Khem

Khem · proper noun¹

1. Egyptian · borrowed fromḫm“Letopolis”
2. English todayKhem

From Egyptian ḫm (“Letopolis”).

Khem · proper noun²

1. Egyptian · borrowed frommnw“Min”
2. English todayKhem

From a 19th-century misreading of Egyptian mnw (“Min”) as ḫm; the confusion arose because the hieroglyph R22 can function as both a logogram for mnw (“Min”) and a phonogram for ḫm.

Khem · proper noun³

1. Egyptian · derived fromkmt“Egypt”
2. cop-boh · borrowed fromⲭⲏⲙⲓ“Egypt”
3. Ancient Greek · borrowed fromΧημίᾱ
4. English todayKhem

From Ancient Greek Χημίᾱ (Khēmíā) or Bohairic Coptic ⲭⲏⲙⲓ (khēmi, “Egypt”), both ultimately from Egyptian kmt (“Egypt”). The final vowels were apparently dropped to form a closer match to the Biblical Ham. First attested in 1837.

Words from the same roots