Ancient Egyptian

1. the Afroasiatic language spoken and written in Ancient Egypt

   Synonyms: Egyptian

plural Ancient Egyptians

1. Alternative letter-case form of ancient Egyptian (“a native or inhabitant of Ancient Egypt”).

   Apparently, when Ancient Egyptians went to receive an oracle from a god, the priests often animated the god’s statue to add extra weight to their words.

   2014, John Farndon, Do You Still Think You’re Clever?, Icon Books, →ISBN

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   This discussion of Egypt’s African dimension does not include consideration as to whether Ancient Egyptians were “black” or, to be more accurate, African in their genetic composition.

   2003, David O’Connor, Andrew Reid, “Introduction – Locating Ancient Egypt in Africa: Modern Theories, Past Realities”, in Ancient Egypt in Africa (Encounters with Ancient Egypt), UCL Press, →ISBN, page 11

   The idea of archaic or lost ritual hovers around Horii (1986) from the start, its title and imagery suggestive of Egyptian mythology, but also a kind of ur-mythology beyond that, which the music stands for, as if Ancient Egyptians had had a premonition of Organum’s direct access to the lost well-spring of their beliefs.

   2021, Paul Hegarty, Annihilating Noise, Bloomsbury Academic, →ISBN

1. not comparableAlternative letter-case form of ancient Egyptian (“of or relating to Ancient Egypt”).

   Consider the plan of the house at Deir el-Medina, information about El-Amarna and the picture. Is the model an accurate version of an Ancient Egyptian house?

   1993, Ancient Egypt, Folens, →ISBN, page 4

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   M. Villoteau, the French musician who accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt over 200 years ago, described Ancient Egyptian instruments (tambouras) with 25 frets, which are capable of producing ¼ tones.

   2000, Moustafa Gadalla, Egyptian Harmony: The Visual Music, Tehuti Research Foundation, published 2003, →ISBN, page 30

   The newspapers were bursting with claims of wondrous finds; how the evidence from the dead queen’s tomb would forever change how the Ancient Egyptian religions were viewed.

   2016, George Mann, Ghosts of Karnak, Titan Books, →ISBN

1. Alternative letter-case form of Ancient Egyptian (“the Afroasiatic language spoken and written in Ancient Egypt”).

   Mormons believe that 185 years ago, Smith found gold plates engraved with writing in ancient Egyptian in upstate New York.

   2015 August 5, Associated Press, “Revealed: the stone that 'translated' the Book of Mormon”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Aug 2015

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   Another treasure in the collection is a replica of the Great Rosetta stone inscribed in ancient Egyptian and ancient Greek.

   1988 May 31, Charles Hillinger, “Mummy Just Spent 50 Years in Attic […]”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2023

   Ms. Ahmimou likened the Kemet collection to “a big house with lots of rooms.” But the name is also laden with symbolism, and duality. It means “black” in ancient Egyptian, she said, but it can be interpreted as either the dark, fertile sediment lining the banks of the Nile or as a reference to the African people of Ancient Egypt.

   2021 October 29, Tina Isaac-Goizé, “She Fell in Love With Craftsmanship”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 Oct 2021

plural ancient Egyptians

1. A native or inhabitant of Ancient Egypt.

   Just consider the high level of societal organization that it took to conceive and create what the ancient Egyptians left behind.

   1999, “The Upper Nile Valley: Abydos to Aswan”, in Stephen Wolf, editor, Egypt: The Complete Guide to Cairo, the Ancient Wonders, the Red Sea, Sinai and Desert Oases (Fodor’s), New York, N.Y.: Fodor’s Travel Publications, →ISBN, chapter 4 (The Nile Valley and Lake Nasser), page 126, column 1

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   The paintings, so vivid that they could be Kodak snaps, offer proof of the ancient Egyptians’ zest for life, which they took with them to the grave, hoping that the afterlife could be just as good as the here and now.

   1999 May 2, Susan Spano, “Egyptology 101”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 Aug 2026

   "Uncomfortably real", the ancient Egyptians can still challenge our assumptions that ours is the only way of looking at the world, and remind us that they saw it differently.

   2010 November 6, Richard [Bruce] Parkinson, “Egypt: A life before the afterlife”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Sep 2013

1. not comparableOf or relating to Ancient Egypt.

   Two ancient Egyptian staples were bread and beer, augmented by vegetables such as onions, squashes, cucumbers, and lettuce.

   1999, “To Live and Die in Ancient Egypt”, in Stephen Wolf, editor, Egypt: The Complete Guide to Cairo, the Ancient Wonders, the Red Sea, Sinai and Desert Oases (Fodor’s), New York, N.Y.: Fodor’s Travel Publications, →ISBN, chapter 8 (Portraits of Egypt), page 239, column 1

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   I loved my big room in the Ramses Hilton overlooking the Nile, and the way it seemed as if we’d all dropped off the face of the earth for 10 days into an ancient Egyptian afterlife.

   1999 May 2, Susan Spano, “Egyptology 101”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 Aug 2026

   When we encounter an ancient Egyptian artefact face to face, it often produces a strangely mixed feeling of meeting something very different from our own culture, but also very familiar.

   2010 November 6, Richard [Bruce] Parkinson, “Egypt: A life before the afterlife”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 Sep 2013