ws

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ws"

English

Noun

ws

plural of w

Usage notes

Opinions vary regarding the use of apostrophes when forming the plurals of letters of the alphabet. New Fowler’s Modern English Usage, after noting that the usage has changed, states on page 602 that “after letters an apostrophe is obligatory.” The 17th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style states in paragraph 7.15, “To aid comprehension, lowercase letters form the plural with an apostrophe and an s”. The Oxford Style Manual on page 116 advocates the use of common sense.

Anagrams

S&W, SW, Sw., sw.

Dutch

Alternative forms

wrs, wss, wrsch, wrslk

Adverb

ws

(Internet slang, text messaging) abbreviation of waarschijnlijk (“probably”)

Egyptian

Pronunciation

(modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /wɛs/
- Conventional anglicization: wes

Verb

2-lit.

(intransitive) to lack [since the 22nd Dynasty]
1. (with m) to lack (something)
to withhold, to leave without [Greco-Roman Period]

Inflection

Conjugation of ws (biliteral / 2-lit. / 2rad.) — base stem: ws, geminated stem: wss

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive¹	singular	plural
ws	wsw, ws	wst	ws, j.ws	ws, j.ws

‘pseudoverbal’ forms
stative stem	periphrastic imperfective²		periphrastic prospective²
ws	ḥr ws	m ws	r ws

suffix conjugation
aspect / mood	active	passive	contingent
aspect / mood	active	passive	aspect / mood	active	passive
perfect	ws.n	wsw, ws	consecutive	ws.jn	active + .tj¹, .tw²
perfect	ws.n	active + .tj¹, .tw²
terminative	wst
perfective³	ws	active + .tj¹, .tw²	obligative¹	ws.ḫr	active + .tj¹, .tw²
imperfective	ws, j.ws¹	active + .tj¹, .tw²	obligative¹	ws.ḫr	active + .tj¹, .tw²
prospective³	ws	wss	potentialis¹	ws.kꜣ	active + .tj¹, .tw²
prospective³	ws	active + .tj¹, .tw²
subjunctive	ws, j.ws¹	active + .tj¹, .tw²

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms		participles
aspect / mood	active	passive	active	passive
perfect	ws.n	active + .tj¹, .tw²	—	—
perfective	ws	active + .tj¹, .tw²	ws	wss, wssj⁶, ws², wsw^{2 5}, wsy^{2 5}
imperfective	j.ws¹, ws, wsy, wsw⁵	active + .tj¹, .tw²	j.ws¹, j.wsw^{1 5}, ws, wsj⁶, wsy⁶	ws, wsw⁵
prospective	ws, wstj⁷	—	wstj⁴, wst⁴

¹ Used in Old Egyptian; archaic by Middle Egyptian.
² Used mostly since Middle Egyptian.
³ Archaic or greatly restricted in usage by Middle Egyptian. The perfect has mostly taken over the functions of the perfective, and the subjunctive and periphrastic prospective have mostly replaced the prospective.
⁴ Declines using third-person suffix pronouns instead of adjectival endings: masculine .f/.fj, feminine .s/.sj, dual .sn/.snj, plural .sn. ⁵ Only in the masculine singular.
⁶ Only in the masculine.
⁷ Only in the feminine.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of ws

ws

[Late Period]

Derived terms

jrj ws m
n ws

Noun

m

(only used in the phrase pr-m-ws) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
1. height (of a pyramid)
2. crack or some other reference point from which the height of a pyramid is measured

Inflection

Declension of ws (masculine)
singular	ws
dual	wswj
plural	wsw

References

Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1926–1961) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN
Vafea, Flora (2002) The Mathematics of Pyramid Construction in Ancient Egypt.