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abd: servant of
abeyya: women's version of the galabeeyah
abu: father, saint
Abu Shitaim: father of curses (often used by the Egyptian workmen in reference to Emerson)
Aga: title of respect, as Hassan Aga; basic meaning is landlord
ahwa: coffee and coffeehouse
ain: well, spring
Alemāni: German
Allah yimessīkum bil-kheir: God give you a good evening
Amerikāni: American
atef: the white crown of upper Egypt with red feathers added on each side; sometimes seen in the form of the Hemhem, or triple atef crown
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bahr: river
baksheesh: tip, present
baladi: local, rural
bawwab: doorman
bey: title of respect, as Hassan Bey; Ottoman Turkish; outranks Effendi and Aga
bir: spring, well
birket: lake
burko: face veil
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caliph, khalif : Islamic ruler
canopic jars: tomb containers for internal organs (liver, stomach, lungs, intestines) of the mummy
cartouche: oval shape enclosing the hieroglyphs of royal names
Coptic: pertaining to the Copts, Egyptian Christians
criosphinx: ram-headed sphinx, as at the avenue of criosphinxes at Temple of Amun at Karnak
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dahabeeyah: houseboat
darb: track, street
deir: monastery, convent
demotic: a late form of ancient Egyptian writing, very abbreviated compared to hieratic or hieroglyphic
Deshret: the red crown of Lower Egypt, low in front and tall in back, with a protruding coil, possibly of woven wickerwork
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effendi: sir, as Hassan Effendi
eid: feast
emir: ruler, military commander or governor
essalāmu įleikum: peace be with you
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fahddle: gossip
faience, faļence: opaque glass-like substance (same ingredients as glass, different proportions)
fellah (pl. fellahin): ploughman, tiller of the soil, peasant
Feransāwi: French, Frenchman
filoos: money
firman: permit, particularly a permit to excavate an archeological site
galabeeyah: loose man's robe
gebel: mountain or mountain range
gezira: island
guinay: Egyptian pound
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habib: friend
haj: pilgrimage to Mecca
hakim: doctor
hamman: bathhouse
hanim: lady, madam, courteous address to a Turkish lady, as Azize Hanim
hantour: horse-drawn carriage
harah: lane, alley
harīm, haramlik: women's quarters, family quarters
Hedjet: the white crown of Upper Egypt, a tall white conical headpiece, possibly of pleated fabric
heka: Pharaoh's royal crook, symbol of Upper Egypt
hezaam: sash
hieratic: the most usual, or script, form of ancient Egyptian writing
hieroglyphs: the most formal ancient Egyptian writing
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ibn: son of
iftar: breaking of the fast during Ramadan
imam: Islamic scholar or cleric
Inglizi: English
irsh: piastre (pt)
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jinni (pl. jinn): demon
jubba: vest
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ka: spirit, or double, of a living person which gained its own identity with the death of that person
khafiya: Bedouin headcloth
khamseen: hot wind from the Western Desert
khat: plain version of the Nemes headdress
khedive: Egyptian viceroy under the Ottomans (1867-1914)
Khepresh: the blue crown, or "war crown," a helmet, ornamented with golden discs, with the uraeus and vulture on the brow
khwaga: foreigner
klaft: apron-shaped headcloth worn by women
kubri: bridge
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limoon: a lemon drink
lotus: plant identified with Upper Egypt
L.P.H.: "Life, Prosperity, Health," in classical Egyptian "ankh weja seneb"
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Ma-a-kheru: True of voice, the justified; honorific for a dead person, as "the late"
mahatta: station
marhaba: welcome
mashrabiyya: carved screen
Masr: another name for Egypt and Cairo; also written as Misur, Misr
mastaba: a rectangular bench, and by extension, a mud-brick structure above a tomb of the same rectangular shape
midan: town or city square
modius: small crown made up of a ring of cobra heads
moulid: festival celebrating the birthday of a local saint or holy person
muezzin: mosque official who calls the faithful to prayer five times a day from the minaret
mugzzabin: Sufi followers who participate in zikrs in order to achieve unity with Allah
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nai: reed pipe
narghila: water pipe
natron: hydrated sodium carbonate; used in ancient Egypt to pack and dry bodies during mummification
Nekhbet: the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt (Nekhbet = 'she of Nekheb'); one of the Two Ladies who, with the cobra goddess Wadjet, formed part of Pharaoh's headdress
nekhekh: Pharaoh's royal flail, symbol of Lower Egypt
Nemes: a head-dress rather than a crown, as on the gold mask of Tutankhamun; a piece of striped cloth tight across the forehead, worn with the uraeus and the vulture on the brow
Nilometer: pit descending into the Nile, containing a marked central column which recorded the level of the river, especially during the inundation
nur: light; Nur Misur, Light of Egypt
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obelisk: monolith stone pillar, with square sides tapering to a pyramidal, often gilded, top
'Omdeh: local magistrate
oud: a sort of lute
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papyrus: plant identified with Lower Egypt; writing material made from the pith of the plant; a document written on such paper
pasha: ruler of Egypt, and also used more generally to denote someone of standing, as Enver Pasha; outranks a Bey or an Effendi; from Ottoman Turkish; also occasionally bestowed on Westerners, such as Thomas Russell Pasha
porphyry: from Greek porphyros (purple); a reddish-purple rock highly resistant to erosion. Many sarcophagi were made from porphyry
Pschent: The double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, the red crown and the white crown combined, the "Two Mighty Ones"
Pyramid Texts: paintings and reliefs on the walls of the internal rooms and burial chamber of pyramids, in particular the hymns vital to passage into the afterlife. In later times these texts would be painted on the sarcophagus
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qanun: zither
qarafa: cemetery ('q' is unvocalised)
qasr: castle or palace ('q' is unvocalised)
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reis: captain, foreman
risha: feather, or a style of sarcophagus in a multicolored, all-over feather pattern
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sabil: water fountain
safragi, suffragi: waiter
salamlik: men's quarters
sarcophagus: stone or marble coffin used to encase other wooden coffins and the mummy of the departed
scarab: dung beetle, sacred symbol of the sun-god Ra
serdab: hidden cellar in a tomb, or a stone room in front of a pyramid, containing a painted statue of the dead; pronounced SAIR-dab, rhymes with CHAIR
shadouf: water wheels, used for irrigation
Shari'a: Islamic law, the body of doctrine that regulates the lives of Muslims
sharia: road or street
sharm: bay
shay: tea
sheesha: water pipe
shuty: crown ... cap with double tall plumes
sitt: lady; Sitt Hakim, lady doctor
solar barque: wooden boat placed in or near a Pharaoh's tomb
stela (pl. stelae): inscribed slab or column, wood or stone
Sufi: follower of any of the Islamic mystical orders which emphasize dancing, chanting and trances to attain unity with Allah
sūk, sūq, souq, souk: bazaar, market
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tabla: small hand-held drum
tarboosh: hat, elsewhere known as a fez, Ottoman Turkish
Touareg: a desert tribe
towla: backgammon
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ukaf!: stop!
umm: mother of, as Umm Ramses
uraeus: cobra, symbol of the goddess Wadjet; a rearing cobra, hood inflated, always formed part of the Pharaoh's headdress, usually the serpent in the crown
ushebti/shawabti: magical statuette placed in the tomb, intended to volunteer for work assignments in place of the deceased; often found in sets
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wadi: watercourse canyon, dry except during the rainy season
Wadjet: the vulture goddess of Upper Egypt (Wadjet = 'the green one'); one of the Two Ladies who, with the vulture goddess Nekhbet, formed part of Pharaoh's headdress
wahah: oasis
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yalla!: go on! hurry!
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zabtiyeh: police station
zemr: a kind of oboe
zikr: long sessions of dancing, chanting and swaying
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Credits
Special
Thanks to Ann Sharp for her assistance in updating the glossary.
This page maintained by Margie Knauff and Lisa Speckhardt.