ⲛⲟⲩⲃⲓⲁ ⲡⲁⲡⲁⲗⲁ
Old Nubian
Nilo-Saharan (Eastern Sudanic) · historical / hidden variety
Old Nubian was the literary language of the Christian Nubian kingdoms of Makuria and Alodia (8-15c.). Well-attested via translations of the Bible, liturgical texts, and legal documents discovered at sites like Qasr Ibrim and Old Dongola. The script is based on Coptic with three additional letters for Nubian sounds. Modern Nobiin and Mahas-Fadicca are direct descendants.
Where it is spoken
87 core words in Old Nubian
Sources
- G. M. Browne 1996, Old Nubian Dictionary (CSCO 556, Louvain), via Wiktionary Old Nubian lemmas; P. Weschenfelder et al. 2022, "The Old Nubian Texts from Attiri", Dotawo Monograph 1; F. Ll. Griffith 1913, The Nubian Texts of the Christian Period (vocabulary, archive.org nubiantextsofchr00grif) for confirmation
Words compared
Compared with languages in the same classification: Nilo-Saharan (Eastern Sudanic)
| Meaning | Old Nubian | Nobiin | Etruscan | Oscan | Mycenaean Greek | Umbrian | Phrygian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ⲁⲙⲁⲛ /aman/ | ámán /ámán/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐀄𐀈 /hudɔːr/ | utur /ˈutur/ | bedu /ˈbedu/ |
| Fire | ⲓⲕ /ik/ | ííg /íːɡ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐀢 /pyːr/ | pir /pir/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | ⲙⲁϣⲁⲗ /maʃal/ | màshà /màʃà/ | usil /ˈuzil/ | — /—/ | 𐀀𐀸𐀪𐀍 /haːwelios/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | ⲟⲩⲛ /un/ | ùnáttí /ùnátːí/ | tiur /ˈtiur/ | — /—/ | 𐀕 /mɛːn/ | — /—/ | masê /maˈseː/ |
| Star | — /—/ | wìnjì /wìndʒì/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐀀𐀳𐀫 /astɛːr/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Night | ⲟⲩⲁⲣ /uar/ | awa /awa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Rain | ⲁⲣⲟⲩ /aru/ | áwwí /áwːí/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wind | ⲧⲟⲩⲕ /tuk/ | tùùg /tùːɡ/ | — | — | 𐀀𐀚𐀗 /anemos/ | — | — |
| Earth | ⲥ̅ⲕⲧ̅ /iskit/ | gùr /ɡùr/ | — | teras /teras/ | — | — | — |
| Stone | ⲕⲧ̅ /kit/ | kid /kid/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mountain | ⳟⲁϭϭ /ŋadʒː/ | mùléé /mùléː/ | — | — | — | ukar /ˈukar/ | — |
| Sea | ⲑⲁⲗⲁⲥ /tʰalas/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mother | ⲉⲛ /en/ | een /eːn/ | ati /ˈati/ | maatúf /maːtof/ | 𐀔𐀳 /maːtɛːr/ | matrer /ˈmatrer/ | mater /ˈmater/ |
| Father | ⲡⲁⲡ /pap/ | faab /faːb/ | apa /ˈapa/ | patír /patiːr/ | 𐀞𐀳 /patɛːr/ | patre /ˈpatre/ | atas /aˈtas/ |
| I | ⲁⲓ /ai/ | ày /àj/ | mi /mi/ | egom /eɡom/ | 𐀁𐀒 /eɡɔː/ | — /—/ | az /az/ |
| You | ⲉⲓⲣ /ir/ | ìr /ìr/ | — /—/ | tú /tuː/ | 𐀶 /tuː/ | tu /tuː/ | — /—/ |
| We | ⲉⲣ /er/ | ùù /ùː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Name | ⲧⲁⳟⲓⲥ /taŋis/ | tàŋìs /tàŋìs/ | — /—/ | númen /nuːmen/ | 𐀃𐀜𐀔 /onoma/ | nome /ˈnome/ | onoman /ˈonoman/ |
| Person | ⲉⲓⲧ /it/ | íd /íd/ | — | — | 𐀀𐀵𐀫𐀦 /antʰrɔːkʷos/ | — | — |
| Head | ⲟⲩⲣ /ur/ | ùr /ùr/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eye | ⲙⲁⳡ /maɲ/ | mááñ /máːɲ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Ear | ⲟⲩⲗⲅ /ulɡ/ | ukki /ukːi/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Mouth | ⲁⲅⲓⲗ /aɡil/ | ág /áɡ/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Tooth | — /—/ | nid /nid/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tongue | ⲧⲁⲙⲉ /tame/ | nar /nar/ | — /—/ | fangva /faŋɡwa/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | ⲉⲓ /ei/ | èddì /èdːì/ | — /—/ | manim /manim/ | 𐀐𐀁 /kʰɛːr/ | manuv-e /maˈnuwe/ | zeira /ˈzeːra/ |
| Foot | ⲟⲉⲓ /oi/ | óóy /óːj/ | — | — | 𐀡𐀆 /podei/ | persi /ˈpersi/ | petes /ˈpetes/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | áy /áj/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Bone | ⲅⲓⲥⲣⲓ /ɡisri/ | gisir /ɡisir/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Blood | ⲇⲓⲥ /dis/ | dis /dis/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | ⲇⲟⲩⲗⲗ /dull/ | doll- /dolː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐀠𐀫 /pʰilos/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | ⲕⲟ /ko/ | kóy /kój/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐀈𐀬 /doru/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | ⲙⲟⲩⲅ /muɡ/ | mùg /mùɡ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐀓𐀺 /kuwɔːn/ | — /—/ | kan /kan/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | kàdíís /kàdíːs/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fish | ⲟⲩⲁⲧⲟ /uato/ | angisi /aŋisi/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Bird | ⲕⲁⲩⲣⲧⲉ /kaurte/ | — | — | — | — | auif /ˈawif/ | — |
| Egg | ⲕⲟⲩⲙⲡⲟⲩ /kumpu/ | kúmbúú /kúmbúː/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| Horse | ⲙⲟⲩⲣⲧ /murt/ | — | — | — | 𐀂𐀦 /ikkʷos/ | — | — |
| House | ⳟⲟⲅ /ŋoɡ/ | noog /noːɡ/ | — /—/ | trííbúm /triːbom/ | 𐀺𐀂𐀒 /woikos/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | ⲕⲙ̄ /kim/ | kàb- /kàb/ | — /—/ | edum /edum/ | 𐀁𐀈𐀕𐀙 /edmenai/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | ⳟⲉⲓ /ŋi/ | níí- /níː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐀡𐀜 /piːnɔː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sleep | ⳟⲉⲣ /ŋer/ | nèèr- /nèːr/ | — | — | — | — | — |
| One | ⲟⲩⲉⲣ /uer/ | wèèr /wèːr/ | thu /θu/ | — /—/ | 𐀁 /hen/ | unu /ˈunu/ | — /—/ |
| Two | ⲟⲩⲱⲟ /uwːo/ | úwwó /úwːó/ | zal /tsal/ | dús /duːs/ | 𐀉𐀺 /duwoː/ | dur /dur/ | — /—/ |
| Three | ⲧⲟⲩⲥⲕⲟ /tusko/ | tuskó /tuskó/ | ci /ki/ | trís /triːs/ | 𐀯𐀪 /tiri/ | trif /trif/ | — /—/ |
| Four | ⲕⲉⲙⲥⲟ /kemso/ | kémsó /kémsó/ | huth /huθ/ | pettiur /pettiur/ | 𐀤𐀵𐀫 /kʷetoro/ | — | — |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | ⲥ̄ⲕⲟⲉⲗ /iskoel/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | ⲇⲱⲗⲗⲉ /dolle/ | màs /màs/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐀀𐀏𐀳 /aɡatʰos/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| New | ⲙⲓⲣⲓ /miri/ | míríí /míríː/ | — | — | 𐀚𐀺 /newos/ | — | — |
| Red | ⲅⲉⲗ /ɡel/ | geel /ɡeːl/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 𐀁𐀬𐀲𐀨 /erutʰraː/ | rofa /ˈrofa/ | — /—/ |
| White | ⳟⲟⲩⲗⲟⲩ /ŋulu/ | nuluu /nuluː/ | — | — | 𐀩𐀄𐀒 /leukos/ | alfu /ˈalfu/ | — |
| Green | ⲇⲉⲥⲥ /desː/ | bessi /besːi/ | — | — | — | — | — |
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