vocabulary of egyptian origin,
autochthonous coptic. Coptic is the autochthonous language (or languages, S and B) spoken and written in Egypt from the third century A.D. down to the Middle Ages (eleventh century or a little later). Moreover, it is the latest and most developed form of the Egyptian language itself (known at first in the form called “pharaonic”; cf. language(S), coptic). In these circumstances, one is not in the least surprised to observe that the greater part of the Coptic vocabulary is of Egyptian origin (pharaonic more or less ancient, down to demotic), so that one might justly describe it as “autochthonous Coptic of Egyptian origin,” and this even if one observes in the Coptic language the not insignificant presence—indeed rather conspicuous and impressive but nonetheless in a minority—of words of non-autochthonous origin (above all of Greek origin; cf. vocabulary, copto-greek).
This autochthonous preponderance in the Coptic vocabulary is illustrated below by two brief Sahidic texts, one written directly in Coptic by Shenute (Exhibit 1), the other probably translated from the Greek (Exhibit 2). Examining the total of the vocabulary of these two texts and taking no account either of the various articles, the prepositions, or the autochthonous adverbs, one counts, in terms of lexemes, fifty-eight units. Among them is one proper noun, agaywn, and then seven Copto-Greek words: de, now, then, from dš; diakonei, to serve, from diakone‹n; drakwn, serpent, from dr£kwn; eite, whether, from e‡te; /, or, from ½; holwc, absolutely, altogether, from Ölwj; cunagwg/, community, from sunagwg».
Among the fifty other lexemes, all to be considered as autochthonous in the broad sense of the term (according to Vycichl, 1983; Cerny, 1976; Vergote, 1945 and 1973; and Westendorf, 1977), three appear to be of Semitic origin (cf. vocabulary of semitic origin, autochthonous coptic): apa /ap /, abbot (B abba), cf. Aramaic 3abb (in Greek ¥bbaj); moulh /m lh/, to salt, cf. Hebrew mèla , Arabic milh ; [wjb /c /, to diminish, cf. Hebrew ab, Arabic kasab.
exhibit 1.
Everything excellent, everything mediocre, whether of bread hnaau nim efcotp hnaau nim ef[ojb eite oeik or any (other) nourishment whether any vegetable or salted things eite hnaau nouwm eite ouoote eite henaau eumolh or cooked (foods) or cucumbers or any other thing of any kind, / eupoce / hen][e / kelaau nhnaau holwc (all) will be for us such as the Lord prepared them or will prepare them eunaswpe nan nye enta pjoeic cbtwtou mmoc / etefnacbtwtou (for us) those who dwell in these (monastic) communities, at all times, will eat ere netou/h hn neicunagwg/ nouoeis nim naouomou (all these foods, good or less good) with one another. And let there not be anyone mn neuer/u auw nne oua or any people who eat excellent things at all times, or good things, while (on the / hoeine ouem netcotp nouoeis nim / netnanouou nte contrary) another or some others eat the mediocre or despised things. And keoua / henkooue ouem net[ojb / netcosf auw the fault (in respect) of those who (always) eat the good things or the bad ere pswwt nnetnaouwm nhenhnaau enanouou / euhoou will fall upon those who serve (at table) or those who distribute the rations. naei ehra@ ejn netdiakonei / netnapws nhento source: Leipoldt and Crum, 1913, pp. 87-88 (Coptic orthography corrected).
exhibit 2.
It is related with regard to Apa Agathon that he (installed himself to) live aujooc etbe apa agaywn je afouwh in a cave, once, in the desert. Now there was a great serpent in it. hn oub/b noucop hm pja@e. euno[ de ndrakwn nh/tf Then the serpent decided to go out (from the cave) to go off (and live elsewhere) phof de aftosf emoose ebol ebwk naf.
Apa Agathon said to it: “If you go out (to go and live elsewhere), I shall not stay peje apa agaywn naf je eksanmoose ebol n]na[w an in (the cave).” Then the serpent remained (there), it did not go away. nh/tf. phof de af[w mpefbwk now there was a sycamore in that (place of the) desert. They went out (then) eneoun ounouhe de hm pja@e etmmau nesauei ebol together but Apa Agathon made a mark (incised) in the sycamore, mn neuer/u. apa agaywn de af] nouswlh etnouhe he (thus) divided it between himself (Agathon) and it (the serpent) that afposc ejwf nmmaf jekaac the serpent might eat on (one) side of the sycamore, and the old hermit himself ere phof naouwm nca cpir ntnouhe nte phllo hwwf eat on another side )of the tree); (this) until they had finished eating, and returned ouwm nca pkecpir santououw euouwm ncebwk within their (shelters in the) caves, both of them ehoun on nneub/b mpecnau source: Chaîne, 1960, p.69 (Coptic orthography corrected).
For all the rest (apart from three cases, indicated by a question mark, where the etymology is either unknown or appears too uncertain), an authentically Pharaonic etymology (more or less ancient, or demotic) is known: b/b /b b/, cave, from b3b3 etc.; bwk /b k/ to go, from (?); er/u / r w/, the companions, mutually, from „ r(y); ei / /, to go, from „ , etc.; ke- /k /, another, from ky, etc.; laau /l ’w/, something, from (?); mmau / m w/, there, from n-„ m-w; moose /m /, to walk, go, from m ‘, etc.; nim /n m/, each, every, from nb; nanou- /nanu/, to be good, from *wnn ‘ny; nouhe /n h /, sycamore, from nhy; no[ /n c/, large, from (?); oeik / jk/, bread, from ‘ , etc.; pice /p s /, cause to be cooked, bake, from ps(y), etc.; pws /p /, to share, distribute, from p ; peje- /p /, to say, from p3y dd; cobte /s bt /, to prepare, from spdd, etc.; cnau /sn w/, two, from sn-wy; cop /s p/, time, from sp; cpir /sp r/, side, rib, from spr; cwtp /s tp/, to choose, from stp; cwsf /s f/, despise, judge vile, base, etc., from s f, etc.; ] /t /, to give, make, etc., from ti, etc.; to /t /, part, share, from tny.t, etc.; tws /t /, to delimit, decide, from t , etc.; ][e /t c /, cucumber, from tgy, etc.; oua /w /, one, from w‘; ouw /w /, to cease, finish, from w3h; ouwm /w m/, to eat, from wnm; oun- /wn/, there is, from wn, etc.; ouoote /w ’t /, vegetable, from w3d.t; ouoeis /w j /, time, from wr ; ouwh /w h/, to inhabit, from w3 ; swlh / lh/, to impress a mark, etc., from l , etc.; swpe / p / to
become, from pr, etc.; swwt / ’t/, to cut, curtail, diminish, from ‘t, etc.; he /h /, way, manner, from h, etc.; hww= /h ’/, (one)self, from ‘, etc.; hllo /h lo/, old man, from hl‘3; hoeine /h jna/, some, from hyn; hnaau /hn ’w/, thing, from nw; hoou /h ’w/, to be bad, from w, etc.; hof /h f/, serpent, from f, etc.; jw / /, to say, from *did; ja@e / j /, desert, from d‘; joeic / js/, lord, from tzw; [w /c / to rest, remain, from gr.
What is presented above is only a modest couple of examples.
The matter is examined more systematically in etymology.