Coil (hieroglyph)

Coil
in hieroglyphs
The Ancient Egyptian Coil hieroglyph is Gardiner sign listed no. Z7 for a 'coil'. It is the Egyptian hieratic version of the quail chick hieroglyph. The similar shaped Coil-of-rope (hieroglyph), Gardiner no. V1, , is the numerical '100'.

The coil hieroglyph is used in the Ancient Egyptian language hieroglyphs as an equivalent for the Quail chick (hieroglyph), but is also used in other word constructions, probably for the balance of the hieroglyph composition block. The coil as well as the quail chick are used for the alphabetic vowel letter w, (or u).[1] Because 'w' is not a "vowel", the use is often in the form of 'woo' for the w, and 'oo' for the u.

Contents

Quail chick or coil, the plural

Besides the plural in the Egyptian language of using a hieroglyph in triplicate, or the Gardiner signs of 3-strokes, nos. Z2, Z3, Z2ss, , , , the coil and the quail chick at the end of a word-group, signifies the plural.

The Egyptian hieroglyph alphabetic letters

The following two tables show the Egyptian uniliteral signs. (24 letters, but multiple use hieroglyphs)

a
i
y
'
(w,u)
B
P
F
M
N
R
H1
H2
Kh1
Kh2
S
(Sh)=Š
Q/K2
K
G
T
ChTj
D
Dj
L/(R)
(special)
(Ptolemaic,
etc)
-- -- -- -- --
a i
(ee)
y
ii
'
ah, (aïn)
w, (u)
(oo)
B
P F M N R H1
H2 (Kh)1 (Kh)2 S Sh
(Sh)
K
emphatic
K G T Tj
Ch
Tsh
D Dj
(additionally 4
for vert/horiz)
-- -- -- -- --
M
(horiz)
M2-Plinth
N
(vert)
(see:
N (red crown))
S
(vert)
S (folded
cloth)
M
(3rd-M
-2nd-vert)
M3-Baker's tool
(additionally 3
for equivalents)
-- -- -- -- --

is—
y2-Two strokes

is—
letter w, u
(see w2-Coil)
T
(no. 2)
T2-Pestle

See also

References

  1. ^ Schumann-Antelme, and Rossini, 1998. Illustrated Hieroglyphics Handbook, uniliteral: U25, p. 66-67.