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Color terms in ancient Egyptian and CopticWolfgang SchenkelE g y p t o l o g i c a l I n s ti t u te , U n i v e r s i t y o f T u b i n g e n , G e r m a n y

The examination of the ancient Egyptian-Coptic color terms, their grammatical identi fication, their range of usage, and their etymologies permit the following conclusions:There are four BC Ts, all verbs, 'black,' white,' 'red' and 'green,' as traditionally translated.The focus of 'red' is in the red range and not in the m iddle of the red-w ith-yellow range.The focus of 'green' lies in the green range and not in the middle of the green-with-bluerange nor in the pale green range. In the final, Co ptic , stage, the partition of the red rangeinto 'deep red' and 'light-red' must be assumed. The traditional written language allowedadditional place for further verbal color terms, but these never entered the colloquiallanguage as BCTs. Among these alternatives, the use of 'lapis lazuli-colored, blue' is strikingly co m m on ; that of'charcoa l-like, black' and 'golden' is less com m on . Egyptian did notdevelop a B C T for either blue or yellow. Basically Egypt ian-Co ptic remained at B&K StageIlia.

l. Th e ancient Egyptian a nd Co ptic color terms in Egyptological discussionI n a d i s c u s s i o n p u b l i s h e d w e l l b e f o r e t h e f u n d a m e n t a l w o r k o f B e r l i n a n d K a y ( 1 9 6 9 ) , Ic o n c l u d e d t h a t a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n a n d C o p t i c h a d f o u r w i d e l y u s e d abstract c o l o r t e r m s( Schenkel 1 9 6 3 ) : ' b l a c k ' (kmm), ' w h i t e ' {hi), ' r e d - w i t h - y e l l o w ' ( rs r ), a n d ' g r e e n - w i t h -b l u e ' [wic), a l l o f w h i c h w e r e v e r b s ( ' t o b e b l a c k , ' e t c . ) . B a s e d o n m o r p h o l o g i c a l f e a t u r e s ,a w o r d f o r ' y e l l o w ' w a s a ls o p o s t u l a t e d , b u t o n l y i n C o p t i c ; e t y m o l o g i c a l r es e a rc h h a ssince r e v e a l e d t h a t t h i s w a s a c t u a l l y a n o t h e r w o r d f o r ' r e d ' ( C o p t i c mros e t c . < E g y p t i a nmrs/mls/*mns). A l l o f t h e o t h e r c o l o r t e r m s u s e d i n t h e c o m p r e h e n s i v e d i c t i o n a r y o f t h ea n c i e n t E g y p t i a n l a n g u a g e ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 6 3 ) ar e c o n c r e t e i n t h e s e n s e t h a tt h e y o n l y r e f e r t o s p e c i f i c c a t e g o r i e s o f o b j e c t s , a s b l o n d i s g e n e r a l l y u s e d f o r h a i r , b e e ra n d t o b a c c o i n s o m e E u r o p e a n l a n g u a g e s , o r t h e y l i n k t h e c o l o r w i t h a n o b j e c t , a s w i t h t h eE g y p t i a n w o r d f o r t h e s e m i - p r e c i o u s s t o n e l ap i s l a z u l i (hsbc) ( n o u n ) , f r o m w h i c h hsbc(.i?)( adjective) ' l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e , b l u e ' i s d e r i v e d .

A d e c i s i v e i m p e t u s fo r m y o r i g i n a l p r o j e c t w a s content-related linguistics a s r e p r e s e n t e db y L e o W e i s g e r b e r , w h o h a d a n i n f l u e n t i a l r o l e i n G e r m a n y , fa r b e y o n d t h e U n i v e r s i t yo f B o n n , w h e r e h e w a s o n e o f m y t e a c h e r s. W e i s g e r b e r st r e ss e d s e m a n t i c s - i n c o n t r a s tt o t h e t h e n - d o m i n a n t s t r u c t u ra l l i ng u i s ti c s , w h i c h s t o o d i n o p p o s i t i o n t o s e m a n t i c s ( a l t hough t h e m a r g i n a l S a p i r - W h o r f h y p o t h e s i s e n j o y e d s o m e s u p p o r t in t h e U S ) . S t r a n d s

Originalverffentlichung in: Robert E. MacLaury, Galina V. Paramei, Don Dedrick (Hg.),

Anthropology of Color. Interdisciplinary multilevel modeling, Amsterdam und Philadelphia, 2007,

S. 211-228


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212 Wolfgang Schenkel

o f s t r u c t u r a l l i n g u i s t i c s w e r e , h o w e v e r , a l s o i n c l u d e d . O n e o f t h e o b j e c t i v e s w a s t o o r g a nize t h e m e a n i n g s o f w o r d s t h r o u g h s y s t e m s o f o p p o s i t i o n ( s e m a n t i c f ield t h e o r y ) , o n e o fthe p r i n c i p a l e x a m p l e s o f w h i c h w e r e t h e color words, o n e o f t h e f e w ar e as o f v o c a b u l a r ywhere t h e e ff o r t s w e r e c l e a r ly s u c c e s s f u l , a n d m y e f f o r t s m u s t b e u n d e r s t o o d i n t e r m s o fthis s t r u c t u r a l a p p r o a c h .

Content -re lated l i n g u i s t i c s p e r c e i v e d t h e w o r l d a s l i n g u i s t i c a l l y d i v i d e d . C o l o r s w e r eno t n a t u r a l , b u t r a t h e r d e t e r m i n e d b y l a n g u a g e , a n d t h i s , i n t u r n , s te e rs t h e b e h a v ior o f h u m a n i t y w i t h r e g a r d t o re a li t y. T h e o r i g i n a l es s ay a l s o d e l v e d i n t o t h e s t r i k i n gco lor s u b s t i t u t i o n s i n a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n p a i n t i n g , w h i c h w e r e d o c u m e n t e d b u t a s s u m e dto b e w i t h o u t p u r p o s e . T h e s p e c i fi c c a se s w e r e t h o s e w h e r e o n e a n d t h e s a m e o b j e c t w a spainted a l te r n a ti v e ly , s o m e t i m e s r e d / s o m e t i m e s y e l l o w , o r s o m e t i m e s g r e e n / s o m e t i m e sblue ( S m i t h 1 9 4 9 ; W i l l i a m s 1 9 3 2 ) . T h e l o g i c a l c o n c l u s i o n s e e m e d t o b e t h a t r e d & y e l l o wand g r e e n & b l u e w e r e n o t d i s t i n g u i s h e d i n l a n g u a g e a n d t h u s th a t , a l t h o u g h t h e E g y p t ians c o u l d d i s t i n g u i s h t h e h u e s v i s u a l ly , t h e o b j e c t s c o u l d b e p a i n t e d w i t h d i f f e r e n t h u e swhere t h e d e p i c t i o n d i d n o t d e p e n d u p o n t h e h u e . I n re a l it y , o f c o u r s e , th e l i n k b e t w e e nthe l a n g u a g e - b a s e d d e n o m i n a t i o n o f t h e c o l o r t o b e d e p i c t e d a n d t h e c h o i c e o f a c o l o rcanno t p o s s i b l y b e s o s i m p l e . I n a n y c as e , t h e c h o i c e o f c o l o r s d e p e n d e d u p o n t h e m a t e rials a v a i la b l e , w h i c h d e p e n d e d u p o n n a t u r e a n d t e c h n o l o g y . I w o u l d d o u b t t h e o p p o s i t econtent ion , n a m e l y t h a t t h e c h o i c e o f c o l o r s d e p e n d s e x c l u s i v e l y u p o n t h e c o l o r s a v a i l a b l e( B l om -Bo e r 1 9 9 4 ) . T h e E g y p t i a n a rt is t w o u l d a l w a y s h a v e v i e w e d t h e c o n c e p t u a l i m a g eas d e c i s i v e , w h e r e a s t h e v i s u a l i m p r e s s i o n w o u l d h a v e b e e n le s s i m p o r t a n t . T h i s c a n b ei l lustrated b y a n o t h e r e x a m p l e , n e g l e c t o f t h e l a w s o f p e r s p e c t i v e . A n o b j e c t i n a n a n c i e n tEgypt ian i m a g e c a n b e unfolded s o t h a t i t c a n b e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y v i e w e d f r o m d i f f e r e n tangles, d e f y i n g t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f t i m e a n d s p a c e. I n t h e s a m e f a s h i o n , t h e c o n c e p t i o n o fa c o l o r w a s d e c is i v e i n s e l e c t i o n , m e a n i n g t h a t t h e c a t e g o r i c a l c l a s s i f i c a ti o n m u s t h a v ematched a c o l o r t e r m , w h i c h w a s m e n t a l l y p r e s e n t . T h e is s u e o f c o l o r s u b s t i t u t i o n s m e r i t sa n e w s tu d y . I w o u l d a d v o c a t e t h a t m y o w n s t at is t ic a l e s t i m a t e s o f c o l o r s u b s t i t u t i o n s i nancient E g y p t i a n p a i n t i n g s s h o u l d b e r e p l a c e d w i t h m o r e r e l ia b l e d a t a , b u t t h i s m u s t b eleft t o o u r c o l le a g u e s w h o a r e m o r e c o m p e t e n t i n t h e s t u d y o f p a i n t i n g . T h i s is n o t t h eissue h e r e , h o w e v e r , a s w e a r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h c o l o r t e r m s .

Th e E g y p t o l o g i c a l l i t e r a tu r e d i d n o t i m m e d i a t e l y s e iz e u p o n m y s u g g e s t i o n t h a t a d i s t inct ion b e m a d e b e t w e e n a b s tr a c t a n d c o n c r e t e c o l o r t e r m s . H e r m a n n ( 1 9 6 9 : 3 6 2 - 3 7 3 )even s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e id e a o f t h e E g y p t i a n s h a v i n g o n l y f o u r a b s t r a ct c o l o r t e r m s w a sitself m i s t a k e n . H e w a s u n a b l e t o a c c e p t t h a t ' r e d ' c o u l d a l s o b e ' y e l l o w ' o r t h a t ' g r e e n 'cou ld a l s o b e ' b l u e , ' o r e v e n t h a t ' b l a c k ' c o u l d a l s o b e ' gr a y. ' H e d i d , h o w e v e r , p o i n t o u t ( a sI d i d ) t h a t t h e E g y p t i a n l a n g u a g e p e r m i t t e d o n e t o r e fe r t o y e l l o w o r b l u e b y r e fe r r i n g t oan o b j e c t o r s u b s t a n c e o f t h e r e l e v a n t c o l o r . H e d i d n o t a c c e p t t h e c o n c e p t o f a c a t e g o r ical d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e a b s t r a c t c o l o r w o r d s a n d o t h e r f o r m s o f c o l o r s p e c i f i c a t i o n .He rmann a l s o s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e re w a s a s i g n i f i c a n t p r o b l e m i n t h e d i s c r e p a n c y b e t w e e nthe l i m i t e d n u m b e r o f a b s tr a c t c o l o r t e r m s i d e n t i fi e d a s o p p o s e d t o th e n u m b e r o f c o l ors v i s i b l e i n E g y p t i a n a r t. N o l es s c o n c i l i a t o r y w a s t h e r e s p o n s e o f B r u n n e r - T r a u t ( 1 9 7 7 )wh o ( l ik e H e r m a n n ) c o m p o s e d a l is t o f c o l o r t e r m s ( a n d s u b s t a n c e s ) w h i c h w a s b a s e d o nGerman , a n d n o t E g y p t i a n , s o t h a t t h e e q u i v a l e n t s a r e t h e G e r m a n a b s t r a c t t e r m s , s u p -


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Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Coptic

plemented b y r e f e r e n c e s t o s u b s t a n c e s ( e . g . ' o c h r e c o l o r e d ' o r ' l a p i s l a z u l i c o l o r e d ' ) . T h el inguistic a p p r o a c h t h u s m e t w i t h n o u n d e r s t a n d i n g .

The q u e s t i o n o f t h e m e a n i n g o f t h e c o l o r t e r m s w a s a g a i n t a k e n u p b y B a i n e s ( 1 9 8 5 ) ,who w a s a b l e t o b u i l d o n t h e t h e o r e t i c a l s t r u c t u r e e s t a b l i s h e d b y B e r l i n a n d K a y ( w h i c hwou l d a l s o h a v e b e e n p o s s i b l e f o r B r u n n e r - T r a u t , h a d s h e n o t e x c l u d e d t h e o r y f r o m t h eoutset) . B a i n e s c o n c l u d e d t h a t E g y p t i a n h a d f o u r b a s i c c o l o r t e r m s ( B C T s ) , ' b l a c k ' (kmm),'white ' (he), ' r e d ' ( f i r ) , a n d ' g r u e ' {wit), w h i c h a r e c l e a r l y t h e s a m e as t h o s e a b s t r a c t c o l o rwords ( b a s e d o n t h e t e r m i n o l o g y o f a n e ar l ie r s c h o o l ) p r e s e n t e d i n m y 1 9 6 3 p a p e r . B a i n e swas a b l e t o p l a c e t h i s i n t o a m o r e u n i v e r s a l l i n g u i s t i c s y s t e m a n d t h u s t o c l a s s i f y t h e a n c i e n tEgypt ian l a n g u a g e a t B e r l i n a n d K a y S t a g e I l i a .

Unfor tunate ly , t h e c o n f u s i o n b e t w e e n l in g u i s t i c s a n d p i g m e n t s i n t h e w o r l d o f c o l o rwas n o t e l i m i n a t e d f r o m t h e E g y p t o l o g i c a l l i t e r a t u r e b y B a i n e s ' s u s e o f B e r l i n a n d K a y . I tremains a f a ct t h a t t h e l i n g u i s t i c i n s i g h t s o f B l o m - B o e r ' s ( 1 9 9 4 ) w o r k a r e n o t a t t h e s a m elevel a s h e r k n o w l e d g e o f p i g m e n t s .

In h i s e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e E g y p t i a n c o l o r t e r m s , W a r b u r t o n ( 2 0 0 7 ) s tr es se s t h e r e l a t i o n ship w i t h t h e r e al w o r l d , b u t a l s o i n c l u d i n g B e r l i n a n d K a y a n d t h e s u b s e q u e n t d i s c u s s i o n ,i nc lud ing B a i n e s . A c c o r d i n g t o h i s v e r s i o n , t h e a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n t e r m s ar e r e a l ly r e l a t e dto t h e c o l o r s o f s p e c i f ic m a t e r i a l s , n a m e l y p r e c i o u s s t o n e s , from w h i c h t h e t e r m s w o u l dbe e t y m o l o g i c a l l y d e r i v e d . T h e r e w o u l d t h u s b e at l ea s t i n i t i a l l y n o a b s t r a c t c o l o r t e r m s ,but o n l y c o n c r e t e t e r m s , s o t h a t , s a y , ' g r u e ' {wic) w o u l d t h u s o r i g i n a l l y at l ea s t m e a n'malachite- l ike' o r ' m a l a c h i t e - c o l o r e d . ' C l e a r l y t h i s e x p l a n a t i o n d o e s n o t c o n t r a d i c t B e r l i nand K a y : i t i s e n t i r e l y r e a s o n a b l e t o a s s u m e t h a t i n p r e h i s t o r i c t i m e s E g y p t i a n s t o o d a t alower l e v e l o f d e v e l o p m e n t t h a n t h e h i s t o r i c a l S t a g e I l i a . I t i s c o n c e i v a b l e t h a t t h e t e r m smust h a v e b e e n d e r i v e d f r o m s o m e t h i n g , a n d m i n e r a l s a re t h u s a r e a s o n a b l e s u g g e s t i o n . Itis, h o w e v e r , a n e n t ir e l y d i f f e r e n t m a t t e r w h e n s u g g e s t i n g t h a t t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h ecolor w o r d s a n d t h e c o l o r s o f m i n e r a l s c o n t i n u e d i n t o h i s t o r i c a l t i m e s . T h e e x t e n t t o w h i c hthe c o n n e c t i o n c a n b e e t y m o l o g i c a l l y a s s u m e d r e m a i n s t o b e d i s c u s s e d i n t h e f o l l o w i n gparagraphs a n d i n S e c t i o n 4 .

We w i l l d i v i d e t h e m a t t e r i n t o t h r e e is s u e s :1. T h e i s s ue o f c o l o r t e r m s i n g e n e r a l a n d p a r t i c u l a r u s a g e . T h e d i s c u s s i o n w i l l b e b a s e d

up o n t h e r a n g e o f u s e d e p e n d e n t u p o n t h e i r r o l e s a s p a r t s o f s p e e c h , a s a c r i t e r i o n f o rdistinguishing B C T s a n d n o n B C T s ( S e c ti o n 2 ) ;

2. T h e is s u e o f t h e g e n e r a l m e a n i n g o f t h e c o l o r t e r m s a n d t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f th e i rspecific f o c u s ( e x t e n s i o n v s . i n t e n s i o n ) ( S e c t i o n 3 ) ;

3. T h e q u e s t i o n o f t h e e t y m o l o g i e s , i n A f r o a s i a t i c ( S e c t i o n 4 ) .Note t h a t i n th e f o l l o w i n g d i s c u s s i o n o f a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n m a t t e r s , r e f e re n c e s t o a n c i e n tEgypt ian t e x ts ( r e q u i r i n g a k n o w l e d g e o f a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n a n d f a m i l i a r i t y w i t h t ex t e d i t ions ) w i l l b e c i t e d i n a f a s h i o n f a m i l i a r t o E g y p t o l o g i s t s . T h e s e E g y p t o l o g i c a l r e f e re n c e sare m a r k e d - a n d a r e n o t l is t e d i n t h e R e f e r e n c e s ( m o s t o f t h e m c a n b e f o u n d i n E r m a n& G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 6 3 ; H e l c k & W e s t e n d o r f 1 9 9 2 ).


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2. The basics: Parts of speech of the ancient Egyptian color terms2.1 G e n e r a l n o t e s o n t h e p a r t s o f s p e e c h

C o l o r t e r m s i n E g y p t i a n a n d C o p t i c a re e i t h e r v e r b s o r a d je c t i v e s . F o r e x a m p l e , tsr is aver b ' t o b e re d , ' w h i l e hsbc(.t?) i s an ad j e c t i ve , ' r e l a t in g t o l ap i s l a zu l i , l ap i s l a zu l i - l i k e , b lu e . 'V er bs f o r m p a r t i c i p l e s , a n d t h u s a d j e c t i v a l v e r b f o r m s . F o r e x a m p l e , f i r ' t o b e r e d ' f o r m s a nactive p a r t i c i p l e tsr ' b e i n g r ed , ' a n d , s i m p l i f i e d , a n a d j e c t i v e , ' r ed . ' V e r b a l c o l o r t e r m s c a nt h u s a p p e a r i n a n y s y n ta c t i c a l c o n t e x t w h e r e n o n p a r t i c i p i a l a d j e c t i v a l c o l o r t e r m s c a n b eu s ed. N o n p a r t i c i p i a l a d j e c t i v a l c o l o r t e r m s , h o w e v e r , c a n o n l y b e u s e d i n a d j e c t iv a l r o l e s .

I n E g y p t i a n , a l l a d j e c t i v e s c a n b e u s e d a t t r i b u t i v e l y , a n d a l s o g e n e r a l l y a s p r e d i c a t e s .O n e c a n f o r m t h e n o m i n a l p h r a s es ir. t tsr. t ' r e d e ye ' an d ir. t hsbc. t ' l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e / b l u e e y e 'f r o m t h e v e r b tsr ' t o b e r e d ' a n d t h e a d j e c t i v e hsbc(.i?) ' l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e , b l u e ' ( w h e r e t h e ' f -s u f n x i s m e r e l y t h e f e m i n i n e e n d i n g r e q u i r e d t o r e n d e r t h e a d j e c t iv e s c o n g r u e n t w i t h t h eir.t ' ey e ,' w h i c h i s f e m i n i n e ) . A d j e c t i v e s c a n a l s o b e u s e d as p r e d i c a t e s , e . g ., tsr ir.t ' t h e e yeis r e d ' o r hsbc(.i) ir.t ' t h e e y e i s l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e , b l u e . ' T h e E g y p t i a n s p a r t i c u l a r l y f a v o r e dc o n s t r u c t i o n s l i n k i n g a n a d j e c t i v e a n d a d e f i n i n g s u b s t a n c e , w h e r e b y g r a m m a r i a n s a ren o t i n a g r e e m e n t a s t o w h e t h e r t h e u s a g e i s a d j e c t i v a l o r p r e d i c a t i v e : Hr.w tsr ir.ti ' H o r u sw i t h t h e t w o re d e ye s, ' Hr.w hsbc(.i?) ir.ti ' H o r u s w i t h t h e t w o l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e / b l u e e y e s . 'T h e s e c a n t h u s b e u n d e r s t o o d a s ' h e w h o i s r e d ( b l u e ) w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e e ye s ' ( a d j e c t i v a l )o r ' h e w h o s e e y e s a r e r e d ( b l u e ) ' ( p r e d i c a t i v e ) . V e r b a l c o l o r t e r m s c a n s e r v e a s a d j e c t i v a lpr edicates u s i n g a d j e c t i v a l p a r t i c i p l e s , b u t t h e y c a n a l s o b e u s e d a s v e r b a l p r e d i c a t e s , a n dt h u s i n s y n t a c t i c r o l e s a v a i l a b l e o n l y t o v e r b s . E v e n i f i t i s r a r e , v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m s c a n a l s obe u s e d i n d i ff e r e n t t e n s es , w h i c h i s i m p o s s i b l e f o r a d j e ct i v e s . S u m m a r i z i n g , w e c a n s a ythat v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m s c a n b e u s e d m o r e f l e x i b l y t h a n n o n p a r t i c i p i a l a d j e c t iv e s , a n d t h u sit c a n h a r d l y b e a c c i d e n t a l t h a t t h e a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n B C T s w e r e v e r b s : kmm , he, tsr, wic, ' t obe' ' b l a c k , ' ' w h i t e , ' ' r e d ' a n d ' g r e e n , ' r e s p e c t i v e l y . A d d i t i o n a l v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m s w i l l f o l l o w ,S u b s e c t i o n 2 .3 .

T h e p a r t s o f s p e e c h a r e a l s o i m p o r t a n t f o r c o l o r t e r m s s i n c e E g y p t i a n - C o p t i c g r a d u ally l o s t t h e d e r i v e d a d j e c t i v a l f o r m s w h i l e r e t a i n i n g t h e c a t e g o r y o f t h e v e r b . I n C o p t i c ,the fin al s t a g e , t h e a d j e c t i v e s a r e o n l y p r e s e r v e d a s r e l ic s . T h e p a r a d i g m a t i c l i n k b e t w e e nthe v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m s a n d t h e o r i g i n a l d e r i v e d p a r t i c i p l e s a n d t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f u s i n g n o n verbal c o l o r t e r m s i n p r e d i c a t i v e f u n c t i o n w a s lo s t . V e r b a l c o l o r t e r m s c o u l d n o l o n g e r b eused a t t r i b u t i v e l y ( a l t h o u g h a d j e c t i v a l r e la t iv e c l a u s e s w i t h v e r b a l p r e d i c a t e s c o u l d ) . T h eBCTs w e r e t h u s a l l a v a i l a b l e as v e r b s ( w h e r e b y i n d i v i d u a l w o r d s w e r e r e p l a c e d a n d a fifthBC T w a s a d d e d ) , b u t n o t t h e o r i g i n a l a d je c t i v e s . T h e v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m s w e r e t h u s m o r estable i n t e r m s o f th e h i s t o r y o f l a n g u a g e .

Th e d i g i ta l i z e d s l ip a r c h i ve (> D Z A ) o f t h e E g y p t i a n - G e r m a n D i c t i o n a r y ( E r m a n& G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 6 3 ) o f t h e B e r l i n - B r a n d e n b u r g A c a d e m y o f S c ie n ce s a n d H u m a n i t i e s[http. / /aaew.bbaw.de/t la/] p r o v i d e s m o s t o f t h e i m p o r t a n t i n f o r m a t i o n b e y o n d t h a t o f t h edict ionary ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 6 3 ) .
http://http.//aaew.bbaw.de/tla/http://http.//aaew.bbaw.de/tla/


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2.2 E x p l i c i t s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t t h e c o l o r s o f o b j e c t sThe a b s t r a c t c o l o r t e r m s a p p e a r a s v e r b s i n s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t t h e c o l o r o f o b j e c t s . O t h e rindications o f c o l o r , p a r t i c u l a r l y w i t h r e f er e n c e t o m i n e r a l s , a r e n o n v e r b a l . T h e s i t u a t i o nis p a r t i c u l a r l y c le a r i n t h e s c h e m a t i c f o r m u l a e o f t h e s o - c a l l e d l a b o r a t o r y o f t h e P t o l e m a i ctemple a t E d f u . F r o m t h e p r e s c r i p t i o n s w e s h a l l - i n t h e s e n s e o f t h e p o i n t s d i s c u s s e dbe low S e c t i o n 3 - s e e k t h o s e s t a t e m e n t s d e s c r i b i n g t h e c o l o r s o f o b j e c t s i n t h e r ea l w o r l d(-- E d f o u I I, 2 0 5 f f . ) . T h e r u l e s w i l l b e c o n f i r m e d b y a d d i t i o n a l r ef e r en c e s s u p p l e m e n t i n gthose f r o m E d f u .

The f o l l o w i n g v e r b a l B C T s ar e f o u n d :kmm ' to be b lack ' ;he ' to be white ' ;t$r ' to be red';mrs ' to be ( l ight -? ) red ' ( fo r the mea nin g, see Sect ion 3) .

The w o r d wic ' t o b e g r e e n ' i s n o t f o u n d h e r e , w h i c h c a n b e e x p l a i n e d a s a c c i d e n t a l , b u tperhaps a l s o b e c a u s e t h e c o l o r s i n t h e g r e e n - b l u e r a n g e ar e m o r e p r e c i s e l y d i s t i n g u i s h e dwi th r e f e r e n c e s t o m i n e r a l s .

As m i n e r a l s a n d o t h e r o b j e c t s c a n b e f o u n d :nb(.w) 'gold ' ;sl(.wi) ' two- th i rds go ld ' (an a l loy) ;nb.w n(.i) sp-3 'gold of the third qual i ty ' ;nb(.w) nfr n(J) hls.t ' f ine Desert G old ' ;hrs.t ' carnel ian ' (which thus had a d if ferent color than the tlx ' red ' found in the same tex tual context , poss ib ly a ye l low var ie ty ) ;nSm(.t) 'green feldspar ' (casual reference, > Tu rin C at. 1966 [love so ng s], rto. 2, 4, p ro bably for green);hsbc ' lapis lazuli ' ;enh n(.i) sft ' the color of the wings of the s/r -b ird ' (species undetermined).

In d e t a i l , t h e s i t u a t i o n i s a s f o l l o w s :1. B C T s ( v e r b s ) :a. C l a u s e w i t h v e r b a l p r e d i c a t e ( O l d P e r f e c t i v e ) :iwn^f ' i t s c o l o r ' :

km(.w) ' is b lack ' ( -> Ed fou I I , 208, 1) , km(.w) nht ' is dark b lack ' ( - Ed fo u I I , 207, 12 -13 ;207, 14-208, 1) ;hc(.w) nht ' is b r ight -w h i te ' ( - Ed fo u I I , 207, 1) ;tsr(.w) ' is red ' ( - Ed fou I I , 205, 16; 206, 6; 206, 16; 207, 12 -13 ; 207, 13), a lon gsidehvn^fpw: tsr ' that is i ts colo r: red (or : being re d?) ' ( -> Ed fo u I I , 205, 14);mrs(.w) ' is ( l ight -? ) red ' ( -> Edfou I I 206, 1) .

b. A t t r i b u t i v e p a r t i c i p l e / a d j e c t i v e :hr(.t)(?)"\v m ' t h e ir c h a r a c t e r c o n s i s t s o f :


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iwn tsr ' re d co lo r ' ( o f mo u n t a in s w h e re g o ld i s f ou n d ) ( -> Tu r in g o ld m in e m ap[ASAE49:340]).

2. C o n c r e t e c o l o r t e r m s ( c o l o r s o f m i n e r a l s ) :a. C l a u s e w i t h n o n v e r b a l ( a d v e r b i a l ) p r ed i c a te ; i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w i t h m i n e r a l :iwn^fm ' it s c o l o r c o n s i s t s o f :

nb(.w) 'gold ' ( - Ed fo u I I , 205, 13; 205, 14; 206, 5; 206, 9 );hrs.t ' carnel ian ' ( -> Ed fo u I I , 206, 3);

iwn^sn m ' it s c o l o r c o n s i s t s o f :S J ( . W I ) ' two- th i rds go ld ' (an a l loy) ( -> Edfou I I , 217, 4 , not in the context o f a prescr ip tion);

also n o n m i n e r a l s a s c o m p a r a t i v e m a t e r i a l:iwn^fmi ' it s c o l o r i s l i k e t h a t o f :

iwn (n(.i)) cnh (n(.i) sft) ' the co lor o f the wing s o f the s / r -b i rd ' ( - Ed fou I I 207, 7 ,corrected af ter 207,11) .

b. I n d i c a t i o n o f m i n e r a l s i n n o u n p h r a s e :' something is ' mi ' l i k e ' :

iwn n(.i) nb(.w) ' the colo r o f go ld ' Ed fo u I I , 207, 8; 207, 10; pre sum abl y also 207, 8;rwn (n (.i)) nb(.w) hrf kc ' co lor o f go ld and kc -m in e ra l ' ;iwn n(.() nsm(.t) ' the color o f green fe ldspar' (> Tu rin C at . 1966 [ love song s], rto. 2, 4) ;iwn n(.i) hsbc ' the color of lapis lazul i ' (of a lake) (-> Na uri - De cre e [JEA 13, PI . X L ], 11);

' something i s ' m ' c on s i st in g o f :iwn n(.i) nb.w n(.i) sp-3 ' the color of gold of the third qu al i ty ' ( of coppe r) (> pH arr is I ,78,4 -5) ;iwn (n(.i)?) nb(.w) nfr n(.i) hls.t ' the colo r (o f) f ine Desert Go ld ' (o f cop per) (* pH arrisI, 47, 4) ;iwn (n(.i)?) nb(.w) ' the color (of) go ld ' (o f cop per) (> pH arr is I , 6, 9) ;

here a l so a c o m p a r i s o n w i t h n o n m i n e r a l :iwn (n(.i)} cn h n(.i) sft ' the color of the wings of the s/t -b ird ' ( -> Edfou I I , 207, 11).

2.3 C o l o r s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t o b j e c t sIn s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t t h e c o l o r s o f o b j e c t s , t h e B C T s g e n e r a l l y a p p e a r a s p a r t i c i p l e s o r a d jectives, b u t o c c a s i o n a l l y i n n o n a d j e c t i v a l v e r b a l f o r m s , c o n f i r m i n g t h e i r v e r b a l c h a r a ct e r .Concrete c o l o r w o r d s a n d n o n b a s i c c o l o r t e r m s a r e a l s o u s e d a s a d j e c t iv e s , a s m a y b eexpected. T h e r e a r e , h o w e v e r , s o m e c a se s o p p o s i n g t h e b a s i c r u l e s. T h e u s a g e w a s n o tconsistent t h r o u g h o u t t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n l a n g u a g e. F o r e t y m o l o g i c a l r e a sons ( m o r e i n S e c t i o n 4 ) v e r b a l u s a g e c a n n o t b e a s s u m e d f o r t h e e a r l y p e r i o d ; t h e u s a g e


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Color t e r m s in a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n a n d C o p t i c

cannot b e p r e c i s e l y d e f i n e d . I t m u s t a l s o b e e x c l u d e d f o r C o p t i c , t h e l a t e s t p h a s e o f t h e d e ve lopment o f t h e l a n g u a g e . T h e i s s u e o f t h o s e t e x tu a l c o n t e x t s w h e r e v e r b a l f o r m s a p p e a ris t h u s e v e n m o r e i n t e r e s ti n g : T h e s e a re n e o l o g i s m s i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l w r i t t e n l a n g u a g e ,no t t h e c o l l o q u i a l .

Th e f o l l o w i n g c a n b e d e d u c e d f r o m t h e s t a t e m e n t s a b o u t t h e c o l o r o f o b j e c t s :1. B C T s ( v e r b s , p a r t i c i p l e s ) :a. km m ' t o b e b l a c k ' :The w o r d i s g e n e r a l l y u s e d a s a p a r t i c i p l e o r a d j e c t i v e , e v e n as a p r e d i c a t e . T h e r e a r e ,however , a l s o r e f e r e n c e s i n w h i c h t h e w o r d i s u s e d i n a n o n a d j e c t i v a l i n f l e c t i o n a t a n e p o c hwhen t h e a d j e c t i v a l c a t e g o r y w a s s ti l l e x i s t e n t :

"Ke ep ( i m p e r a t i v e f o r m , m e a n i n g A t o n ) h i m ( i . e ., t h e k i n g ) h e r e ( i . e ., a m o n g u s ) u n t i lthe s w a n ( ? ) t u r n s b l a c k ( r km), u n t i l t h e c r o w ( ? ) t u r n s w h i t e ( r hi o r r hit), u n t i l t h emoun t a i n s s t a n d u p t o g o , a n d u n t i l t h e f l o o d f low s b a c k w a r d s , . . . " ( - > A m a r n a I I I , I I I ,6; X X I X , 1 0 - 1 3 ( S y n o p s i s : S a n d m a n , T e x ts f r o m t h e T i m e o f A k h e n a t e n I , 9 , 6 - 9 ) ) ;' so a s t o c a u s e t h e e t o b e b l a c k (wn=t km.ti) l i k e H o r u s , a n d r e d (tsr[.ti]) ( l i k e S e t h ) . '( - p C h e s t e r B e a t t y V I I , r t o . 8 , 4 ) ;' he i s r e d ( b r o w n ? ) (wn*f tsr(.w)), b u t n o t ( e n t i r e l y ? ) b l a c k (n km-f)' (-* E d f o u I I , 2 0 8 , 4 ) ;'h is c o l o r is r e d ( b r o w n ? ) (iw-ftsr(.w)), a n d h e is v e r y b l a c k ( d a r k ? ) (wn=fkm(.w) nht)' (>Ed f o u I I , 2 0 7 , 1 2 - 1 3 ) .

Add i t i ona l r e f e r e n c e s a r e i n S u b s e c t i o n 2 . 2 a b o v e .In C o p t i c t h e v e r b w a s s t i l l u s e d , b e i n g f u l l y i n f l e c t e d ( i n f i n i t i v e a n d q u a l i t a t i v e , kmom

etc.). T h e p a r t i c i p l e i s p r e s e r v e d a s a r el i c (kam e t c . ) .b. he ' t o be whi te , ' la ter wbh ' t o b e w h i t e ' :Th e v e r b a l c h a r a c t e r o f t h e c o l o r w o r d he ' t o b e w h i t e ' c a n n o t b e s h o w n w i t h e q u a l c l a r it yor e v e n t h e s a m e a b u n d a n c e a s e a r l i e r .- A s i d e f r o m t h e s p e c if i c m e a n i n g o f a c o l o r w o r dis t h e m o r e g e n e r a l m e a n i n g ' t o b e c o m e b r i g h t ' ( m e a n i n g ' d a w n ' ) , a n d i n l a te r t e x ts t h emeaning e v e n ap p e a rs a s ' t o sh in e ' a s t h e ac t i v i t y o f t h e l i g h t o f t h e su n . Th e ve rb a l u se isc omm o n i n t h i s g e n e r a l m e a n i n g , a n d c a n b e s e e n i n t h e r e f e r e n c e j u s t c i t e d f o r b l a c k , a n di n S u b s e c t i o n 2 . 2 a b o v e .

On l y t h e a d je c t i v a l f o r m o f t h e w o r d i s p r e s e r v e d i n C o p t i c (hat e t c . ) . T h e v e r b i sreplaced b y a n o t h e r , w h i c h o n l y a p p e a r e d i n t h e c o u r s e o f t h e h i s t o r i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t o fthe l a n g u a g e :

wbh ' t o be l i gh t , t o s h i n e ' .Thi s o n l y a p p e a r s i n t h e l at es t f o r m o f E g y p t i a n u s i n g th e o r i g i n a l s c r i p t ( D e m o t i c ) a s acolor w o r d f o r w h i t e a n d i s t h e n u s e d i n C o p t i c i n p la c e o f he ' t o b e w h i t e ' (oubas). T h eCopt i c a l so u se d t h e ad j e c t i va l r e l i c o f t h i s ve rb (ouobs).As a n a d j e c t i v e , a n d e x c l u s i v e l y a s a n a d j e c t i v e , f o r w h i t e C o p t i c u s e s a n o t h e r n e o l ogism, *cnw ' b e a u t i f u l ' ( ? ) > C o p t i c alaou ' w h i t e ' w h i c h h a s n o t b e e n d i s c o v e r e d i n a n ypre -Copt i c s t ag e o f t h e l a n g u a g e ; e v e n t h e o r i g i n o f t h e w o r d r e m a i n s d o u b t f u l .c. tsr ' t o b e re d ' :


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Wolfgang Schenkel

The w o r d i s g e n e r a l l y u s e d a s a p a r t i c i p l e / a d j e c t i v e , e v e n a s a p r e d i c a t e . T h e r e ar e , h o w e v e r ,also r e f e re n c e s w h e r e t h e w o r d i s u s e d i n a n o n a d j e c t i v a l in f l e c t i o n a t a n e p o c h w h e r e t h eadjectival ca t e g ory w as s t i l l i n u se :

'But as for any fu ture k ing wh o sha l l overthrow any of m y p lans , and just says : 'Th e landsare und er m y aut ho rity (a nyw ay), an d they are m in e as they were his, ' - ( th is wi l l be) a badthing in the op in io n o f the gods. See, he wil l be accused [mk tw-tw r wsb=f) in He l iop ol i s -they ( i .e . , those of He l iop ol i s ) are the D iv i ne T r ibu na l . . . they wi l l de fend (ir=sn wsb) theirproperty. Th e y w i l l b e com e re d (tsr-sn) as f irebrands, so that they may burn up (snwh^sn)the bod ies o f those wh o fa i l to heed me; and they wi l l cons um e (s f r sswn) whoever upsetsmy p lans , to cast h i m (d ow n) on the s laughter ing -b lock of the Netherwor ld . ' (- KR I 1 ,69 ,2-6, after - K R I Transla t ions I , p . 59; a lth ou gh on e could structure the text d i f ferent ly, i tis a future verbal form: ' they wil l become red ' or ' they wil l be red ' of the suff ix conjugat ionand not an adjective * 'fhey are red.');

'his bo dy i s red (h .Uftsr) l ike the co lor o f go ld ' ( ^ Edfo u I I, 207, 8 . ).Add i t i ona l r e f e r e n c e s h a v e a l r e a d y b e e n c i t e d u n d e r km m ' t o b e b l a c k ' :

'he i s red (brown?) {wnn^f tsr[.w]), (but) not (ent ire ly?) b lack (n km=f)' ( - * E d fou I I, 208 ,4) ;'his color i s red (b row n?) (iwn~ftsr[.w]), and he is very b lac k (wn-fkm[.w] nht)' (> E d f o uII, 207 , 12 -13 ) .

A l t h o ugh p a r t i a l l y re s t o re d , a re f e re n ce c i t e d ab ov e ( ' b l ac k l i k e H o ru s , ' ' r e d l i k e Se t h ,' >pChester B e a t t y V I I r t o . 8 , 4 ) i s a l s o h i g h l y i n d i c a t i v e .Th e v e r b a l u s a g e w a s a l s o d e m o n s t r a t e d i n S u b s e c t i o n 2 . 2 .In C o p t i c t h e v e r b w a s i n u s e , f u l l y i n f l e c t e d ( i n f i n i t i v e a n d q u a l i t a t i v e r or s, tors e t c . ) ,

the p a r t i c i p l e s u r v i v i n g as a r e l ic (f o r s e t c .) ( C r u m 1 9 3 9 : 4 3 2 ) . I n a d d i t i o n , a r e d u p l i cating v e r b (trosr(e)s) is m o r e f re q u e n t i n C o p t i c ( C r u m 1 9 3 9 : 4 3 2 ) , a l t h o u g h u n k n o w nf r o m E g y p t i a n :

*tsrsr, C o p t i c trosr(e)s ' to be very (? ) red ' ( for more detai l , c f . Sect ion 3 below).A n a d d i t i o n a l C o p t i c n e o l o g i s m i s:

mrs/mls/*mns, C o p t i c mros etc. , and the l ike, Copt ic ' to be ( l ight -? )red ' ( for detai ls , cf .Section 3 b e low ) .

Thi s is a l r e a dy k n o w n o c c a s i o n a l l y f r o m R o m a n E g y p t i a n ( D e m o t i c ) as a n a d j e c ti v e , b u tit b e c a m e a v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m (mros); t h e a d j e c t i v e a l s o s u r v i v e s i n C o p t i c (mers e t c . ) .d. wlc ' t o b e g re e n ' :A l t h o ugh d o u b t m a y b e t h r o w n o n t o t h e v e r b a l c h a r a c t e r o f t h e c o l o r t e r m , t h e w o r dalso m e a n s ' t o b e fres h, t o p r o s p e r , ' w h e r e t h e v e r b a l c h a r a c t e r c a n n o t b e d o u b t e d . I t i stherefore d i f f i c u l t t o i s o l a t e ca s e s w h e r e t h e u s e o f t h e c o l o r t e r m a s a v e r b c a n b e c l a i m e dwi th c e r t a i n t y . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , l o g i c w o u l d s u g g e s t t h a t t h e v e r b a l c h a r a c t e r o f t h ecolor t e r m c a n b e a s s u m e d , b a s e d o n t h e v e r b a l c h a r a c te r o f t h e a l t e r n a t i v e m e a n i n g .


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Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Cop tic

The w o r d i s p r e s e r v e d in C o p t i c w i t h t h e s a m e r a n g e o f m e a n i n g s a s i n E g y p t i a n {ouotetc.).2. C o n c r e t e / N o n b a s i c c o l o r t e r m s u n k n o w n i n c o l l o q u i a l E g y p t i a n a n d i n C o p t i c , w h i c h

was c l o s e r t o t h e c o l l o q u i a l : .a. ccb ( f ac t i t i ve ) ' t o re n d e r li k e ch a rco a l , t o b l ac k e n ' :A v e r b ccb c a n b e f o u n d in t h e l i te r a ry l a n g u a g e o f t h e N e w K i n g d o m ( E r m a n & G r a p o w1926-1963: V , 5 3 6 , 4 ) , b u t t h e v e r b is u n k n o w n i n C o p t i c :

(label o f a god ) 'he w h o make s the bo dy b lack (charco al - l ike) with charco al ' (part ic i ple ccb wit h verbal actants) (m agic spells in me dical texts: -> pHears t 11, 13; me d.pLondon 16, 8)

b. hrs ' c a rn e l i an - l i k e , ' ' t o b e re d ' :The w o r d , hrs ' c a r n e l ia n - l i k e ,' 't o b e re d ,' i s f o u n d i n P t o l e m a i c - R o m a n l i te r a r y E g y p t i a n .It i s a l s o u s e d w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e e y e s , m e t a p h o r i c a l l y i n t h e s en s e o f ' b e i n g a n g r y o rfur ious ' ( l i k e tsr ' t o b e r e d ' ) , o r ' g l e a m i n g , g l it t e r in g . ' I t i s n o t f o u n d i n C o p t i c . E x a m p l e s(Erman & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 6 3 : I II , 1 5 1 , 1 - 2 ; m o r e r e fe r en c es D Z A 2 7 2 6 6 7 5 0 f f .) :

(caption above Ho rus o f Ed fu ) 'whose two eyes are carne l ian - l ike /red ' ( -> Edfo u 1 31 ,8 ,participle hrs in a verbal re lative co nstr uct i on) ;

wi th f a c t i t i v e m e a n i n g :'I ma ke m y two eyes carne l ian - l ike /red (hrs(.i)'l), I mak e my two eyes red l ike ins.l textile( ; W ) ' ( - Ed fou VI , 75 ,7 -8 ; a lso 178, 3) .

Thi s q u o t e a ls o i n c lu d e s a n e x a m p l e o f t h e w o r d m s j ' r e d , ' k n o w n f r o m P t o l e m a i c - R o m a nliterary E g y p t i a n ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 6 3 : 1 , 1 00 , 5 ) , b u t n o t f r o m C o p t i c .c. mfk... ' t u r q u o i se - l i k e , ' ' t o b e g re e n ' ( ? ) :The v e r b mfk is k n o w n f r o m t he P t o l e m a i c - R o m a n l i te r a ry l a n g u a g e w i t h t h e m e a n i n g' to b e g l a d , j o y o u s , ' s t r ic t ly s p e a k i n g , 't o s h i n e ' ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 6 3 : 1 1 , 5 8 , 3 - 5 ,but c f . a l s o I I, 5 8 , 2 ) , t h e m e a n i n g o f w h i c h i s d e r i v e d f r o m t h e g li t t er o f f a i e n c e , mfki.t(i?)' turquoise-l ike. ' R e f e r e n ce s w h e r e mfk c a n b e u n d e r s t o o d a s a v e r b i n c l u d e t h e p a r t i c i p l e i nmost c a s es , a n d t h u s t h e a d j e c t i v a l u s a g e , b u t t h i s c o u l d e a s i ly b e a n o n p a r t i c i p i a l a d j e c t i v e .It w o u l d t h u s f o l l o w t h a t n o s p e c i f i c a l l y v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m mfk c a n b e i d e n t i f i e d ( E r m a n& G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 6 3 : 1 1 , 5 7 , 9 - 5 8 , 1, a n d m o r e d e t a i l e d D Z A 2 3 9 9 8 8 2 0 f f . ) . T h i s d o e snot , h o w e v e r , d e f i n i t i v e l y e x c l u d e a v e r b a l c o l o r w o r d mfk ' t o be green . ' In any case , such aword i s n o t f o u n d in C o p t i c .d. hsbc ' l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e , b l u e ' :A v e r b hsbt (< hsbc) ' l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e , b l u e ' is f o u n d i n li t e r a r y E g y p t i a n f r o m t h e N e wK i ngdom a n d th e P t o l e m a i c - R o m a n p e r i o d , b u t n o t i n C o p t i c .

References f r o m th e N e w K i n g d o m ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 -1 9 6 3 :1 1 1 , 3 3 4 , 2 0 ) :'Nut ( i .e . , the personif ied heaven) is behind you ( i .e . , the sun-god, the sun), lapis lazul i -like/blue {hsbt.tl)! (-> B D N aville, 15A, II 8);'Nut enters lapis lazul i - l ik e/b lu e (hsbt.t(l?)) b e h in d you . ' ( - TT 65 ) ;'Your (i .e., the deceased to whom the text was directed) head is lapis lazuli-l ike (hsbt.y),


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your hair is b lacker than the doors of any star when ecl ipsed. Your hair p laces (? , fm.w)lapis lazuli over your face' (> BD Naville, 172, 12).

References o f P t o l e m a i c - R o m a n d a t e w i t h f a c ti ti v e m e a n i n g ( o n l y v e r b a n d o b j e c t ) :

(of the sun) 'who renders the f ie lds lapis lazul i - l ike/b lue (! ) with his rays' ( -> Edfou I , 106,2-3, part ic ip le hsbt);(of the sun ) 'w ho renders his fields lapis laz uli -l ik e/b lue (!)' (* Ed fo u I , 71, 11, par ticiplehsbt).

e. cfrr ' t o b e l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e , b l u e ' :A v e r b cfrr ' t o b e l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e , b l u e ' i s k n o w n f r o m t h e li t e r a r y E g y p t i a n o f t h eP to l ema i c -Roman p e r i o d ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 6 3 : V , 3 0 0 , 4 ) , b u t n o t i n C o p t i c :

'(fields) be ing lap is lazu l i - l ike /b lue (tfrr.(w}(?)t(i?)) with ( the p lant ) co lor -o f -heav en ( i .e . ,blue b los som ing f lax) ' ( -> Edf ou IV , 31 , 109,10-11; -> D i im ich en , Geogr . Inschr . IV , 118) ,on ' f lax ' (cf . Me eks 197 2:116 ).

2.4 S u m m a r yExam in i ng p a r t s o f s p e e c h t h a t c o n s t i t u t e c o l o r t e r m s y i e l d s :1. I n a ll p e r i o d s o f t h e E g y p t i a n l a n g u a g e , f o u r v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m s w e r e i n u s e , v i z . , ' to

be ' b l a c k ' (kmm), ' w h i t e ' (he, l a t er r e p l a c e d b y wbh, C o p t i c oubas e t c . ) , ' r e d ' ( f s r ) , an d'green' (wlc);

2. B e g i n n i n g i n t h e l a t e s t s t a g e s o f t h e E g y p t i a n l a n g u a g e , t h e r e d r a n g e i s p a r t i t i o n e di n to t w o v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m s ( t o b e s p e c i f i e d b e l o w , S e c t i o n 3 ) : r e d (tsr), m o r e p r e c ise ly ' (deep-?) r e d ' (*tsrsr, C o p t i c trosr[e]s), a n d ' ( l i g h t - ? ) r e d ' (mrs/mls/*mns, C o p t i cmros e t c . ) ;

3. A t v a r i o u s t i m e s , t h e t r a d i t i o n a l l i te r a r y l a n g u a g e a ls o f o r m e d v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m sbased u p o n m a t e r i a l s , i n c l u d i n g ' ( d a r k - ? ) g r e e n, ' a n d a b o v e a ll i n t h e b l u e r a n g e . T h e s elatter a r e s t r i k i n g l y c o m m o n . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e r e a r e n o t e r m s w h i c h s e p a r at e aye l low r a n g e f r o m t h e r e d r a n g e .

3. The identification o f the meanings of the ancient Egyptian-Coptic c o l o r terms3.1 P r o l e g o m e n a

The p h i l o l o g i s t s t u d y i n g t h e t e x ts o f a d e a d l a n g u a g e a p p r o a c h e s t h e m e a n i n g o f a w o r dinitially t h r o u g h i t s u s e a n d i ts e x t e n s i o n . P h i l o l o g y c a n e s t a b l is h t h e o b j e c t s t o w h i c h acolor t e r m is a p p l i e d . T h e p h i l o l o g i s t ' s a b i l i ty t o r e a c h t h e g o a l d e p e n d s u p o n t h e s o u r c e s .Th e a b s e n c e o f a n a t i v e s p e a k e r m e a n s t h a t f u r t h e r c o n f i r m a t i o n c a n n o t b e m a r s h a l e d .On e a d d i t i o n a l r e s t ri c t i o n u n d e r w h i c h t h e E g y p t o l o g i s t m u s t w o r k is t h a t h e c a n o n l yturn t o re a l o b j e c t s f o r o r i e n t a t i o n w h e r e a s t h e t e x t s d e a l l a r g e l y w i t h n o n r e a l o b j e c t swhose c o l o r s c a n n o t b e e x a m i n e d . I t d o e s n o t h e l p h i m t o k n o w t h a t t h e e y e o f t h e g o dHorus c a n b e w h i t e u n d e r c e r t a i n c i r c u m s t a n c e s , b u t a ls o g r e e n , n o r t h a t t h e r e i s a H o r u s


11/18

Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Copt ic 221

with r e d e y e s a n d a H o r u s w i t h l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e o r b l u e e y e s. W i t h w h i t e a n d g r e e n i t i snot e v e n p o s s i b l e t o b e c e r t a i n t h a t t h e c o l o r s a r e m e a n t , r a t h e r t h a n t h a t t h e e x p r e s s i o n sperhaps re fe r t o sh in in g a n d flour ishin g. N o r i s i t p o ss ib l e t o b e ce r t a in ab ou t t h e co lo ro f re a l ob j e c t s b e c au s e it i s n o t ce r t a in t h a t a co lo r a sp e c t is t h e p r im ar y i s su e , an d in t h ecase o f , s a y, t e x t il e s , w e m a y h a v e a r e c o g n i z a b l e c o l o r r e f e r e n c e , b u t n o t t h e a c t u a l o r i g i n a lcolor o f t h e o b j e c t , q u i t e a s i d e f r o m t h e c o n s t a n t d a n g e r o f a n a n c i e n t e r r o r , w h e r e o b j e c t swil l h a v e h a d d i f f e r e n t c o l o r s i n r e a l i ty .

In t h e e a r l ie r w o r k ( S c h e n k e l 1 9 6 3 ) , t h e d e c i s i v e c r i t e r i o n o f t h e d i s t i n c t i o n f o r t h epurely a b s t r a c t c o l o r w o r d s , t h e B C T s , w a s r a n g e o f u s a g e , t h e n u m b e r o f o b j e c t s d i s t i n g u i s h e d b y a c o l o r w o r d . It m a d e n o d i f f e r e n c e w h e t h e r t h e c o l o r o f a n a r t ic l e c o u l dbe e m p i r i c a l l y d e t e r m i n e d o r n o t . T h e r a n g e o f a bs t r ac t c o l o r w o r d s w a s r e a c h e d b y t w osteps, e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e t r a n s l a t i o n e q u i v a l e n t s i n t h e G e r m a n - E g y p t i a n d i c t i o n a r y ( e x t e n s i o n ) w a s f o l l o w e d b y t h e p r o j e c t i o n o f t h e s e m a n t i c field o f t h e a b s t r a c t c o l o r t e r m s o n t othe r e a l w o r l d o f c o l o r ( t h e O s t w a l d C o l o r C o n e ) i n s u c h a w a y th a t t h e a b s t r a c t c o l o rt e r m s t h u s c o v e r e d t h e r ea l w o r l d ( i n t e n t i o n ) .

H a v i n g r e c o u rs e t o t h e G e r m a n E g y p t i a n - G e r m a n d i c t i o n a r y w a s l e g it i m a t e b e c a u sethe d e f i n i t i o n s w e r e i n f e r r e d f r o m t h e r e f e r e n c e s , w i t h t h e E g y p t i a n u s a g e i n d e s c r i b i n gthe w o r l d b e i n g g i v e n t h e p r i m a r y r o le . T h i s d i c t i o n a r y h a d t h e f u r t h e r a d v a n t a g e t h a t d i s crepancies b e t w e e n t h e s c o p e o f t h e d e f i n i t i o n o f a w o r d a n d i ts t r a n s l a t i o n e q u i v a l e n t w e r egiven a c e n tr a l r o le . A l t h o u g h c e r ta i n d a n g e rs r e m a i n e d , t h e G e r m a n E g y p t i a n - G e r m a nd i c t i o n a r y c l e a r ly e s t a b l is h e d th a t t h e f o c u s o f t h e t e r m f o r th e w a r m ( r e d - w i t h - y e l l o w )r ange l a y i n r e d , a n d t h e f o c u s o f t h e c o o l t e r m i n g r e e n . S i n c e t h e m a i n v o l u m e s o f t h eG e r m a n E g y p t i a n - G e r m a n d i c t i o n a r y w e r e c o m p l e t e d i n 1 9 3 1 , t h er e w a s n o p o s s i b il i t y o fi n f l u e n c e f r o m B e r l i n a n d K a y . A t t h e s a m e t i m e , p r o j e c t i o n o n t o t h e c o l o r c o n e d i s t o r t sl inguis tic re a l i t y a s f a r a s i t d oe s n o t t ak e i n t o accou n t t h e f ocu s o f t h e co lo r w ord s , b u trather i s a r e g r e s s i o n w i t h r e s p e c t t o t h e e a rl i er p h i l o l o g i c a l w o r k .

U p t o p r e s e n t , t h e d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f c o l o r t e r m s h a s n e g l e c t e d t h ed i s t i n c t i o n o f w h e t h e r ( 1 ) a n o b j e c t i s d e s i g n a t e d w i t h a c o l o r w o r d o r a d e r i v a t i v e , o r ( 2 )is c h a r a c t e r i z e d u s i n g t h e c o l o r w o r d . I t i s a d e s i g n a t i o n w h e n d e s e r t i s d e s c r i b e d a s t h e r e d(tsr.t). S u c h - p r e s u m a b l y p r e h i s t o r i c - d e s i g n a t i o n s c a n n o t b e p u r s u e d , b u t t h e y d o n o tnecessarily r e v e a l t h e a c t u a l m e a n i n g w h i c h t h e c o l o r t e r m h a s i n t h e t e x t u a l t r a d i t i o n so f t h e h i s t o r i c a l p e r i o d . I t c a n b e p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e f o c u s o f t h e c o l o r w o r d h a s s h i f t e d(see S e c t i o n 4 ) , a n d t h u s t h e d e s e rt d if f e r s f r o m t h e f o c u s o f t h e c o l o r w o r d k n o w n i n t h ehis to r ical p e r i o d ( r e d ) . T h e r ea l p e r t i n e n t m e a n i n g o f a c o l o r w o r d is c e r t a i n w h e r e a no bject i s a s s i g n e d a c o l o r , w h e t h e r i n t h e f o r m o f a p r e d i c a t i o n o r a s a n a t t r i b u t e .

3.2 E x t e n s i o n o f t h e E g y p t i a n c o l o r w o r d s

N o t e t h a t o n l y t h e s p e c i f i c r e f e r e n c e s a r e c i t e d h e r e . R e f e r e n c e s t o t h e G e r m a n E g y p t i a n -G e r m a n D i c t i o n a r y ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 3 1 ) c an b e f o u n d in S c h en k el ( 1 9 6 3 : 1 4 0 -143) a n d B r u n n e r - T r a u t ( 1 9 7 7 : 1 1 8 f f . ) .


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222 W o l f g a n g S c h e n k e l

3.2.1 Basic color terms1. km m ' t o b e b l a c k / d a r k g r a y / b r o w n ' :C h a r a c t e r i s a t i o n o f r e a l w o r l d o b j e c t s :

Da r k g r a y g r a n i t e d e s c r i b e d a s inr km ' b l a c k s t o n e ' ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 3 1 : V , 12 3 ,4; m o r e re f e r e nc e s i n - D Z A 3 0 5 9 5 1 6 0 f f. ; o n g r a n i t e , c f . H a r r i s [ 1 9 6 1 : 7 2 - 7 4 ] ) ;Flint ;T h e l i z a r d (> pE be r s 66 , 18 ) ;Th e s u n - b u r n t h a r v e s t e r ;

D e s i g n a t i o n s o f r e a l w o r l d o b j e c t s :Km.t ' E g y p t , ' t h e d a r k g r . a r a b l e l a n d o f t h e N i l e V a l l e y i n c o n t r a s t t o tsr.t ' d e s e r t ' ;T h e b l a c k o f t h e p u p i l i n t h e e y e .

2. he ' t o b e w h i t e , l i g h t ' :C h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n s o f r e a l w o r l d o b j e c t s :

L ime s t on e , d e s c r i b e d a l s inr he ' w h i t e , l i g h t s t o n e ' ;Sands tone , d e s c r i b e d a s inr he n(.() rwc.t ' f i r m l i g h t s t o n e ' ; i n o p p o s i t i o n t o W a r b u r t o n( 2007 ) I u n d e r s t a n d inr hi n(.() rwc.t t o b e ' w h i t e / l i g h t firm s t o n e , ' a s t o n e w h i c h i s l i g h tl ike l i m e s t o n e , b u t h a r d e r ) ;Mi l k ;H o n e y ;Bread (the ' w h i t e b r e a d ' ) ;Teeth;

D e s i g n a t i o n s o f r e a l w o r l d o b j e c t s :Silver;hc.w ' o n i o n s ' ;hc.t ' t h e w h i t e o f t h e e y e ' ( i n c o n t r a s t t o t h e ' b l a c k ' p u p i l ) ;hc.t ' t h e w h i t e c r o w n ' ( o f t h e k i n g ) .

3. tsr ' t o b e r e d / b r o w n / y e l l o w ' :C h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n s o f r e a l w o r l d o b j e c t s :

Carne l i an / sa rd / cha l cedony : A r c h a e o l o g i c a l l y d i s c o v e r e d o b j e c t s a r e f l e s h - r e d o r r e d d i s hb r own , i n M i d d l e K i n g d o m a n d N e w K i n g d o m a l s o y e l l o w i s h ( N i c h o l s o n & S h a w2000 :27 ) . hrs.t tsr.t, t r a d i t i o n a l l y t r a n s l a t e d as ' r e d c a r n e l i a n ' c h a r a c t e r i z e s t h e d a r k e r v a r i ety ( c o n t r a s t to hrs.t hc.t) ( H a r r i s 1 9 6 1 : 1 2 1 ) a n d t h u s p r o b a b l y re d t o b r o w n i s h ( N i c h o l s o n& S h a w 2 0 0 0 : 2 7 ) s a r d ( e . g . p E b e r s 1 0 , 1 1 ) ;Nat ron : hsmn tsr, t r a d i t i o n a l l y t r a n s l a t e d a s ' r e d n a t r o n , ' " r e f e r s t o r e d n a t r o n , s o c o l o u r e dby s o m e i m p u r i t y , p r e s u m a b l y a n i r o n c o m p o u n d " ( H a r r i s 1 9 6 1 : 1 9 5 ) ;Myr rh : y e l l o w t o b r o w n b i t s ;T h e m e d i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n o f ' b e i n g re d ,' a n d t h e d e r i v e d w o r d f o r m tS r ' r e d d e n i n g ' ;Sandstone : cw tsr, A r a b i c a l - J a b a l a l - a h m a r , 't h e r e d m o u n t a i n ' n e a r C a i r o , a s a n d s t o n er idge a s a n i s l a n d i n a l i m e s t o n e f o r m a t i o n ;Mars , t h e r e d p l a n e t , p e r s o n i f i e d a s Hr.w tsr, t r a d i t i o n a l l y tr a n s l a t e d a s ' t h e r e d H o r u s '( E rma n & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 3 1 : V , 4 8 9 , 7 ) ;

D e s i g n a t i o n s o f r e a l w o r l d o b j e c t s :


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Blood, especially tsr.w ' b l ood ' ;The sandy desert in tsr.t, 'mo un ta in land , desert , savannah (? ) ';The f lamingo: deduc ed fr om the hierogly phic s ign wi th the pho net ic value tsr;tsr.t ' the red crown' (of the k ing);mrs/mls/*mns, C op t i c mros etc. ' to be (light-?)red.'

The w o r d is c o m m o n i n C o p t i c . T h e d ic t i o n a r i e s v a r y i n i n d i c a t i n g t h e m e a n i n g b e t w e e nred a n d y e l l o w , o r i n t e r m e d i a t e t o n e s , b r i g h t r e d a n d b l o n d h a v e a l s o b e e n u s e d as t r a n s lat ion e q u i v a l e n t s . I n d e t e r m i n i n g t h e m e a n i n g i n t h e r e c e nt l i te r a t u r e, t h e e t y m o l o g i c a lassociation w i t h t h e E g y p t i a n w o r d , mns.t, f o r a k i n d o f o c h r e h a s p l a y e d a m a j o r r o l e .Whereas t h e e a r li e r l i t e r a t u r e i n t e r p r e t e d i t a s y e l l o w o c h r e ( a l s o S c h e n k e l 1 9 6 3 ) , r e d o c h r eis i n c r e a s i n g l y p r e f e r r e d ( c f. B a i n e s 1 9 8 5 ) .

The r e f e r e n c e s i n t h e C o p t i c D i c t i o n a r y c o m p e l a d e f i n i t i o n i n t h e r e d r a n g e , b u t amore p r e c i s e d e t e r m i n a t i o n i s d i f f i c u l t s i n c e t h e C o p t i c t r a n s l a t i o n s o f G r e e k d o n o t s e e mto c o n s i s t e n t l y d i s t i n g u i s h mros a n d t h e o t h e r w o r d s f o r r e d (tors e t c . , trosr(e)s) ( C r u m1939:183). T h i s m a k e s an A r a b i c t r a n s l a t i o n w h i c h is n o t i n t h e C o p t i c D i c t i o n a r y m o r einteresting. J i i r g e n H o r n d r e w m y a t t e n t i o n t o a G r e e k - C o p t i c - A r a b i c w o r d l is t (S c a l e )where t h e C o p t i c a d j e c t i v e mers i s t r a n s l a t e d i n t o A r a b i c a s 'sqar ( Par i s , BN F , C o p t e44, f o l . 6 6 v s o . , 11. 4 6 a n d 5 6 ) a n d t h u s s o m e t h i n g l i k e ' f a i r - c o m p l e x i o n e d , b l o n d , r e d d i s h '( among t r a n s l a t i o n s in W e h r 1 9 7 9 : 5 6 2 ) . A n o t h e r G r e e k t r a n s l a t i o n p o i n t s i n t h e s a m edirection: zanthor ( r e a d xanthon) ( -> Par i s , BN F , C o p t e 44 , f o l . 66 v so . , 1. 56 ) w h ic h t h eGreek d i c t i o n a r y d e f i n e s as " y e l l o w , o f v a r i o u s s h a d e s , f r e q . w i t h a t i n g e o f r e d , b r o w n ,auburn " ( L i d d e l l & S c o t t 1 9 4 0 : 1 1 8 7 b ) .4. wlc ' t o be green ' :Character izations o f re a l ob j e c t s :

Malachite and other green stones;Green eye paint ;Plants, part icularly papyrus;Occasionally and not certain: the sky (-> Philae I , 160, 5-6);

Des ignat ions o f re a l ob j e c t s :The sea called wic wr, 'The great green.'

3.2.2 C o n c r e t e c o lo r w o r d s / N o n B C T sFor ins, mfk, hrs, ccb i n c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n s o f n o n r e a l o b j e c t s , s ee S e c t i o n 2 .1. cm s ' r e d ' o r t h e l i k e :Character ization o f re a l o b j e c t s , as v a r i a n t o f tsr:

The medica l f ind ing of redden ing ;Des ignat ion o f re a l ob j e c t s , a s va r i a n t o f dr .

The Red Crown of the k ing ;Character ization, n o t r e a l, b u t d r a w n f r o m t h e r e al w o r l d :


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The backside of a baboon (cf. Edel 1956:74-76) whose ears are tsr 'red.'The hieroglyph used in the writing o f the word represents the writing utensils. The colorcms cou ld thus be the red used in writing (as the Egyptians used black and red ink ). Harris(1961:227) suggested, however, that "T he word is derived from the flower or fru it of sometree, but cannot be identified precisely."2. c(w)r, wtr 'to be red ' or the like:Designation of real objects, as variant of tsr:

'The red' as designation for blood (Erman & Grapow 1926-1931: V, 386, 13).3. hsbc(.i?) 'lapis lazu li-like, blue':Designation for real objects:

Blue cloth;The adjective hsbc(.i?) 'lapis lazuli-like, blue' is derived from the word for the material,and is typically applied to nonreal ob jects, recalling the semi-precious stone or made of it,and thus means blue:

Eyes, hair, head, horns, or even the entire figure of gods;Accidentally, also for blue: of the heavens, but also for the greening of the ields(by the sunwhose rays render the ieldshsbc{.i?)), compare this with Section 2 above.4. cfrr (J?) 'to be lapis lazuli-like, blue':Designation of real objects, possibly less a designation than a metaphor:

'Very lapis lazuli-colored' (i:cfrr(.i?)) as a reference to the sky (in a religious text, > CTVII, 220b).5. nb.w(i?) 'golden':Designation of real objects, possibly less a designation than a metaphor:

'The Golden One' (?) as designation for the sun (Erman & Grapow 1926-1931: II, 239, 8).3.3 Summary

As the result of this investigation of the range o f uses of the color terms, we can conclude:1. Those w ords wh ich were initially identified as abstract {kmm 'black'; he, wbh 'white';

tsr 'red'; and wic 'green') were the most wide ly used color terms;2. The focus of tsr 'red' was in the red-range, and wVc 'green' in the green-range, as

traditional Egyptological interpretations imply, and not in the red-with-yellow or,respectively, green -with-blue ranges;

3. For the final, Coptic, stage, the red-range was partitioned in *tsrsr/trosr(e)s 'deep-red'and mrs/mls/*mns/mros 'light-red';4. All of the other, concrete terms have a restricted range of uses, largely restricted for

nonreal objects;5. In the final case, the prestigious b lue-range is highly significant.


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4. O n the etymologies of the color termsFol lowing t h e e a r li e r E g y p t o l o g i c a l i d e a s a d o p t e d b y H e r m a n n ( 1 9 6 9 ) , t h e a b s t r ac t c o l o rterms a r e d e r i v e d fro m o b j e c t - n a m e s : ' g r e e n ' fro m p a p y r u s - c o l o r e d , ' r e d ' fro m f l a m i n g o -colored, ' w h i t e ' f rom s t o n e - m a c e - c o l o r e d , ' b l a c k ' from c o a l - c o l o r e d . T h e o r i g i n o f t h eprinciple i s l es s t h e e t y m o l o g i c a l l i n k b e t w e e n t h e c o l o r t e r m s a n d t h e o b j e c t - n a m e s(which e x i s ts i n a t l e as t t w o c a s e s ) , s o m u c h a s t h e h i e r o g l y p h i c s i g n s u s e d a s w r i t t e n s y m bols t o w r i t e th e c o l o r w o r d s : p a p y r u s a n d g r e e n , f l a m i n g o a n d r e d, s t o n e m a c e a n d w h i t e(coal f o r ' b l a c k ' i s a n e r r o r ) . I n c o n t r a s t , d e r i v i n g t h e a b s t r a c t c o l o r w o r d s o r B C T s f r o mminerals, p a r t i c u l a r l y s e m i - p r e c i o u s s t o n e s , a s d o e s W a r b u r t o n ( 2 0 0 7 ) , i s m o r e a d e q u a t ebecause s u c h a l i n k e x is t s f o r t h e c o n c r e t e c o l o r w o r d s o r n o n B C T s ( S e c t i o n 2 a b o v e ) .

In f a c t , h o w e v e r , i n t h e c a se o f t h e f o u r e x i s t i n g a b s t r a c t c o l o r w o r d s o r B C T s , t h e s eare n o t n e w c r e a t i o n s b a s e d o n a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n g iv e n s . A l l f o u r ( o r m o s t ) c a n b e i d e n tified a s v e r b s i n t h e A f r o a s i a t i c l a n g u a g e s , a n d t h u s m u s t h a v e b e e n v e r b s i n t h e o r i g i n a lAfroasiatic Ursprache. T h e f o l l o w i n g e t y m o l o g i e s c a n b e p r o p o s e d :1. km m ' t o b e b l ack ' :Related t o S y r i a n a n d ( T a l m u d i c ) H e b r e w 'km ' t o b e b l a c k ' ( T a k a c s 1 9 9 9 : 2 1 9 ; a ls o a c c e p t e din t h e c r i ti c a l r e v i e w b y O s i n g 2 0 0 1 : 5 6 8 ) ;2. he ' t o b e w h i t e ' :Related t o A r a b i c shw, H e b r e w a n d S y r i a n shy, shh ' t o b e cl e a r, l i g h t ' ( O s i n g 2 0 0 1 : 5 7 9 ) .The u s e a s a c o l o r t e r m w o u l d t h u s b e a n i n t e r n a l d e v e l o p m e n t i n E g y p t i a n , w h i c h w o u l dalso e x p l a i n t h e c o n t i n u e d e x i s t e n c e o f t h e m e a n i n g ' t o b e l i g h t , ' e t c . ;3. tsr ' t o be red ' :Related t o S e m i t i c sh r ' t o b e r e d d i s h : A r a b i c ( v e r b , s t e m X I ) sh r ' t o b e w h i t e - r e d , y e l l o w ish,' ( a d j . ) 'ashar ' y e l l o w i s h - r e d , d e s e r t - c o l o r e d ' (sahra' ' d e se r t , ' ' Sah ara ' ) , Sy r i an asehar'to b l u s h ( S c h n e i d e r 1 9 9 7 : 2 0 8 ) . T h i s e t y m o l o g y is a b r i ll i a n t e x a m p l e o f t h e " N e w C o m parative" s c h o o l o f O t t o R o s s l er , r e j ec t e d b y th e t r a d i t i o n a l c o m p a r a t i v e s c h o o l b e c a u s ethe p h o n e t i c c h a n g e s a re d i s m i s s e d a s i m p o s s i b l e . H o w e v e r , s h o u l d t h i s b e n e v e r t h e l e sscorrect, t h e a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n d e s i g n a t i o n o f t h e d e s er t (tsr.t, ' t h e r e d ( l a n d ) ' ) w o u l d b ederived f r o m t h e s a m e w o r d as A r a b i c S a h a r a ;4. wVc ' t o b e g re e n ' :Related t o S e m i t i c a n d B e r b e r wrq ' t o b e g r e e n ' ( f ir s t E m b e r 1 9 3 0 : 9 ; t o d a y g e n e r a l l y a c cepted, c f. e .g . [ " N e w C o m p a r a t i v e " s c h o o l ] R o s s l e r 1 9 7 1 : 3 1 6 ; [t r a d i t i o n a l s c h o o l ] V y c i c h l1983:238).

These e t y m o l o g i e s p e r m i t t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t E g y p t i a n w a s a l r e a d y a t S t a ge I l i a i nprehistoric t i m e s .The s p e c i fi c p h i l o l o g i c a l l y b a s e d t r a n s l a t i o n s o f t h e c o l o r t e r m s o f l a n g u a g e s o t h e rthan E g y p t i a n p e r m i t s h i f t s o f f o c u s t o b e r e c o g n i z e d . I n h i s t o r i c a l t i m e s , t h e f o c u s o f tsr'to b e r e d ' l a y i n t h e r e d r a n g e , b u t i n t h e r e l a te d S e m i t i c l a n g u a g e s i t w o u l d a p p e a r t o b ecloser t o t h e l i g h te r y e l l o w i s h - r e d r a n g e . W h e t h e r E g y p t i a n o r S e m i t i c p r e s e r v e d t h e e a r l ie r


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226 Wo lfgang Schenkel

f o c u s c a n o n l y b e c o n c l u d e d o n t h e b a s i s o f a s t u d y o f B C T s i n A f r o a s i a t i c la n g u a g e s , w h i c his b e y o n d t h e c o m p e t e n c e o f a n E g y p t o l o g i s t .

A s i d e f r o m t h e i n h e r i t e d B C T s , C o p t i c ( t h e f inal s t a g e o f t h e E g y p t i a n l a n g u a g e )p r o d u c e d t w o n e o l o g i s m s : oubas ( e t c . ) ' t o b e w h i t e , ' w h i c h r e p l a c e d E g y p t i a n he ' t o b ew hit e ,' a n d a ls o t h e a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n mrs/mls/*mns, w h i c h b e c a m e C o p t i c mros ( e t c . ) ' t ob e ( l i g h t - ? ) r e d . ' T h e first i s a s h i f t w h e r e b y a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n wbh ' t o b e l i g h t ' w a s r e p l a c e dw i t h C o p t i c oubas ( e t c .) ' to b e w h i t e ' ; t h e s e c o n d is d e r i v e d f r o m t h e m a t e r i a l r e d o c h r e(mns.t).

T h e d e r i v a t i o n o f n a m e s fo r c o l o r t e r m s i n a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n f r o m o b j e c t - n a m e sis d e m o n s t r a b l e i n s o m e c a se s f o r N o n B C T s ( t r a d i t i o n a l w r i t t e n la n g u a g e ) : hsbc(.i?)' ( t o b e ) l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e , ' cfrr(.i?) ' ( t o b e ? ) l a p is l a z u l i - l ik e , b l ue , ' m / H . f t " t u r q u o i s e - l i k e ,g r e e n/ b lue .' O t h e r c o l o r i n d i c a t o r s o f t h i s k i n d a p p e a r , e. g ., ccb(.i?) ' c h a r c o a l - l i k e , b l a c k . 'N o n e o f t h es e N o n B C T s w h i c h d e v e l o p e d i n E g y p t i a n w a s m a i n t a i n e d ; n o n e w er e u s e di n C o p t i c .

T h e a n c i e n t N o n B C T s i n t h e r e d r a n g e (c m s , c(w)r) a re p r o b a b l y o f A f r o a s i a t i c o r i g i n ,a l t h o u g h a c o n c r e t e e t y m o l o g y c a n n o t b e p r o d u c e d . W h e t h e r t h e s e w e r e o r i g i n a l l y c o l o rt e r m s o r d e r i v e d f r o m o b j e c t s w i l l o b v i o u s l y d e p e n d u p o n d i s c o v e r y o f t h e e t y m o l o g i e s .

5. SummaryT h e e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n - C o p t i c c o l o r t e r m s a n d t h e ir g r a m m a t i c a l i d e n t i f icat ion, t h e r a n g e o f u s a g e , a n d t h e i r e t y m o l o g i e s p e r m i t t h e f o l l o w i n g c o n c l u s i o n s :1. T h e r e a r e f o u r B C T s , a l l v e r b s , ' t o b e ' kmm ' b l a c k , ' hi ( l a t e r wbh) ' w h i t e , ' tsr ' r e d ' a n d

wlc ' g r e e n ' ;2. T h e f o c u s o f tsr ' r e d ' i s i n t h e r e d r a n g e , a s t r a d i t i o n a l l y t r a n s l a t e d , a n d n o t e d b y

Baines ( 1 9 8 5 : 2 8 3 ) , a n d n o t i n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e r e d - w i t h - y e l l o w r a n g e , a s a r g u e df o l l ow ing t h e c o l o r c o n e a p p r o a c h b y S c h e n k e l ( 1 9 6 3 ) ;

3. T h e fo c u s o f wlc ' g r ee n ' l ie s , a s t r a d i t i o n a l l y t r a n s l a t e d , a n d n o t e d b y B a i n e s(1985 :283) i n t h e g r e e n ra n g e , a n d n o t i n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e g r e e n - w i t h - b l u e r a n g eas p r o p o s e d b y S c h e n k e l ( 1 9 6 3 ) o n t h e b a s i s o f t h e c o l o r c o n e p r o j e c t i o n , n o r i n t h epale g r e e n s u g g e s t e d b y t h e B e r l i n a n d K a y h y p o t h e s i s ;

4. I n t h e fina l, C o p t i c , s t a g e , t h e p a r t i t i o n o f t h e r e d r a n g e i n t o *tsrsr/trosr(e)s ' d e e p r e d 'and mrs/mls/*mns/mros ' l i g h t - r e d ' m u s t b e a s s u m e d ;

5. T h e t r a d i t i o n a l w r i t t e n la n g u a g e a l l o w e d a d d i t i o n a l p la c e f o r f u r t h e r v e r b a l c o l o rterms ( i .e . , B C T s ) , b u t t h e s e w e r e n o t p r e s e r v e d i n C o p t i c , a n d t h u s t h e y n e v e r e n t e r e dthe c o l l o q u i a l l a n g u a g e ;

6. A m o n g t h e s e a l t e r n a t iv e s , t h e u s e o f hsbc(.i?) ' la p i s l a z u l i - c o l o r e d ' is s t r i k i n g l y c o m m o n ; t h a t o f ccm(.i?) ' c h a r c o a l - l i k e , b l a c k ', nbw(.i?) ' g o l d e n ' is le ss c o m m o n ;

7. T h e d o m i n a n c e o f ' la p i s l a z u l i - c o l o r e d , b l u e ' w a s i n a d e q u a t e l y t r e at e d b y S c h e n k e l(1963) a n d B a i n e s ( 1 9 8 5 ) , d u e t o t h e i r m e t h o d o l o g i c a l p r e m i s e s ( s e m a n t i c fieldand B & K h y p o t h e s i s ) , a l t h o u g h r e c o g n i z e d b y t h e e m p i r i c is t s ( H e r m a n n 1 9 69 ;


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Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Coptic 227

Brunner-Traut 1977), and recently explicitly form ulated (Qu irke 2001:187; Warb ur-ton 2007). However, these latter go too far when concluding that Egyptian developed"a term translatable as blue before it develops a term translatable as yellow" (Qu irke2001:187). Egyptian did not, in fact, develop a BCT for either blue or yellow;

8. Egyptian-Coptic remains at Berlin and Kay Stage Ilia. It must be affirmed that the redrange was further partitioned in the final, Coptic, stage.

AcknowledgmentsI would like to thank David Warburton, who translated this contribution from Germaninto English and at the same time rendered it concise.

ReferencesBaines, John (1985). Color terminology and color classif ication: Ancient Egyptian color terminology and

polychromy. American Anthropologist, 87, 282 -297 .Berlin, Brent & Paul Kay (1969). Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution. Berkeley: University

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lagerstatten in Zeit und Raum. Oudheidkundige Mededelingen, 74, 55 -107 .Brunner-Traut,Em m a (1977). Farben. In W. Helck 8; W . We stendo rf (Eds.), Lexikon der Agyptologie (Vol .2: 117-128) . Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz.

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358-447). Stuttgart: Hiersemann.Liddell, He nry Georg e 8c Robert Scott (1940). A Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford : C larendon.Meeks, Dimitr i (1972) . iwn-n-pt = s [auanm pe] = le l in . Revue d'egyptologie, 24, 116-119.Nicholson, Paul T. 8c Ian Sha w (2000 ). Ancient Egyptian Minerals and Technology. Cambr idge: Cambr idge

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Schenkel, Wolfgang (1963). Die Farben in agyptischer Kunst und Sprache. Zeitschrift fur dgyptischeSprache und Altertumskunde, 88, 131-147.

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Takacs, Gabor (1999). Etymo logical Dictionary of Egyptian, Vol. 1. Leiden, Boston 8t Koln: Brill.Vycichl, Werner (1983). Dictionnaire etymologiqu e de la langue copte. Leuven: Peeters.Warburton, David A. (2007). Basic color term evolution in light of ancient evidence from the Near East. In

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