjunction with its antonym tꜣ wr (“larboard, port”); setting aside wr/wrt, here one can draw a contrast between jmj in the one term, referring to the interior of something, and tꜣ in the other term, apparently referring to the land exterior to the ship. For tꜣ, compare the etymology of the English term port; because the steering oar is generally found on the right (starboard) side of the ship, it is the left (port) side that moors facing the land. It is then easy to see how the starboard side could be perceived as the ‘interior’ of the vessel, facing away from land. (Alternatively, it may be the steering oar itself that is referred to as ‘being in’ / in the ‘interior’ of the vessel.)

Thus, the term as a whole has variously been interpreted as ‘that which is inside the barque’, or, taking wrt as ‘great one’ in reference to the ‘great oar’ (steering oar), ‘the one on the inside of the steering oar’. Servajean rejects the latter interpretation and prefers the former, as wrt is nowhere else attested to refer to the steering oar specifically.

Pronunciation

Noun

 m

  1. starboard
    Synonyms: jmt wrt, jmj wr, jmj-wrt-ꜥꜣ, jmj-wrt-ꜥꜣt, jmj-wr-ꜥꜣ
    Antonym: tꜣ wr
    ― jrj ḥr jmj wrt ― to hold to starboard; to go right
  2. west side of a place, especially of Thebes [since the 18th Dynasty]
  3. the West
  4. necropolis, realm of the dead, afterworld
  5. right, right side [Greco-Roman Period]
  6. (preceded or followed by zꜣ (“phyle”)) designates a particular phyle of funerary priests

Inflection

Declension of jmj wrt (masculine)
singular jmj wrt
dual jmjwj wrt, jmwj wrt
plural jmjw wrt, jmw wrt

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of jmj wrt  


jmj wrt jmj wrt jmj wrt
[18th Dynasty]

Derived terms

  • jmj-wr-ꜥꜣ
  • jmj-wrt-ꜥꜣ
  • jmj-wrt-ꜥꜣt
  • jmj-wrt-zꜣ
  • jmt wrt
  • zꜣ-jmj-wrt

Adverb
  1. (chiefly in nautical commands) to the starboard, starboardwards, right [Old Kingdom]
    ― jrj jmj wrt ― to hold to starboard; to go right

Alternative forms

See under the noun above.

References

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