Vocabulary
While Egyptian culture is one of the influences of Western civilization, few words of Egyptian origin are found in English. Even those associated with ancient Egypt were usually transmitted in Greek forms. Some examples of Egyptian words that have survived in English include ebony (Egyptian ḥbny, via Greek and then Latin), ivory (Egyptian abw / abu, literally 'ivory; elephant'), pharaoh (Egyptian pr-ꜥꜣ, literally "great house"; transmitted through Greek), as well as the proper names Phinehas (Egyptian, pꜣ-nḥsy, used as a generic term for Nubian foreigners) and Susan (Egyptian, sšn, literally "lily flower"; probably transmitted first from Egyptian into Hebrew Shoshanah).
Read more about this topic: Egyptian Language
Famous quotes containing the word vocabulary:
“I have a vocabulary all my own. I “pass the time” when it is wet and disagreeable. When it is fine I do not wish to pass it; I ruminate it and hold on to it. We should hasten over the bad, and settle upon the good.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)
“The vocabulary of pleasure depends on the imagery of pain.”
—Marina Warner (b. 1946)
“Institutional psychiatry is a continuation of the Inquisition. All that has really changed is the vocabulary and the social style. The vocabulary conforms to the intellectual expectations of our age: it is a pseudo-medical jargon that parodies the concepts of science. The social style conforms to the political expectations of our age: it is a pseudo-liberal social movement that parodies the ideals of freedom and rationality.”
—Thomas Szasz (b. 1920)