gs-tp

Egyptian

FWOTD – 8 October 2018

Etymology

gs(“half, side”)+‎tp(“head”)in a direct genitive construction, thus ‘half of the head’ or ‘side of the head’.

Pronunciation

• (reconstructed)IPA^(key):/ˌkʼasˈtʼap/→/ˌkʼasˈtʼap/→/kʼəsˈtʼap/→/kʼəsˈtʼap/

• (Old Egyptian,c. 2500BCE)IPA^(key):/ˌkʼasˈtʼap/
• (Middle Egyptian,c. 1700BCE)IPA^(key):/ˌkʼasˈtʼap/
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian,c. 1350BCE)IPA^(key):/kʼəsˈtʼap/
• (latest Late Egyptian,c. 800BCE)IPA^(key):/kʼəsˈtʼap/

• (modern Egyptological)IPA^(key):/ɡɛs tɛp/
  • Conventional anglicization:ges-tep

Noun

m

1. migraineheadache
   • c.1550BCE,Ebers Papyrus,lines 47.14–47.15 (Eb 250):

     kt nt mrt mgs-tpḏnnt nt nꜥr snwḫ ḥr mrḥt gs tp jm r jfdw hrw

     Another [remedy] for pain in amigraine:the skull of a catfish, boiled in oil/fat. Anoint the head in it over the course of four days.

Descendants

• →Ancient Greek:ἡμικρανία(hēmikranía)(calque)
  • Greek:ημικρανία(imikranía)
  • →Latin:hemicrania
    • Old French:migraigne
      • →Middle English:megrim
        • English:migraine
        • English:megrim
      • French:migraine

References

• Hoch, James (1997)Middle Egyptian Grammar,Mississauga: Benben Publications,→ISBN,page164