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

Interdisciplinary multilevel modeling, Amsterdam und Philadelphia, 2007, S. 211-228

Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Coptic

Wolfgang Schenkel
E g y p t o l o g i c a l Institute, 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 BCTs, all verbs, 'black,' white,' 'red' and 'green,' as traditionally translated. The focus of 'red' is in the red range and not in the middle of the red-with-yellow range. The focus of 'green' lies in the green range and not in the middle of the green-with-blue range nor in the pale green range. In the final, Coptic, stage, the partition of the red range into 'deep red' and 'light-red' must be assumed. The traditional written language allowed additional place for further verbal color terms, but these never entered the colloq uial language as BCTs. Among these alternatives, the use of 'lapis lazuli-colored, blue' is strik ingly common; that of'charcoal-like, black' and 'golden' is less common. Egyptian did not develop a BCT for either blue or yellow. Basically Egyptian-Coptic remained at B&K Stage Ilia.

l.

The ancient Egyptian and Coptic color terms in Egyptological d iscussion

I n a d i s c u s s i o n p u b l i s h e d well b e f o r e the f u n d a m e n t a l w o r k o f Berlin a n d K a y ( 1 9 6 9 ) , I c o n c l u d e d that ancient 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 (Schenkel 1963): ' b l a c k ' (kmm), b l u e ' [wic), 'white' {hi), ' r ed - w i t h - y e l l o w ' (rsr), a n d color terms 'green-with-

all o f w h i c h were verbs ('to b e black,' etc.). Based o n m o r p h o l o g i c a l features,

a w o r d for 'yellow' was also 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 research has since revealed that this was actually a n o t h e r w o r d f o r 'red ' ( C o p t i c mros etc. < E g y p t i a n mrs/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 the

a 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 ) are concrete in the sense that t h e y o n l y refer t o specific categories o f objects, as b l o n d is generally u s e d for hair, beer a n d t o b a c c o i n s o m e E u r o p e a n languages, or t h e y l i n k the c o l o r w i t h a n o b j e c t , as w i t h the E g y p t i a n w o r d for the s e m i - p r e c i o u s s t o n e lapis lazuli (hsbc) ( n o u n ) , f r o m w h i c h (a d jective) 'lapis l a z u l i - l i k e , b l u e ' is d erived . A d ecisive i m p e t u s for m y o r i g i n a l p r o j e c t was content-related linguistics as represented b y L e o Weisgerber, w h o h a d a n i n f l u e n t i a l role in G e r m a n y , far b e y o n d the U n i v e r s i t y o f B o n n , w h e r e h e was o n e o f m y teachers. Weisgerber stressed s e m a n t i c s - i n contrast t o the t h e n - d o m i n a n t structural linguistics, w h i c h s t o o d in o p p o s i t i o n t o s e m a n t i c s ( a l t h o u g h 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 i n the U S ) . Strands hsbc(.i?)

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o f structural linguistics were, h o w e v e r , also i n c l u d e d . O n e o f t h e objectives was t o o r g a n i z e 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 systems o f o p p o s i t i o n ( s e m a n t i c field t h e o r y ) , o n e o f t h e p r i n c i p a l e x a m p l e s o f w h i c h were t h e color words, o n e o f t h e f e w areas o f v o c a b u l a r y w h e r e t h e efforts were c learly suc c essful, a n d m y efforts m u s t b e u n d e r s t o o d i n t e r m s o f this s t r u c t u r a l a p p r o a c h . C o n t e n t - r e l a t e d linguistic s perc eived t h e w o r l d as linguistic ally d i v i d e d . C o l o r s were n o t n a t u r a l , b u t rather d e t e r m i n e d b y l a n g u a g e , a n d this, i n t u r n , steers the b e h a v i o r o f h u m a n i t y w i t h regard t o reality. T h e o r i g i n a l essay also d e l v e d i n t o t h e striking c o l o r 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 were d o c u m e n t e d b u t a s s u m e d t o b e w i t h o u t p u r p o s e . T h e spec ific c ases were t h o s e w h e r e o n e a n d the s a m e o b j e c t w a s p a i n t e d alternatively, s o m e t i m e s r e d / s o m e t i m e s yellow, o r s o m e t i m e s g r e e n / s o m e t i m e s b l u e ( S m i t h 1949; W i l l i a m s 1932). 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 that red & y e l l o w a n d green & b l u e were 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 that, a l t h o u g h the E g y p tians c o u l d d i s t i n g u i s h the h u e s visually, t h e objec ts c o u l d b e p a i n t e d w i t h different h u e s w h e r e 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 reality, o f c ourse, the l i n k b e t w e e n the 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 the c h o i c e o f a c o l o r c a n n o 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 ase, the 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 available, 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 e c o n t e n t i o n , n a m e l y that t h e c h o i c e o f c o l o r s d e p e n d s exc lusively u p o n the c olors available ( B l o m - B o e r 1994). T h e E g y p t i a n artist w o u l d always 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 e as dec isive, whereas the 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 less i m p o r t a n t . T h i s c a n b e illustrated b y a n o t h e r e x a m p l e , neglec t o f t h e laws o f perspec tive. A n o b j e c t i n a n a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n i m a g e c an b e unfolded s o that it c an 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 different

angles, 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 spac e. I n t h e s a m e f a s h i o n , the c o n c e p t i o n o f a c o l o r w a s dec isive in selec tion, m e a n i n g that the c ategoric al c lassific ation m u s t h a v e m a t c h e d a c o l o r t e r m , w h i c h was m e n t a l l y present. T h e issue 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 s a n e w study. I w o u l d a d v o c a t e that m y o w n statistic al estimates o f c o l o r 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 s s h o u l d b e replac ed w i t h m o r e reliable data, b u t this m u s t b e left t o o u r c olleagues w h o are 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 e issue here, h o w e v e r , as w e are c o n c e r n e d w i t h c o l o r t e r m s . T h e E g y p t o l o g i c a l literature d i d n o t i m m e d i a t e l y seize u p o n m y suggestion that a d i s t i n c t i o n b e m a d e b e t w e e n abstrac 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 (1969:362-373)

e v e n suggested that t h e idea o f the E g y p t i a n s h a v i n g o n l y f o u r abstrac t c o l o r t e r m s w a s itself m i s t a k e n . H e w a s u n a b l e t o ac c ept that 'red' c o u l d also b e ' y e l l o w ' o r that 'green' c o u l d also b e 'blue,' o r e v e n that ' b l a c k ' c o u l d also b e 'gray.' H e d i d , h o w e v e r , p o i n t o u t (as I d i d ) that the 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 refer t o y e l l o w o r b l u e b y referring t o a n o b j e c t o r s u b s t a n c e o f t h e relevant c olor. H e d i d n o t ac c ept the c o n c e p t o f a c ategor ic al d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e abstrac 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 spec ific ation. H e r m a n n also suggested that there was a signific ant 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 n t h e l i m i t e d n u m b e r o f abstrac t c o l o r t e r m s i d e n t i f i e d as o p p o s e d t o the n u m b e r o f c o l ors visible i n E g y p t i a n art. N o less c o n c i l i a t o r y was 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 ) w h o (like H e r m a n n ) c o m p o s e d a list o f c o l o r t e r m s ( a n d substanc es) w h i c h w a s based o n G e r m a n , a n d n o t E g y p t i a n , s o that t h e e q u i v a l e n t s are t h e G e r m a n abstrac t t e r m s , s u p -

Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Coptic

p l e m e n t e d b y ref erences t o substances (e.g. 'ochre c o l o r e d ' o r 'lapis lazuli c o l o r e d ' ) . T h e linguistic 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 . T h e q u e s t i o n o f the m e a n i n g o f the c o l o r t e r m s was again t a k e n u p b y Baines ( 1 9 8 5 ) , w h o was able t o b u i l d o n t h e theoretical structure established b y Berlin a n d K a y ( w h i c h w o u l d also have 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 she n o t e x c l u d e d t h e o r y f r o m the o u t s e t ) . Baines c o n c l u d e d that E g y p t i a n h a d f o u r basic c o l o r t e r m s ( B C T s ) , ' b l a c k ' 'white' (he), 'red' ( f i r ) , a n d 'grue' {wit), (kmm), w h i c h are clearly the s a m e as t h o s e abstract c o l o r

w o r d s (based o n t h e t e r m i n o l o g y o f a n earlier s c h o o l ) presented i n m y 1963 paper. B a i n e s w as able t o place this i n t o a m o r e universal linguistic system a n d t h u s t o classif y t h e ancient E g y p t i a n l a n g u a g e at Berlin a n d K a y Stage I l i a . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h e c o n f u s i o n b e t w e e n linguistics a n d p i g m e n t s i n the w o r l d o f c o l o r w a s n o t e l i m i n a t e d f r o m the E g y p t o l o g i c a l literature b y Baines's use o f Berlin a n d Kay. It r e m a i n s a f act that t h e linguistic insights o f B l o m - B o e r ' s ( 1 9 9 4 ) w o r k are n o t at t h e s a m e level as h e r k n o w l e d g e o f p i g m e n t s . I n his 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 ) stresses t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h the real w o r l d , b u t also i n c l u d i n g Berlin a n d K a y a n d the s u b s e q u e n t d i s c u s s i o n , i n c l u d i n g Baines. A c c o r d i n g t o his v e r s i o n , the a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n t e r m s are really related t o t h e c o l o r s o f spec ific materials, n a m e l y p r e c i o u s stones, from w h i c h the t e r m s w o u l d b e e t y m o l o g i c a l l y derived. T h e r e w o u l d t h u s b e at least initially n o abstrac t c o l o r terms, b u t o n l y c onc rete t e r m s , so that, say, 'grue' {wic) w o u l d t h u s o r i g i n a l l y at least m e a n ' m a l a c h i t e - l i k e ' 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 this 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 Berlin a n d K a y : it is entirely reasonable t o a s s u m e that 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 at a l o w e r level o f d e v e l o p m e n t t h a n the historic al Stage I l i a . It is c o n c e i v a b l e that t h e t e r m s m u s t 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 are t h u s a reasonable suggestion. It is, h o w e v e r , a n entirely different m a t t e r w h e n suggesting that t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n t h e c o l o r w o r d s a n d the c olors o f m i n e r a l s c o n t i n u e d i n t o historic al times. T h e extent t o w h i c h the 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 disc ussed i n the f o l l o w i n g p a r a g r a p h s a n d i n S e c t i o n 4. W e w i l l d i v i d e the m a t t e r i n t o three issues: 1. T h e issue o f c o l o r t e r m s i n general a n d p a r t i c u l a r usage. T h e d i s c u s s i o n w i l l b e based u p o n t h e range o f use d e p e n d e n t u p o n their roles as parts o f speec h, as a c r i t e r i o n f o r distinguishing BCTs a n d n o n B C T s (Sec tion 2); 2. 3. T h e issue o f t h e general 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 their spec ific f o c u s ( e x t e n s i o n vs. i n t e n s i o n ) ( S e c t i o n 3); T h e q u e s t i o n o f the 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 ) .

N o t e that in the f o l l o w i n g d i s c u s s i o n o f anc ient E g y p t i a n matters, referenc es t o a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n texts ( 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 text e d i t i o n s ) w i l l b e c ited 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 referenc es are m a r k e d - a n d are n o t listed i n the Referenc es ( 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 1992).

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2.
2.1

The basics: Parts of speech of the ancient Egyptian color terms

e Ge n r a l note s o n the parts o f spe e ch 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 are e ithe r ve rbs or adje ctive s. F o r e x a m p l e , tsr is a ve rb 'to b e re d,' w h i l e hsbc(.t?) is a n adje ctive , 're lating t o lapis lazuli, lapis l a z u l i - l i k e , blue .'

Ve rbs f o r m participle s, a n d t h u s adje ctival v er b f o r m s . For e x a m p l e , fir 'to be re d' f o r m s a n active p a r t i c i p l e tsr ' b e i n g re d,' a n d , s i m p l i f i e d , a n adje ctive , 're d.' Ve rbal c o l o r t e r m s c a n t h u s a p p e a r i n a n y syntactical 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 adje ctival c o l o r t e r m s c a n b e use d. N o n p a r t i c i p i a l adje ctival c o l o r te rms, h o w e v e r , can o n l y b e u s e d i n adje ctival role s. I n E g y p t i a n , all adje ctive s can b e u s e d attributive ly, a n d also ge ne rally as pre dicate s. O n e can f o r m the n o m i n a l phrase s ir. t tsr. t 'red e ye ' a n d ir. t hsbc. t 'lapis l a z u l i - l i k e / b l u e e ye ' f r o m the verb tsr 'to b e re d' a n d the adje ctive hsbc(.i?) 'lapis l a z u l i - l i k e, b l u e ' ( w h e r e the ' f -

s u f n x is m e r e l y the f e m i n i n e e n d i n g r e q u i r e d t o re nde r the adje ctive s c o n g r u e n t w i t h the ir.t 'e ye ,' w h i c h is f e m i n i n e ) . A d j e c t i v e s c a n also b e u s e d as pre dicate s, e .g., tsr ir.t 'the e ye is re d' o r hsbc(.i) ir.t 'the e ye is lapis l a z u l i - l i k e , blue .' T h e E g y p t i a n s particularly favore d

c o n s t r u c t i o n s l i n k i n g a n adje ctive a n d a d e f i n i n g substance , w h e r e b y g r a m m a r i a n s ar e n o t i n a g r e e m e n t as t o w h e t h e r the usage is adje ctival or pre dicative : Hr.w tsr ir.ti w i t h the t w o re d e ye s,' Hr.w hsbc(.i?) 'Horus

ir.ti ' H o r u s w i t h t h e t w o lapis l a z u l i - l i k e / b l u e e ye 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 as 'he w h o is re d ( b l u e ) w i t h re spe ct t o the e ye s' (adje ctival) o r 'he w h o s e e ye s are re d ( b l u e ) ' (pre dicative ). Ve rbal c o l o r t e r m s can se rve as adje ctival pre dicate s u s i n g adje ctival participle s, b u t t h e y can also b e u s e d as ve rbal pre dicate s, a n d t h u s i n syntactic role s available o n l y t o ve rbs. E v e n i f it is rare , ve rbal c o l o r t e r m s c a n also b e u s e d i n diffe re nt te nse s, w h i c h is i m p o s s i b l e f o r adje ctive s. S u m m a r i z i n g , w e can say that ve rbal c o l o r t e r m s can b e u s e d m o r e fle xibly t h a n n o n p a r t i c i p i a l adje ctive s, a n d t h u s it can h a r d l y b e accide ntal that the ancie nt E g y p t i a n B C T s we re verbs: kmm, he, tsr, wic, 'to be ' 'black,' 'white ,' 're d' a n d 'gre e n,' re spe ctive ly. A d d i t i o n a l ve rbal 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 parts o f spe e ch are also i m p o r t a n t f o r c o l o r t e r m s since E g y p t i a n - C o p t i c g r a d u ally lost t h e d e r i v e d ad jectival f o r m s w h i l e retaining the c a t e g o r y o f t h e verb. I n C o p t i c , the final stage, the ad jectives are o n l y preserved as relics. 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 n the verbal c o l o r t e r m s a n d the o r i g i n a l d e r i v e d participles 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 pred icative f u n c t i o n was lost. 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 e u s e d attributively ( a l t h o u g h ad jectival relative clauses w i t h verbal pred icates c o u l d ) . T h e B C T s were t h u s all available as verbs ( w h e r e b y i n d i v i d u a l w o r d s were replaced a n d a fifth B C T was a d d e d ) , b u t n o t t h e o r i g i n a l ad jectives. T h e verbal c o l o r t e r m s were t h u s m o r e stable i n t e r m s o f the h i s t o r y o f language. T h e d igitalized slip archive (> D Z A ) o f the 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 the 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 Sciences a n d H u m a n i t i e s [ h t t p . / / a a e w . b b a w . d e / t l a / ] p r o v i d e s m o s t o f the 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 that o f t h e d ictionary (Erman & Grapow 1926-1963).

Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Coptic

2.2

Explicit statements a b o u t the colors o f objects T h e abstract c o l o r t e r m s a p p e a r as verbs in statements a b o u t the c o l o r o f objects. O t h e r i n d i c a t i o n s o f color, particularly w i t h ref erence t o m i n e r a l s , are n o n v e r b a l . T h e s i t u a t i o n is particularly clear i n the s c h e m a t i c f o r m u l a e o f the 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 c t e m p l e at E d f u . F r o m the p r e s c r i p t i o n s w e shall - i n the sense o f the p o i n t s discussed b e l o w S e c t i o n 3 - seek t h o s e statements describing the colors o f objects i n t h e real w o r l d (-- E d f o u II, 205f f .). T h e rules 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 ref erences s u p p l e m e n t i n g those f r o m Edf u. T h e f o l l o w i n g verbal B C T s are f o u n d : kmm 'to be black'; he 'to be white'; t$r 'to be red'; mrs 'to be (light-?)red' (f or the meaning, see Section 3). T h e w o r d wic 'to b e green' is n o t f o u n d here, w h i c h c a n b e e x p l a i n e d as accidental, b u t p e r h a p s also because the c o l o r s i n t h e g r e e n - b l u e range are m o r e precisely d i s t i n g u i s h e d w i t h ref erences t o minerals. A s m i n e r a l s a n d other objects can b e f o u n d : nb(.w) 'gold'; sl(.wi) 'two-thirds gold' (an alloy); nb.w n(.i) sp-3 'gold of the third quality'; nb(.w) nfr n(J) hls.t 'f ine Desert Gold'; hrs.t 'carnelian' (which thus had a different color than the tlx 'red' f ound in the same tex tual context, possibly a yellow variety); nSm(.t) 'green feldspar' (casual reference, > Turin Cat. 1966 [love songs] , rto. 2, 4, prob ably for green); hsbc 'lapis lazuli'; enh n(.i) sft 'the color o f the wings o f the s/r-bird' (species undetermined). I n detail, the s i t u a t i o n is as f o l l o w s : 1. B C T s (verbs): a. C l a u s e w i t h verbal predicate ( O l d Perfective): iwn^f 'its color': km(.w) 'is black' (-> Edfou II, 208, 1), km(.w) nht 'is dark black' (- Edfou II, 207, 12-13; 207, 14-208, 1); hc(.w) nht 'is bright-white' ( - Edfou II, 207, 1); tsr(.w) 'is red' ( - Edfou II, 205, 16; 206, 6; 206, 16; 207, 12-13; 207, 13), alongside hvn^fpw: tsr 'that is its color: red (or: being red?)' (-> Edfou II, 205, 14); mrs(.w) 'is (light-?) red' ( - > Edfou II 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 'their character consists o f :

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Wolfgang Schenkel

iwn tsr 'red

color' (of mountains where gold

is found ) ( - > Turin gold

mine m a p

[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 ) pred icate; 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 'its c o l o r consists o f : nb(.w) 'gold ' ( - Ed fou II, 205, 13; 205, 14; 206, 5; 206, 9); hrs.t 'carnelian' (-> Ed fou II, 206, 3); iwn^sn m 'its c o l o r consists o f :
S J ( . W I )

'two-third s gold ' (an alloy) ( - > Ed fou II, 217, 4, not in the context o f a prescrip

tion); also n o n m i n e r a l s as c o m p a r a t i v e material: iwn^fmi 'its c o l o r is like that o f : iwn (n(.i)) cnh (n(.i) sft) 'the color o f the wings o f the s/r-bird' ( - Edfou II 207, 7,

corrected after 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 phrase: ' s o m e t h i n g is' mi 'like': Edfou II, 207, 8; 207, 10; presumably also 207, 8;

iwn n(.i) nb(.w) 'the color o f gold' rwn (n(.i)) nb(.w) hrf

kc 'color o f gold and kc -mineral';

iwn n(.() nsm(.t) 'the color o f green feldspar' (> Turin Cat. 1966 [love songs], rto. 2, 4); iwn n(.i) hsbc 'the color o f lapis lazuli' (of a lake) (-> Nauri-Decree [J EA 13, PI. X L ] , 11); ' s o m e t h i n g i s ' m 'consisting o f : iwn n(.i) nb.w n(.i) sp-3 'the color o f gold o f the third quality' (of copper) (> pHarris I, 78,4-5); iwn (n(.i)?) nb(.w) nfr n(.i) hls.t 'the color (of) fine Desert Gold' (of copper) (* pHarris I, 47, 4); iwn (n(.i)?) nb(.w) 'the color (of) gold' (of copper) (> pHarris I, 6, 9); here also 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)} cnh n(.i) sft 'the color o f the wings o f the s/t-bird' ( - > Edfou II, 207, 11).

2.3

C o l o r statements about objects I n statements a b o u t t h e c o l o r s o f objects, the B C T s generally a p p e a r as participles 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 their verbal character. C o n c r e t e 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 are also used as adjectives, as m a y b e expected. T h e r e are, h o w e v e r , s o m e cases o p p o s i n g the basic rules. T h e usage was n o t consistent 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 language. F o r e t y m o l o g i c a l rea s o n s ( m o r e i n S e c t i o n 4 ) verbal usage c a n n o t b e a s s u m e d f o r the early p e r i o d ; the usage

C o l o r terms in ancient E g y p t i a n a n d C o p t i c

c a n n o t b e precisely d e f i n e d . It m u s t also b e e x c l u d e d for C o p t i c , the latest phase o f the d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e language. T h e issue o f t h o s e textual contexts w h e r e verbal f o r m s appear is t h u s e v e n m o r e interesting: T h e s e are n e o l o g i s m s i n the t r a d i t i o n a l w r i t t e n language, n o t the c o l l o q u i a l . T h 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 the statements a b o u t the c o l o r o f objects: 1. a. BC T s (verbs, participles): kmm 'to b e black':

T h e w o r d is generally u s e d as a participle or adjective, even as a predicate. T h e r e are, h o w e v e r , also references i n w h i c h the w o r d is used 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 at a n e p o c h w h e n the adjectival category was still existent:
" K e e p ( 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 l t h e 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), until the

m o u n 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 flows 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 t s 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 ) ) ; ' s o as t o c a u s e t h e e t o b e b l a c k (wn=t km.ti) ( - p C h e s t e r B e a t t y V I I , r t o . 8, 4 ) ; ' h e is 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 II, 2 0 8 , 4 ) ; nht)' (> l i k e H o r u s , a n d r e d (tsr[.ti]) (like Seth).'

' h i s c o l o r is r e d ( b r o w n ? ) (iw-ftsr(.w)), E d f o u II, 2 0 7 , 1 2 - 1 3 ) .

a n d h e is v e r y b l a c k ( d a r k ? ) (wn=fkm(.w)

A d d i t i o n a l references are i n S u b s e c t i o n 2.2 above. I n C o p t i c the verb was still used, b e i n g f u l l y inflected ( i n f i n i t i v e a n d qualitative, etc.). T h e participle is preserved as a relic (kam b. he 'to b e white,' later wbh 'to b e white': etc.). kmom

T h e verbal character o f the c o l o r w o r d he 'to b e w h i t e ' c a n n o t b e s h o w n w i t h equal clarity o r e v e n the s a m e a b u n d a n c e as earlier.-Aside f r o m the specific m e a n i n g o f a c o l o r w o r d is the m o r e general m e a n i n g 'to 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 later texts the m e a n i n g e v e n appears as 'to s h i n e ' as the activity o f the light o f the s u n . T h e verbal use is c o m m o n i n this general m e a n i n g , a n d can b e seen i n the reference just cited f o r b l a c k , a n d i n S u b s e c t i o n 2.2 above. O n l y t h e adjectival f o r m o f the w o r d is preserved in C o p t i c (hat etc.). T h e v e r b is replaced b y another, w h i c h o n l y a p p e a r e d in t h e course o f the historical d e v e l o p m e n t o f the language:
wbh 'to b e l i g h t , t o shine'.

T h i s o n l y appears i n the latest f o r m o f E g y p t i a n u s i n g the o r i g i n a l script ( D e m o t i c ) as a c o l o r w o r d f o r w h i t e a n d is t h e n u s e d in C o p t i c i n place o f he 'to b e w h i t e ' (oubas). C o p t i c also used the adjectival relic o f this v e r b o g i s m , *cnw ' b e a u t i f u l ' (?) > C o p t i c alaou (ouobs). T he

A s a n adjective, a n d exclusively as a n adjective, f o r w h i t e C o p t i c uses a n o t h e r n e o l 'white' w h i c h has n o t b e e n discovered in a n y p r e - C o p t i c stage o f t h e language; even t h e o r i g i n o f the w o r d r e m a i n s d o u b t f u l . c. tsr 'to b e red':

Wolfgang Schenkel

T h e w o r d is generally u s e d as a p a r t i c i p l e / a d j e c t i v e , e v e n as a predicate. T h e r e are, h o w e v e r , also references w h e r e the w o r d is 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 at a n e p o c h w h e r e t h e adjectival c a t e g o r y was still i n use: 'But as for any future king w h o shall overthrow any o f m y plans, and just says: 'The lands are under m y authority (anyway), and they are mine as they were his,' - (this will be) a bad thing in the opinion o f the gods. See, he will be accused [mk tw-tw r wsb=f) in Heliopolis they (i.e., those of Heliopolis) are the Divine Tribunal... they will defend (ir=sn wsb) their property. They will become red (tsr-sn) as firebrands, so that they may burn up (snwh^sn) the bodies o f those w h o fail to heed me; and they will consume (sf r sswn) whoever upsets m y plans, to cast h i m (down) on the slaughtering-block o f the Netherworld.' (- KRI 1,69, 2 - 6 , after - KRI Translations I, p. 59; although one could structure the text differently, it is a future verbal form: 'they will become red' or 'they will be red' o f the suffix conjugation and not an adjective *'fhey are red.'); 'his body is red (h .Uftsr) like the color of gold' ( ^ Edfou II, 207, 8.). A d d i t i o n a l references h a v e already b e e n cited u n d e r kmm 'to b e black': 'he is red(brown?) { wnn^f tsr[.w]), (but) not (entirely?) black (n km=f)' ( - * Edfou II, 208, 4); 'his color is red(brown?) (iwn~ftsr[.w]), II, 207, 12-13). A l t h o u g h partially restored, a reference cited a b o v e ( ' b l a c k like H o r u s , ' 'red like Seth,' > p C h e s t e r Beatty V I I rto. 8, 4 ) is also h i g h l y indicative. T h e verbal usage was also 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. I n C o p t i c t h e v e r b w a s i n use, f u l l y inflected ( i n f i n i t i v e a n d qualitative rors, tors etc.), t h e p a r t i c i p l e s u r v i v i n g as a relic (fors etc.) ( 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 cati ng v e r b (trosr(e)s) i s m o r e f r e 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 n from E g y pi t an: *tsrsr, Coptic trosr(e)s 'to be very (?) red' (for more detai l, cf. Section 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, Copt i c mros etc., and the li ke, Copti c 'to be (li ght-?)red' (for detai ls, cf. and he is very black (wn-fkm[.w] nht)' (> Edfou

Secti on 3 below). T h i s i s already 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 adjecti ve, b u t i t b e c a m e a v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m (mros); d. wlc 'to b e green': the adjecti ve also survi ves i n C o p t i c (mers etc.).

A l t h o u g h d o u b t m a y b e t h r o w n o n t o the verbal character o f the c o l o r t e r m , t h e w o r d also m e a n s 'to b e fresh, t o prosper,' w h e r e t h e verbal character c a n n o t b e d o u b t e d . It i s therefore d i f f i c u l t t o i solate cases w h e r e t h e use o f the c o l o r t e r m as a v e r b can b e c l a i m e d w i t h certa i nty. O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , log i c w o u l d suggest that t h e verbal character o f t h e c o l o r t e r m can b e a s s u m e d , based o n t h e verbal character o f t h e alternati ve m e a n i n g .

Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Coptic

T h e w o r d is preserved i n C o p t i c w i t h t h e s a m e rang e o f m e a n i n g s as in E g y p t i a n {ouot etc.). 2. a. Concrete/Nonbasic color terms u n k n o w n in colloquial Eg yptian and in Coptic, which w a s closer t o the colloquial:. ccb (factitive) 'to render like charcoal, t o blacken':

A v e r b ccb c a n b e f o u n d i n t h e literary l a n g u a g e o f the 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 : V, 536, 4 ) , b u t the v e r b is u n k n o w n in C o p t i c : (label o f a g od) 'he w h o makes the body black (charcoal-like) with charcoal' (partici ple ccb with verbal actants) (magic spells in medical texts: - > pHearst 11, 13; pLondon 16, 8) b. hrs 'carnelian-like,' 'to b e red': med.

T h e w o r d , hrs 'carnelian-like,' 'to b e red,' is f o u n d i n P t o l e m a i c - R o m a n literary E g y p t i a n . It is also used w i t h respect t o the eyes, m e t a p h o r i c a l l y i n t h e sense o f ' b e i n g a n g r y o r f u r i o u s ' (like tsr 'to b e r e d ' ) , o r ' g l e a m i n g , glittering.' It is n o t f o u n d i n C o p t i c . E x a m p l e s ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 6 3 : III, 1 5 1 , 1 - 2 ; m o r e references D Z A 2 7 2 6 6 7 5 0 ff.):

(caption above Horus o f Edfu) 'whose two eyes are carnelian-like/red' (-> Edfou 1 3 1 , 8 , participle hrs in a verbal relative construction); w i t h factitive m e a n i n g : 'I make m y two eyes carnelian-like/red (hrs(.i)'l), ( ; W ) ' ( - Edfou V I , 75,7-8; also 178, 3). T h i s q u o t e also i n c l u d e s a n e x a m p l e o f the 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 n literary 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 , 100, 5 ) , b u t n o t f r o m C o p t i c . c. mfk... 'turquoise-like,' 'to b e green' (?): I make m y two eyes red like ins.l textile

T h e v e r b mfk is k n o w n f r o m the P t o l e m a i c - R o m a n literary l a n g u a g e w i t h the m e a n i n g 'to b e glad, j o y o u s , ' strictly s p e a k i n g , 'to s h i n e ' ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1926-1963:11, 58, 3 - 5 , b u t cf. also II, 5 8 , 2 ) , t h e m e a n i n g o f w h i c h is d e r i v e d f r o m the glitter o f faience, mfki.t(i?)

'turquoise-like.' References w h e r e mfk c a n b e u n d e r s t o o d as a v e r b i n c l u d e t h e participle i n m o s t cases, a n d t h u s the adjectival usage, b u t this c o u l d easily b e a n o n p a r t i c i p i a l adjective. It w o u l d t h u s f o l l o w that n o specifically verbal c o l o r t e r m mfk can b e i d e n t i f i e d ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1926-1963:11, 57, 9 - 5 8 , 1, a n d m o r e detailed w o r d is n o t f o u n d in C o p t i c . d. hsbc 'lapis l a z u l i - l i k e , blue': D Z A 23998820ff.). T h i s d o e s

n o t , 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 verbal c o l o r w o r d mfk 'to b e green.' I n a n y case, such a

A v e r b hsbt (< hsbc) 'lapis l a z u l i - l i k e , b l u e ' is f o u n d in literary E g y p t i a n f r o m t h e N e w K i n g d o m a n d the 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 t h e N e w K i n g d o m ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1926-1963:111, 334, 2 0 ) : 'Nut (i.e., the personified heaven) is behind you (i.e., the sun-god, the sun), lapis lazulilike/blue {hsbt.tl)! (-> B D Naville, 15A, II 8); 'Nut enters lapis lazuli-like/blue (hsbt.t(l?)) behind you.' ( - T T 65); 'Your (i.e., the deceased to w h o m the text was directed) head is lapis lazuli-like (hsbt.y),

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Wolfgang Schenkel

your hair is blacker than the doors o f any star when eclipsed. Your hair places (?, lapis lazuli over your face' (> B D Naville, 172, 12). References o f P t o l e m a i c - R o m a n date w i t h factitive m e a n i n g ( o n l y v e r b a n d o b j e c t ) :

fm.w)

(of the sun) 'who renders the fields lapis lazuli-like/blue (!) with his rays' (-> Edfou I, 106, 2 - 3 , participle hsbt); (of the sun) 'who renders his fields lapis lazuli-like/blue (!)' (* Edfou I, 71, 11, participle hsbt). e. cfrr 'to b e lapis l a z u l i - l i k e , blue':

A v e r b cfrr 'to b e lapis l a z u l i - l i k e , b l u e ' is k n o w n f r o m the literary E g y p t i a n o f the P t o l e m a i c - R o m a n 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, 300, 4 ) , b u t n o t in C o p t i c : '(fields) being lapis lazuli-like/blue (tfrr.(w}(?)t(i?)) on 'flax' (cf. Meeks 1972:116). with (the plant) color-of-heaven (i.e.,

blue blossoming flax)' (-> Edfou IV, 31, 109,10-11; - > Diimichen, Geogr. Inschr. IV, 118),

2.4

Summary E x a m i n i n g parts o f speech that c o n s t i t u t e c o l o r t e r m s yields: 1. I n all 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 were i n use, viz., 'to be ' b l a c k ' (kmm), 'green' 2. (wlc); m o r e pre Coptic 'white' (he, later replaced b y wbh, C o p t i c oubas etc.), 'red' (fsr), a n d

B e g i n n i n g i n the latest stages o f the E g y p t i a n l a n g u a g e , t h e red range is p a r t i t i o n e d i n t o t w o v e r b a l c o l o r t e r m s ( t o b e specified b e l o w , S e c t i o n 3): red (tsr), c i s e l y ' ( d e e p - ? ) red' (*tsrsr, C o p t i c trosr[e]s), mros etc.); an d ' ( l i g h t - ? ) red' (mrs/mls/*mns,

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 literary l a n g u a g e also f o r m e d verbal c o l o r t e r m s b a s e d u p o n materials, i n c l u d i n g ' ( d a r k - ? ) green ,' a nd a b o v e all i n t h e b l u e ran ge. T h e s e latter are strikin gly c o m m o n . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , there are n o t e r m s w h i c h separate a y e l l o w ran ge f r o m the red ran ge.

3.
3.1

The identification of the meanings of the ancient Egyptian-Coptic

P r o l e g on me a

color

terms

T h e p h i l o l o g i s t s t u d y i n g t h e texts 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 the m e a n i n g o f a w o r d in itially t h r o u g h its use a n d its e x t e n s i o n . P h i l o l o g y c a n establish t h e o b j e c t s t o w h i c h a c o l o r t e r m is a p p l i e d . T h e philologist's ability t o reach the goal d e p e n d s u p o n the sources. T h e absen ce o f a n ative speaker m e a n s that 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 . O n e a d d i t i o n a l restriction turn 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 that h e can on ly

t o real o b j e c t s f o r o r i e n t a t i o n

whereas the texts deal largely w i t h n o n r e a l o b j e c t s

w h o s e c o l o r s c a n n o t b e e x a m i n e d . It d o e s n o t h e l p h i m t o k n o w that the eye o f the g o d H o r u s can b e w h i t e u n d e r certain c i r c u m s t a n c e s , b u t also green , n o r that there is a H o r u s

Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Coptic

221

w i t h red eyes a n d a H o r u s w i t h lapis l a z u l i - l i k e o r b l u e eyes. W i t h w h i t e a n d green it is n o t e v e n p o s s i b l e t o b e certain that the c o l o r s are m e a n t , rather t h a n that the expression s p e r h a p s refer t o s h i n i n g a n d flourishi n g. N o r is it possible t o b e certain a b o u t t h e c o l o r

o f real objects because it is n o t certain that a c o l o r aspect is the p r i m a r y issue, a n d in t h e case o f , say, textiles, w e m a y have a r e c o g ni z a b l e c o l o r referen ce, b u t n o t the actual o r i g i n a l c o l o r o f the o b j e c t , q u i t e aside 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 an cien t error, w h e r e objects w i l l h a v e h a d differen t c o l o r s i n reality. I n the earlier w o r k (Schen kel 1963), the decisive criterion o f the d i s t i n c t i o n f o r the p u r e l y abstract c o l o r w o r d s , t h e B C T s , w a s ran ge o f usage, t h e n u m b e r o f objects 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 difference w h e t h e r the c o l o r o f a n article c o u l d b e e m p i r i c a l l y d e t e r m i n e d or n o t . T h e range o f abstract c o l o r w o r d s w a s reached b y t w o steps, establishing the t r a n s l a t i o n equivalents i n the 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 ) was 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 the s e m a n t i c field o f the abstract c o l o r t e r m s o n t o the real 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 that t h e abstract c o l o r t e r m s t h u s c o v e r e d the real w o r l d ( i n t e n t i o n ) . H a v i n g recourse t o the 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 legitimate because the d e f i n i t i o n s were inferred f r o m the references, w i t h the E g y p t i a n usage i n describing the w o r l d b e i n g given the p r i m a r y role. T h i s d i c t i o n a r y h a d the f u r t h e r a d v a n t a g e that d i s crepancies b e t w e e n the s c o p e o f the d e f i n i t i o n o f a w o r d a n d its t r a n s l a t i o n e q u i v a l e n t were given a central role. A l t h o u g h certain dangers 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 n d i c t i o n a r y clearly established that the f o c u s o f t h e t e r m f o r the w a r m ( r e d - w i t h - y e l l o w ) range lay i n red, a n d the f o c u s o f the c o o l t e r m i n green. Since the m a i n v o l u m e s o f 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 were c o m p l e t e d i n 1931, there w a s n o p o s s i b i l i t y o f i n f l u e n c e f r o m Berlin a n d Kay. A t the s a m e t i m e , p r o j e c t i o n o n t o the c o l o r c o n e distorts linguistic reality as far as it d o e s n o t take i n t o a c c o u n t the f o c u s o f the c o l o r w o r d s , b u t rather is a regression w i t h respect t o the earlier p h i l o l o g i c a l w o r k . U p t o present, t h e d i s c u s s i o n o f the 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 has neglected t h e d i s t i n c t i o n o f w h e t h e r (1) an o b j e c t is designated w i t h a c o l o r w o r d o r a derivative, o r ( 2 ) is characterized u s i n g the c o l o r w o r d . It is a d e s i g n a t i o n w h e n desert is described as the red (tsr.t). S u c h - p r e s u m a b l y prehistoric - 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 t necessarily reveal the actual m e a n i n g w h i c h t h e c o l o r t e r m has i n t h e textual t r a d i t i o n s o f the historical p e r i o d . It c a n b e possible that the f o c u s o f the c o l o r w o r d has shifted (see S e c t i o n 4 ) , a n d t h u s t h e desert differs 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 e historical p e r i o d (red). T h e real 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 certain w h e r e a n o b j e c t is assigned a color, w h e t h e r i n the f o r m o f a p r e d i c a t i o n o r as a n attribute.

3.2

Extension o f the Egyptian color words N o t e that o n l y t h e specific references are cited here. References 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 ) can b e f o u n d i n Schenkel ( 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 . ) .

222

Wolfgang Schenkel

3.2.1
1.

Basic

color

terms
gray/brown':

kmm

'to be b l a c k / d a r k

C h a r a c t e r i s a t i o n o f real w o r l d objects: D a r k g r a y g r a n i t e d e s c r i b e d as 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 , 123, 4 ; m o r e r e f e r e n c e s i n - D Z A 3 0 5 9 5 1 6 0 ff.; o n g r a n i t e , cf. H a r r i s [ 1 9 6 1 : 7 2 - 7 4 ] ) ; Flint; T h e l i z a r d (> p E b e r s 6 6 , 1 8 ) ; T h e s u n - b u r n t harvester; D e s i g n a t i o n s o f real 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 gr. 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 'desert';

T h e b l a c k o f t h e p u p i l i n t h e eye. 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 real w o r l d o b j e c t s : L i m e s t o n e , d e s c r i b e d als inr he ' w h i t e , l i g h t s t o n e ' ; S a n d s t o n e , d e s c r i b e d as inr he n(.() ( 2 0 0 7 ) I u n d e r s t a n d inr hi n(.() like limestone, b u t harder); Milk; Honey; B r e a d (the Teeth; D e s i g n a t i o n s o f real w o r l d o b j e c t s : Silver; hc.w 'onions'; 'white bread'); rwc.t rwc.t ' f i r m light stone'; in o p p o s i t i o n to W a r b u r t o n

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 is l i g h t

hc.t ' t h e w h i t e o f t h e eye' ( 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 red/brown/yellow':

C h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n s o f real w o r l d objects: C a r n e l i a n / s a r d / c h a l c e d o n y : 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 are f l e s h - r e d o r r e d d i s h brown, in M i d d l e K ingdom and New K ingdom also yellowish (Nicholson & Shaw

2 0 0 0 : 2 7 ) . 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 'red 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 e t y ( 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 red 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. N a t r o n : hsmn pEbers 10,11);

tsr, t r a d i t i o n a l l y t r a n s l a t e d as 'red n a t r o n , ' "refers t o r e d n a t r o n , s o c o l o u r e d

by s o m e impurity, presumably an iron c o m p o u n d " (Harris 1961:195); M y r r h : y e l l o w to b r o w n bits; 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 red,' a n d t h e d e r i v e d w o r d f o r m tSr ' r e d d e n i n g ' ; S a n d s t o n e : 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 red 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 e r i d g e as 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 ; M a r s , t h e r e d p l a n e t , p e r s o n i f i e d as Hr.w ( E r m a n & G r a p o w 1 9 2 6 - 1 9 3 1 : V, 489, 7); D e s i g n a t i o n s o f real w o r l d objects: tsr, t r a d i t i o n a l l y t r a n s l a t e d as ' t h e r e d H o r u s '

Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Coptic

Blood, especially tsr.w 'blood'; The sandy desert in tsr.t, 'mountain land, desert, savannah (?)'; The flamingo: dedu ced from the hieroglyphic sign with the phonetic valu e tsr; tsr.t 'the red crown' (of the king); mrs/mls/*mns, Coptic mros etc. 'to be (light-?)red.'

T h e w o r d is c o m m o n in C o p t i c . T h e d i c 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 the m e a n i n g b e t w e e n red a n d yellow, o r i n t e r m e d i a t e tones, b r i g h t red a n d b l o n d h a v e also b e e n u s e d as t r a n s l a t i o n equivalents. 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 recent literature, the e t y m o l o g i c a l a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h t h e E g y p t i a n w o r d , mns.t, is i n c r e a s i n g l y preferred (cf. B a i n e s 1985). T h e references i n the 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 the red range, b u t a m o r e precise d e t e r m i n a t i o n is difficult since the C o p t i c translations o f G r e e k d o n o t s e e m t o 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 red (tors etc., trosr(e)s) (Crum for a k i n d o f o c h r e has p l a y e d a m a j o r role.

W h e r e a s t h e earlier literature interpreted it as y e l l o w o c h r e (also Schenkel 1963), red o c h r e

1 9 3 9 : 1 8 3 ) . 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 e interesting. Jiirgen 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 list (Scale) w h e r e the C o p t i c adjective mers is translated i n t o A r a b i c as 'sqar ( Paris, B N F , C o p t e

4 4 , fol. 66 vso., 11. 4 6 a n d 56) a n d t h u s s o m e t h i n g like ' f a i r - c o m p l e x i o n e d , b l o n d , reddish' ( a m o n g translations 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 the s a m e d i r e c t i o n : zanthor (read xanthon) (-> Paris, B N F , C o p t e 44, fol. 6 6 v s o . , 1. 56) w h i c h the G r e e k d i c t i o n a r y defines as " y e l l o w , o f v a r i o u s shades, freq. w i t h a tinge o f red, b r o w n , a u b u r n " ( L i d d e l l & Scott 1 9 4 0 : 1 1 8 7 b ) . 4. wlc 'to b e green':

C h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n s o f real objects: Malachite and other green stones; Green eye paint; Plants, particularly papyrus; Occasionally and not certain: the sky (-> Philae I , 160, 5-6); D e s i g n a t i o n s o f real objects: The sea called wic wr, 'The great green.' 3 .2.2 Concrete color w o r d s / N o n B C T s

For ins, mfk, hrs, ccb in characterizations o f n o n r e a l objects, see S e c t i o n 2. 1. cms 'red' o r t h e like:

C h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n o f real objects, as v a r i a n t o f tsr: The medical finding of reddening; D e s i g n a t i o n o f real objects, as v a r i a n t o f dr. The Red Crown o f the king; C h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n , n o t real, b u t d r a w n f r o m t h e real w o r l d :

224 Wolfgang Schenkel

The backside of a baboon (cf. Edel 1956:74-76) whose ears are tsr 'red.' The hieroglyph used in the writing of the word represents the writing utensils. The color cms could thus be the red used in writing (as the Egyptians used black and red ink). Harris (1961:227) suggested, however, that "The word is derived from the flower or fruit of some tree, 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 lazuli-like, blue': Blue cloth; The adjective hsbc(.i?) 'lapis lazuli-like, blue' is derived from the word for the material, and is typically applied to nonreal objects, 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 thefields(by the sun whose rays render thefieldshsbc{.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, > CT VI I , 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). Designation for real objects:

3.3

Summary
As the result of this investigation of the range of uses of the color terms, we can conclude: 1. 2. Those words which were initially identified as abstract {kmm 'black'; he, wbh 'white'; tsr 'red'; and wic 'green') were the most widely used color terms; 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; For the final, Coptic, stage, the red-range was partitioned in *tsrsr/trosr(e)s 'deep-red' and mrs/mls/*mns/mros 'light-red'; All of the other, concrete terms have a restricted range of uses, largely restricted for nonreal objects; I n the final case, the prestigious blue-range is highly significant.

3. 4. 5.

Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Coptic

4.

On the etymologies of the color terms

F o l l o w i n g the earlier E g y p t o l o g i c a l ideas a d o p t e d b y H e r m a n n ( 1 9 6 9 ) , the abstract c o l o r t e r m s are derived fro m o b j e c t - n a m e s : 'green' fro m p a p y r u s - c o l o r e d , 'red' fro m f l a m i n g o c o l o r e d , ' w h i t e ' fro m s t o n e - m a c e - c o l o r e d , ' b l a c k ' fro m c o a l - c o l o r e d . T h e o r i g i n o f the p r i n c i p l e is less the 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 ( w h i c h exists i n at least t w o cases), so m u c h as the h i e r o g l y p h i c signs used as w r i t t e n s y m b o l s t o w r i t e the c o l o r w o r d s : p a p y r u s a n d green, f l a m i n g o a n d red, s t o n e m a c e a n d w h i t e (coal for ' b l a c k ' is a n error). In contrast, d e r i v i n g t h e abstract c o l o r w o r d s or B C T s f r o m m i n e r a l s , p a r t i c u l a r l y s e m i - p r e c i o u s stones, as d o e s W a r b u r t o n ( 2 0 0 7 ) , is m o r e a d e q u a t e because s u c h a l i n k exists for t h e concrete 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 ) . I n fact, h o w e v e r , i n the case o f the f o u r existing abstract c o l o r w o r d s o r B C T s , these are n o t n e w creations based o n a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n givens. A l l f o u r ( o r m o s t ) c a n b e i d e n tified as verbs i n the A f r o a s i a t i c languages, a n d t h u s m u s t h a v e b e e n verbs i n the o r i g i n a l A f r o a s i a t i c Ursprache. 1. T h e f o l l o w i n g e t y m o l o g i e s can b e p r o p o s e d :

kmm 'to b e black':

Related t o Syrian a n d ( T a l m u d i c ) H e b r e w 'km 'to b e b l a c k ' (Takacs 1999:219; also accepted i n the critical r e v i e w b y O s i n g 2 0 0 1 : 5 6 8 ) ; 2. he 'to b e white':

Related t o A r a b i c shw, H e b r e w a n d Syrian shy, shh 'to b e clear, light' ( O s i n g 2 0 0 1 : 5 7 9 ) . T h e use as a c o l o r t e r m w o u l d t h u s b e an internal 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 d also e x p l a i n the c o n t i n u e d existence o f the m e a n i n g 'to b e light,' etc.; 3. tsr 'to b e red':

Related t o S e m i t i c shr 'to b e r e d d i s h : A r a b i c (verb, s t e m X I ) shr 'to 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' 'desert,' 'Sahara'), Syrian asehar

'to b l u s h ( S c h n e i d e r 1997:208). T h i s e t y m o l o g y is a brilliant e x a m p l e o f the " N e w C o m p a r a t i v e " s c h o o l o f O t t o Rossler, rejected b y t h 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 because the p h o n e t i c changes are d i s m i s s e d as i m p o s s i b l e . H o w e v e r , s h o u l d this b e nevertheless correct, 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 desert (tsr.t, 'the red ( l a n d ) ' ) w o u l d b e d e r i v e d f r o m t h e s a m e w o r d as A r a b i c Sahara; 4. wVc 'to b e green':

R e l a t e d t o S e m i t i c a n d Berber wrq 'to b e green' (first E m b e r 1930:9; t o d a y generally ac cepted, cf. e.g. [ " N e w C o m p a r a t i v e " s c h o o l ] Rossler 1971:316; [ t r a d i t i o n a l s c h o o l ] V y c i c h l 1983:238). T h e s e e t y m o l o g i e s p e r m i t the h y p o t h e s i s that E g y p t i a n was already at Stage I l i a in prehistoric times. T h e specific p h i l o l o g i c a l l y based translations o f t h e c o l o r t e r m s o f languages o t h e r t h a n E g y p t i a n p e r m i t shifts o f f o c u s t o b e recognized. I n historical t i m e s , t h e f o c u s o f tsr 'to b e red' lay i n the red range, b u t in the related S e m i t i c languages it w o u l d a p p e a r t o b e closer t o t h e lighter y e l l o w i s h - r e d range. W h e t h e r E g y p t i a n o r S e m i t i c preserved t h e earlier

226

Wolf g an g

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 basis 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 l a n g u a g e s , w h i c h is 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 final sta 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 (etc.) ' 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 e w h i c h b e c a m e C o p t i c mros (etc.) ' t o

white,' a n d also t h e a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n mrs/mls/*mns,

b e ( l i g h t - ? ) red.' T h e first is a shift w h e r e b y a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n wbh 'to b e l i g h t ' w a s r e p l a c e d w i t h C o p t i c oubas (mns.t). T h e derivation o f n a m e s for color terms in ancient Eg yptian f r o m object-names hsbc(.i?) (etc.) ' t o 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

is d e m o n s t r a b l e i n s o m e cases 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 l a n g u a g e ) : ' ( t o b e ) l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e , ' cfrr(.i?) g r e e n / b l u e . ' 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?)

' ( t o be?) l a p i s l a z u l i - l i k e , blue,' m / H . f t " t u r q u o i s e - l i k e , ' c h a r c o a l - l i k e , black.'

N o n e o f these N o n B C T s w h i c h d e v e l o p e d in E g y p t i a n was m a i n t a i n e d ; n o n e were used in 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 red r a n g e (cms, c(w)r) are 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 concrete e t y m o l o g y c a n n o t be p r o d u c e d . W h e t h e r these were orig inally c o l o r terms or derived f r o m objects will obviously depend u p o n discovery o f the etymolog ies.

5.

Summary
T h e e x a m i n a t i o n o f the ancient E g y p t i a n - C o p t i c color terms a n d their g r a m m a t i c a l i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , t h e r a n g e o f usage , 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. Th e r e wlc 2. Th e are f o u r B C T s , all v e r b s , ' t o b e ' kmm 'black,' hi (late r wbh) 'white ,' tsr 're d' a n d

'gre e n'; f o c u s o f tsr 're d' is i n t h e re d r a n g e , as 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 middle o f t h e r e d - w i t h - y e l l o w r a n g e , as a r g u e d

Baine s (1985:283), a n d n o t in the

following the color cone approach by Sche nke l (1963); 3. Th e f o c u s o f wlc 'gr e e n' lie s, as t r a d i t i o n a l l y t r a n s l a te d , a n d n o te d b y B a i ne s range

( 1 9 8 5 : 2 8 3 ) in the gre e n range , a n d n o t in the m i d d l e o f the g r e e n - w i t h - b l u e

as 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 basis 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 e pale gre e n sugge ste d b y the Be rlin a n d K a y hypothe sis; 4. I n t h e final, C o p t i c , stage , 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 a n d mrs/mls/*mns/mros 5. Th e 'ligh e t-r d' m u s t be assume d; allowe d additional place for furthe r ve rbal color 'e d e p re d'

traditional writte n language

t e r m s (i.e ., B C T s ) , b u t the se 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 d the colloquial language ; 6. A m o n g t h e s e alte rnative s, t h e u s e o f hsbc(.i?) m o n ; that o f ccm(.i?) 7. Th e dominance 'lapis 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 ' g o le d n ' is le ss c o m m o n ;

'charcoal-lik e , black', nbw(.i?)

o f ' l a 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 tre ate d b y S c h e n k e l to the ir m e t h o d o l o g i c a l pre mise s (se mantic re c o g n i ze d b y the e mpiricists ( He r m a n n e fi ld 1969;

(1963) a n d Baine s (1985), d u e and B&K h y p o t he s i s ) , a l t h o u g h

Color terms in ancient Egyptian and Coptic

227

8.

Brunner-Traut 1977), and recently explicitly formulated (Quirke 2001:187; Warburton 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" (Quirke 2001:187). Egyptian did not, in fact, develop a BCT for either blue or yellow; Egyptian-Coptic remains at Berlin and Kay Stage Ilia. It must be affirmed that the red range was further partitioned in the final, Coptic, stage.

Acknowledgments
I would like to thank David Warburton, who translated this contribution from German into English and at the same time rendered it concise.

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