The Egyptian hieroglyph for "black" (𓆎) in Gardiner's sign list is numbered I6. Its phonetic value is km. The Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache ('Dictionary of the Egyptian Language') lists no less than 24 different terms of km indicating 'black' such as black stone, metal, wood, hair, eyes, and animals, and in one instance applied to a person's name.[1]
The most common explanation for the hieroglyph is under the Gardiner's Sign List, section I for "amphibious animals, reptiles, etc" is a crocodile skin with spines. Rossini and Schumann-Antelme propose that the crocodile skin hieroglyph actually shows claws coming out of the hide.[2]
Besides 'black', the alternate use of the hieroglyph is for items terminating, coming-to-an-end, items of completion, hence a reference to charcoal, burning to its ending.[3]
Ancient Egypt is commonly referred to as 'km.t' (one variant: 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖), believed to be a reference to the black Nile Delta earth. '𓊖' (the determinative O49) is used to designate the term for 'country, inhabited/cultivated land', called the niw.t (a political designate). It is a circle with a cross which represents a street, 'town intersection'.[4]
'Km.t' (𓆎), the symbol to the right of the bottom-most calf, identifies it as "Black".
The 198 BC Rosetta Stone uses the Black (hieroglyph) three times to make the name of Egypt: km.t. Of the 22 placename uses for the "name of ancient Egypt", 7 are for another name of Egypt as iAt-
, signifying the soil of Egypt, N30: X1*Z2-
, which is the Greek form of "Egypt", signifying it as "the (divine) place of the mound (of creation)" and the fertile black soil of the land after the Inundation.[5][6] (Note the doubled hieroglyph, '𓈇', Gardiner N23, is used as the Two Lands, (Upper Egypt, and Lower Egypt), and the common use of "Ta-Mer-t", and additionally uses of 'Horus of the Two Lands' .)
In the Demotic (Egyptian) text of the Rosetta Stone, the demotic for Egypt is 'Kmi' . There are three uses of the actual Kmi, but 7 others referenced as Kmi refer to iAt in the hieroglyphs. Other euphemistic references to Egypt in the Rosetta Stone include "Ta-Mer-t", which has the meaning of the 'full/fruitful/cultivated land', hr-tAwy, the 'lands of Horus', and tAwy, the "Two Lands."
Egyptian word examples, conclusion, completion, kmt, km iri
and
"conclusion" and "to total"--("complete") --"kmt"--and--"km iri"-- in hieroglyphs
Coming to a conclusion, or completion is one use of the km hieroglyph in the words kmt and km iri ('to make an end').[7] The discussion of the biliteral states: The conclusion of a document, written in black ink, ending the work, has the same semantic connotation.[8] (as km for 'concluding') The Rossini, Schumann-Antelme write-up states that initially the word comes from "shield", ikm, and thus the original association with the crocodile.[8]
Alternative glyph, X5 equivalent, items burning black to an ending
Since the origin of the 'black' hieroglyph, and relationships to other forms showing vertical flame-like rises on the end of a flat-triangular shape, there has been discussion of this hieroglyph. As stated above, Schumann-Antelme and Rossini explain the crocodile skin, but with claws.[8] The text by Egyptologists Mark Collier and Bill Manley describes the same "crocodile skin", Gardiner I6, as burning charcoal with flames.[9]
In: An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary by E.A. Wallace Budge, Volume 2, 1920
on page 787B and 788A in the "K"-section km is rendered as "kam" and related variations follow [10]
The first 5 entries, kam, kam-t, or kamkam relate to the meaning "to end, to bring to an end, to finish, to complete" (Entry four is untranslated and is from Papyrus 3024, Lepsius, Denkmaler-(papyrus).) The references for the others in the first five are: Peasant, Die Klagen des Bauern, 1908.,[11] Thes.-(Thesaurus Inscriptionum Aegyptiacarum, Brugsch);.[12] A. Z.-(twice);[13]Shipwreck., 118-(Tale of the shipwrecked sailor);[14] Amen.-(author: Amen-em-apt);[15] and Thes. (again).
Entries 6,7 and 8 describe being black and black-colored things. also referring to Coptic refer to coptic "KAME", for 6 and 8; entry 7 to coptic "KMOM", "KMEM". For entry 7, to be black, Budge also references Revue-(Rev.);[16] for entry 8, black items, Budge also references T.-(King Teta);[17] and N.-(Pepi II-(King Nefer-ka-Ra).[18] 9, "Kammau" as Egyptian,
10 "kami-t" as ^ : , books of the black land, 11 the same word "kami-t" also as "black cow" or "black cattle". 12 "Kam-ur" is defined as "The Red Sea" Variations that follow include various animals, gods, goddesses and a couple of lakes
21 and 22, describe a "buckler", or "shield", and "black wood".
The last of the 27 entries describe black stones, or powders and black plants, or seeds; (all small multiple, plural, grains-of, items). Entry 26 is an image, or statue, using the vertical mummy hieroglyph gardiner A53, ("in the form of", "the custom of"). These last six entries are unreferenced.
The 1920 Budge dictionary is a compilation of 200 referenced works by 120 authors.
During Budge's own lifetime and today some scholars have disputed its interpretation of hieroglyphs and texts.[19] Budge's transliteration system was unique to Budge. Most Egyptologists then (and today) use the transcription and transliteration system developed by the Berlin School which issued the master compendium of Egyptian hieroglyphic language in 1926, Wörterbuch der Aegyptischen Sprache (7 Vols.),[20] and which is detailed in the publication by A. H. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs (1957)).
Shield
and
"shield" and "to put an end to" --"ikm"--and--'khm-- in hieroglyphs
"Shield", ikm and another word with an approximate km cognate, 'khm starting with the vowel ( ' ), 'khm, meaning to put to an end are the possible words related to the origins of the crocodile skin, and the 'verb of action', of items coming to an end. The second word 'khm has nine entries in the Budge dictionary,[21] shield, ikam, has two entries.[22]
The 4th cow is labelled, black (variant "triangle-hieroglyph" with "flames")
Obelisk of Nectanebo II (crocodile skin hieroglyph)
