msqt-sḥdw

Egyptian

FWOTD – 22 July 2017

Etymology

msqt (“a mythological place of the dead”) +‎ sḥdw, plural of sḥd (“star”), in a direct genitive construction.

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /mɛskɛt sɛhɛduː/
  • Conventional anglicization: mesqet-sehedu

Proper noun

 f

1. a region of the sky to which a dead king was said to ascend, perhaps the Milky Way [Pyramid Texts]
   • c. 2345-2333 B.C.E., Pyramid of King Teti, south wall of the passage between the burial chamber and antechamber, Pyramid Text spell 262, section 24 (trans. Allen):

     nj ḫsb.n sw ꜥḥ-ḥḏ wrw jr msqt-sḥdw

     The White Palace of the great ones cannot bar him from the Beaten Path of Stars.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of msqt-sḥdw  

msqt-sḥd	msqt-sḥdw
from the pyramid of King Unas	from the pyramid of King Pepi II

References

• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 21–22.
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1926–1961) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN