13 English Words That Were Originally Spoken by the Ancient Egyptians

Egypt

The English name Egypt is derived from the Ancient Greek word for the country, Aígyptos. The Greek forms were borrowed from the late Egyptian (Amarna) name for the city Memphis, then called Hikuptah. This was a corruption of the earlier Egyptian name Hwt-ka-Ptah, meaning “home of the ka (soul) of Ptah.”

Pharaoh

Pharaoh derives from “pharaô,” the Greek form of the Hebrew word par’oh, which is borrowed from the Ancient Egyptian word “pr-aa” (Great House). This is originally the term for the palace of Egyptian kings. The earliest instance where “pr-aa” is used specifically to address the ruler is in a letter to Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), who reigned circa 1353–1336 B.C.

Gum

The word gum derives from the Vulgar Latin word gummi, which is a loan from Greek kommi. The Greek form derives from the Ancient Egyptian word qmy.t (qemi), which means “gum” or “resin.”

 

Desert

“Desert” in English comes from deshret, which means red or barren in the Ancient Egyptian language.

Chemistry or Alchemy 

The etymology of the word chemistry is a debatable issue. It derives from the Middle Latin version “alchimia” or “alchymia.” The Greek version, “chemeia,” first appears in about the fourth century and was used to designate the art of metal-working, especially the possible change of base metals into gold and silver. The Arabs later prefixed the article “al” and “alchemy” came finally to signify the art of chemistry in general. The Greeks likely borrowed “chemeia”  from the Egyptian word “chemi” or “kemi,” which means the color black.

Sphinx

Many scholars believe “sphinx,” the name the Greeks gave to the mythical man-lion creature, derived from the Ancient Egyptian words Szp-’nx or shespankh (living image), the generic word for divine images.

Ebony

Ebony derives from Late Latin hebeninus (of ebony), which is borrowed from the Greek word ebenos (ebony tree). The Greek version stems from the Persian word abnus, which in turn derives from the Ancient Egyptian word hbny (hebeni).

Ivory

Ivory derives from the Old French word “ivorie,” which is based on the Latin words eboreus (of ivory) and ebur (ivory). These words stem from the Ancient Egyptian word  ”abu,” meaning elephant’s tooth.

Sash

The word “sash,” a band or ribbon as part of one’s clothing, is thought to derive from the Ancient Egyptian word “Ss,” via “shash”  the  Arabic version  and “shes” a Hebrew word.

Susan(na)

Susan(a)  stems from the Hebrew name Shoshanah, which is based on the Egyptian word  ”seshen” (lotus or water lilly). The word for water lily also ended up in a few Greek texts as the Phoenician word “souson.”

Oasis

Oasis is based on the Ancient Egyptian word “wehe,” which became “waHe” in Coptic, “waaH(a)” in Arabic, and “oasis” in Greek.

Adobe

It turns out the Spanish word adobe has existed for around 4,000 years, with relatively little change in either pronunciation or meaning. The word can be traced from the Middle Egyptian (circa 2000 B.C.) word dbt, pronounced “d(je)b(e)t.”  In more modern English usage, the term “adobe” has come to include a style of architecture popular in the desert climates of North America, especially in New Mexico.