mr

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mr"

Translingual

Symbol

mr

1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Marathi.

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

mr (plural mr)

1. Abbreviation of millirem.

Anagrams

• rm., rm, RM, R&M

Egyptian

FWOTD – 14 September 2017

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /mɛr/
  • Conventional anglicization: mer

Etymology 1

Perhaps from Proto-Afroasiatic. Possible Berber cognates include the forms represented by Kabyle u-mr-an (“sorrows”), a-mur (“colic, stomachache”), and a-mrir (“embarrassment, great difficulty”). Possible Cushitic cognates include Oromo marar (“to be sick”), Baiso marni (“to be sad”), and Sidamo marar-s (“to be sick”). A proposed Omotic cognate is Yemsa mer-o (“illness”). Also compare the root Arabic م ر ض (m-r-ḍ, “related to ailment”).

Verb

 2-lit.

1. (intransitive, of people and body parts) to be(come) physically ill or in pain, to be(come) sick or diseased, to ail, to ache (+ m or m-dj: with (an ailment) or in (a body part)) [since the Pyramid Texts]
2. (intransitive, of the heart/mind) to feel pity or compassion (+ n: for (someone), to hurt for, to be sorry for)
3. (intransitive) to be(come) physically painful, to sting, to cause physical pain (+ n or r: to)

   ― ḫꜣt mrt ― a painful disease

4. (intransitive, of events, words, emotions, etc.) to be(come) mentally painful, sad, distressing, unpleasant, to cause mental pain (+ r or m bꜣḥ or ḥr jb or ḥr jb n: to)
   • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) line 124:

     ršwj sḏd dpt.n.f zn ḫt mr

     How joyful is he who recounts what he has experienced when a painful thing passes!

5. (intransitive, of striking power, rage, etc.) to be(come) fierce, capable of inflicting pain

   ― mr nsrt ― having painful fire (literally, “painful of fire”)

Inflection

Conjugation of mr (biliteral / 2-lit. / 2rad.) — base stem: mr, geminated stem: mrr

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive1	singular	plural
mr	mrw, mr	mrt	mr, j.mr	mr, j.mr

‘pseudoverbal’ forms
stative stem	periphrastic imperfective2		periphrastic prospective2
mr	ḥr mr	m mr	r mr

suffix conjugation
aspect / mood	active	contingent
		aspect / mood	active
perfect	mr.n	consecutive	mr.jn
terminative	mrt
perfective3	mr	obligative1	mr.ḫr
imperfective	mr, j.mr1
prospective3	mr	potentialis1	mr.kꜣ
subjunctive	mr, j.mr1

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms	participles
	active	active	passive
perfect	mr.n	—	—
perfective	mr	mr	mrr, mrrj6, mr2, mrw2 5, mry2 5
imperfective	j.mr1, mr, mry, mrw5	j.mr1, j.mrw1 5, mr, mrj6, mry6	mr, mrw5
prospective	mr, mrtj7	mrtj4, mrt4
Used in Old Egyptian; archaic by Middle Egyptian. Used mostly since Middle Egyptian. Archaic or greatly restricted in usage by Middle Egyptian. The perfect has mostly taken over the functions of the perfective, and the subjunctive and periphrastic prospective have mostly replaced the prospective. Declines using third-person suffix pronouns instead of adjectival endings: masculine .f/.fj, feminine .s/.sj, dual .sn/.snj, plural .sn. Only in the masculine singular. Only in the masculine. Only in the feminine.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mr  

mr	mr	mr	mr	mr	mr	mr	mr	mr
[Pyramid Texts]	[Old Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]
	from the Qaw Bowl		rare	in hieratic	in hieratic

Derived terms

• mr-snm
• mrt
• nꜥr-mr

 

Descendants

• Demotic: mr
  • >? Old Coptic: ⲙⲟⲩⲣ (mour), possibly, as proposed by Osing based on a reading in papyrus BM 10808. However, this occurrence of ⲙⲟⲩⲣ (mour) has alternatively been read as common Sahidic Coptic ⲙⲟⲩⲣ (mour, “to bind”).

Noun

 m

1. ailment, illness, disease [since the Medical papyri]

   ― jrj mr ― to treat an ailment

2. physical pain
3. mental distress, misery, sorrow

   ― n mr n ― out of distress over

   ― jrj mr ― to mourn (literally, “to do sorrow”)

Inflection

Declension of mr (masculine)

singular	mr
dual	mrwj
plural	mrw

Alternative forms

See under the verb above.

Noun

 m

1. (rare) sick man [Middle Kingdom literature]

Inflection

Declension of mr (masculine)

singular	mr
dual	mrwj
plural	mrw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mr  

mr

Etymology 2

Possibly from a Proto-Afroasiatic *m-r (“river, channel”). Compare South Omotic *mir- (“river”), with reflexes including Aari mɨri (“river, stream”) and Dime mɪ́rɛ (“river”). A possible Semitic cognate is Sabaean 𐩣𐩧 (mr, “part of an irrigation system”). Possible Cushitic cognates include Borana Oromo mērī (“watering trough”), Tsamai mīre (“pond”), and possible Chadic cognates include Fali mirə̂ (“river”), Muskum mìrà (“oxbow lake, marigot”).

Noun

 m

1. canal, ditch, waterway [since the Pyramid Texts]
   • c. 2353 BCE – 2323 BCE, Pyramid Texts of Unas — west wall of the corridor, line 10–20, spell 317.4–5:

     
     

     jj.n wnjs r mrw.f jm(j)w jdb ꜣgb(w) mḥt wrt
     r st ḥtpw wꜣḏt sḫwt jmt ꜣḫt

     Unas has come to his canals at the shore of the waters of the great flood,
     to the place of peace with green fields in the place where the sun rises.

2. pond or pool, especially an artificial one [since the Pyramid Texts]
3. (rare, by confusion with mw) water [New Kingdom]

Usage notes

The distinction between the abbreviated writings of mr (“canal, pond, bowl”) — or — and š (“pool, lake, bowl”) — or — is not always clear.

Inflection

Declension of mr (masculine)

singular	mr
dual	mrwj
plural	mrw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mr  

mr	mr	mr	mr	mr	mr	mr	mr	mr
		[Old Kingdom]	[Old Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[21st Dynasty]
					in hieratic	in hieratic	in hieratic	in hieratic

Derived terms

• mr-wr
• ḥr mr

 

Descendants

• Demotic: mꜣ, m
  • ⇒? Bohairic Coptic: ⲁⲙⲏⲓⲣⲓ (amēiri)
  • ⇒? Sahidic Coptic: ⲉⲙⲏⲣⲉ (emēre)

Noun

 m

1. metal libation basin

Inflection

Declension of mr (masculine)

singular	mr
dual	mrwj
plural	mrw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mr  

mr	mr	mr

Derived terms

• qrḥ-mr

 

Etymology 3

Highly disputed etymology. Hypotheses include:

• From Proto-Afroasiatic, cognate with Arabic أَمَرَة (ʔamara, “heap of stones, mound, esp. as a way-marker”), Akkadian 𒀯 (amartu, “dividing wall”), 𒋞 (amaru, “pile of bricks”), Hebrew אָמִיר (ʾāmīr, “treetop, mountain summit”).
• Metathesized from earlier *rm, from Proto-Afroasiatic *rim- (“to be raised, high, long”), cognate with Proto-Semitic *rayam- (“to be high”); compare Arabic رَيْم (raym, “abundance, hill, tumulus, step”)
• From a possible Proto-Afroasiatic *m-r (“heap of stones”), cognate with Tashelhit i-miri (“heap of stones, wall of dry stone”), a-mra (“stone buttress of a terraced field”), Central Atlas Tamazight i-mr-an (“large half-buried stones that mark off property boundaries”), Mofu-Gudur mémeré (“low stone terrace wall”).
• Related to a Semitic root *m-w-r, as in Qatabanian 𐩣𐩥𐩧𐩩𐩬 (mwrtn, “tower”), Arabic مَارَ (māra, “to come to a high place or plateau”).

Noun

 m

1. pyramid (monumental building) [from the Pyramid Texts through the Saite Period]
   • c. 1550 B.C.E., Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, problem 59:

     mr pr-m-ws n.f jmy m 12

     A pyramid, its height 12 [cubits]

2. (rare) heap of corpses [20th Dynasty]
   • c. 1180 B.C.E., Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu, Inscription of the Year 5, lines 35-36:

     
     
     
     

     ptrj bjn jm.w r qꜣ n(j) pt nw tꜣy.w wmt ḥr st pꜣ smꜣ.w st jrw m mrw ḥr pꜣ.w zꜣtw m tꜣ pḥtj n(j) nswt qn m ḥꜥw.f nb wꜥ sḫmtj mjtj mnṯw nswt-bjtj wsr-mꜣꜥt-rꜥ-mr(y)-jmn zꜣ-rꜥ rꜥ-ms-s(w)-ḥqꜣ-jwnw

     Behold, they were in woe to the height of the sky, as their thick crowd was collected upon the place of their slaughter, and they were made into corpse-heaps on their soil by the might of the king, valiant in his limbs, the only lord, powerful like Montu, Dual King Usermaatre-Meryamun, Son of Ra Ramesses, Ruler of Heliopolis.

Inflection

Declension of mr (masculine)

singular	mr
dual	mrwj
plural	mrw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mr  

mr	mr	mr	mr	mr	mr	mr
[Old Kingdom]	[Old Kingdom]	[18th Dynasty]	[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]	[New Kingdom]
						abbreviation

Descendants

• Demotic: mr

Etymology 4

Verb

 2-lit.

1. (transitive) to bind, to tie (+ m: to or with) [since the Medical papyri]
2. (transitive) to tie together, to tie (pieces of wood, flax, etc.) up [since the Second Intermediate Period]
3. (transitive) to fetter or bind (a captive or a captive’s limbs), to tie (a person) up [since the New Kingdom]
4. (reflexive, with n) to join (someone), to attach oneself to (someone) [Pyramid Texts]
5. (intransitive, of the mouth) to be suffering from an ailment of some kind such that the mouth is (figuratively) ‘bound’ [Medical papyri]

Inflection

Conjugation of mr (biliteral / 2-lit. / 2rad.) — base stem: mr, geminated stem: mrr

infinitival forms			imperative
infinitive	negatival complement	complementary infinitive1	singular	plural
mr	mrw, mr	mrt	mr, j.mr	mr, j.mr

‘pseudoverbal’ forms
stative stem	periphrastic imperfective2		periphrastic prospective2
mr	ḥr mr	m mr	r mr

suffix conjugation
aspect / mood	active	passive	contingent
			aspect / mood	active	passive
perfect	mr.n	mrw, mr	consecutive	mr.jn	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
terminative	mrt
perfective3	mr	active + .tj1, .tw2	obligative1	mr.ḫr	active + .tj1, .tw2
imperfective	mr, j.mr1	active + .tj1, .tw2
prospective3	mr	mrr	potentialis1	mr.kꜣ	active + .tj1, .tw2
		active + .tj1, .tw2
subjunctive	mr, j.mr1	active + .tj1, .tw2

verbal adjectives
aspect / mood	relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms		participles
	active	passive	active	passive
perfect	mr.n	active + .tj1, .tw2	—	—
perfective	mr	active + .tj1, .tw2	mr	mrr, mrrj6, mr2, mrw2 5, mry2 5
imperfective	j.mr1, mr, mry, mrw5	active + .tj1, .tw2	j.mr1, j.mrw1 5, mr, mrj6, mry6	mr, mrw5
prospective	mr, mrtj7	—	mrtj4, mrt4
Used in Old Egyptian; archaic by Middle Egyptian. Used mostly since Middle Egyptian. Archaic or greatly restricted in usage by Middle Egyptian. The perfect has mostly taken over the functions of the perfective, and the subjunctive and periphrastic prospective have mostly replaced the prospective. Declines using third-person suffix pronouns instead of adjectival endings: masculine .f/.fj, feminine .s/.sj, dual .sn/.snj, plural .sn. Only in the masculine singular. Only in the masculine. Only in the feminine.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mr  

mr	mr	mr	mr	mr	mrw	mrw
[Pyramid Texts]	[Pyramid Texts]	[Pyramid Texts]	[Pyramid Texts]	[18th Dynasty]	[19th and 20th Dynasties]	[19th and 20th Dynasties]
				in hieratic	in hieratic	in hieratic

Derived terms

• mrw
• mrt jb.n

 

Descendants

• Demotic: mr, mre, mrwy, ml, mlꜣ
  • Coptic: ⲙⲟⲩⲣ (mour)

Etymology 5

Perhaps from Proto-Afroasiatic. Cognate with Proto-Semitic *mir(Vʔ)- (“bull”): compare Akkadian 𒈪𒅕𒋾 (mīrtu, “young cow”), 𒄞𒀖 (mīru, “young bull”), Hebrew מְרִיא (mərīʾ, “fatted steer”). Possible Cushitic cognates include Hadiyya mōr-â (“bull”), Mbugu ki-mole, ki-more (“ox, bull”), possible Omotic cognates include Wolaytta mārā (“young bull”), Yemsa omoru (“bull”), and possible Chadic cognates include Mafa maray (“sacrificial bull”), Mofu-Gudur maray (“fattened bull”), Mafa mari (“bull”).

Noun

 m

1. fighting bull [Middle Kingdom]

Inflection

Declension of mr (masculine)

singular	mr
dual	mrwj
plural	mrw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of mr  

mry	mry	mr

Derived terms

• mr-wr
• mrt

 

Proper noun

 m

1. (rare) Ellipsis of mr-wr (“Mnevis”). [Greco-Roman Period]

References

• “mr (lemma ID 71790)”, “mr (lemma ID 71810)”, “mr (lemma ID 71800)”, “mr (lemma ID 71840)”, “mr (lemma ID 880166)”, “mr (lemma ID 71780)”, “mr (lemma ID 71880)”, “mr (lemma ID 71940)”, and “Mr (lemma ID 71930)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎^[1], Corpus issue 18, Web app version 2.1.5, Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning by order of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils by order of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 2004–26 July 2023
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1928) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[2], volume 2, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 94.14–95.15, 95.18, 96.1–96.5, 97.3–97.12, 105.1–105.8, 105.19, 106.7–106.8
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, pages 110–112
• Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 361–372, 392–395, →ISBN
• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 213.
• Hoch, James (1997) Middle Egyptian Grammar, Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN, page 146
• Lee, Sunwoo (2022) Exploring Pain in Ancient Egypt (PhD thesis), Chicago: University of Chicago, pages 58–64