4 ms·

I was hoping an HN reader would be able to comment on what the purpose of the middle (𓂹) symbol is. Anyone? Googling the symbol hasn't provided any leads.

• wl 8y ago
  Sign D52A is a monogram combining sign D52 (transliteration: mt, phallus) and sign S29 (transliteration: s, folded cloth). It is read smt or smt(r). Possible translations, depending on context include the verbs to hear, to examine, to bear witness to, or to inquire.
• irrational 8y ago
  The folded cloth was used by itself or in combination with many other signs, for example: 𓋴 U+132F4 folded cloth 𓄸 U+13138 folded cloth and intestines 𓋵 U+132F5 folded cloth and horned viper 𓋶 U+132F6 folded cloth and sickle 𓌭 U+1332D folded cloth and knife sharpener 𓌯 U+1332F folded cloth and butcher's knife sharpener There are other signs that they also combined like this, for example, 𓌌 U+1330C cobra with mace Both the cobra and the mace are also standalone signs, just as all the signs above are standalone signs in addition to being combined with the folded cloth. Why did the egyptians combine signs like this? I'm not sure. I've never read an explanation for it.
  • wl 8y ago
    It's pretty common for signs to be rearranged or omitted for aesthetic reasons. There was a strong preference for signs to be grouped in boxes. For example, if we were find 𓅨𓂋 wr, it would almost always be written with 𓂋 underneath 𓅨. With the 𓋴 combinations, we're combining with symbols that are mostly horizontal with a vertical symbol. Sure, you could stack them, flip them to be parallel, or put them after each other like I did with 𓅨𓂋 wr. However, some scribes probably thought combining them in crosses looked better than any of the alternatives.