jwn

Egyptian

Etymology 1

Perhaps from a form such as Proto-Afroasiatic *lwn-; compare Arabic لَوْن (lawn, “color, type”), Ugaritic 𐎀𐎐 (ản, “pigment”).

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /jaˈwin/ → /jaˈwin/ → /ʔaˈwen/ → /ʔaˈwen/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2350 BCE) IPA^(key): /jaˈwin/
• (Middle Egyptian, c. 1700 BCE) IPA^(key): /jaˈwin/ (→ /ʔaˈwin/)
• (Amarna-period Late Egyptian, c. 1350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ʔaˈwen/
• (Late Egyptian, c. 800 BCE) IPA^(key): /ʔaˈwen/

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /iuːn/
  • Conventional anglicization: iun

Noun

 m

1. color [since the Middle Kingdom]
2. complexion, skin color
3. (of a god) look, appearance
4. character, nature, sort

Inflection

Declension of jwn (masculine)

singular	jwn
dual	jwnwj
plural	jwnw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of jwn  

jwn	jwn	jwn	jn	jnw	jnmm	jwn	jwn
[Middle Kingdom]	[Middle Kingdom]	[18th Dynasty]	[since the 18th Dynasty]	[19th and 20th Dynasty]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]	[Greco-Roman Period]
						abbreviation	abbreviation

Derived terms

• jwn-n-pt

Descendants

• Demotic Egyptian: jwn
  • Akhmimic Coptic: ⲉⲟⲩⲉⲛ (eouen)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲁⲟⲩⲁⲛ (aouan)
  • Fayyumic Coptic: ⲁⲟⲩⲏⲛ (aouēn), ⲁⲩⲁⲛ (auan)
  • Sahidic Coptic: ⲁⲩⲁⲛ (auan), ⲁⲩⲉⲓⲛ (auein)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /iuːn/
  • Conventional anglicization: iun

Noun

 m

1. pillar, column
2. one of the mythical pillars seen as holding up the sky
3. (figuratively) person upon whom someone or something else depends; crucial supporter, maintainer, sustainer, succorer

Inflection

Declension of jwn (masculine)

singular	jwn
dual	jwnwj
plural	jwnw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of jwn  

jwn	jwn	jwn	jwn
	[18th Dynasty]	[19th Dynasty]	[Greco-Roman Period]
	in hieratic

Derived terms

• jwnj
• jwnyt
• jwnw
• jwn-mwt.f
• jwn n fnḏ
• jwn-ḥꜥꜥ
• jwn-knmwt
• jwnt

Noun

 m

1. ‘the Pillar’, ‘the Succorer’ as an epithet for gods, in the Greco-Roman Period especially for Osiris

Inflection

Declension of jwn (masculine)

singular	jwn
dual	jwnwj
plural	jwnw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of jwn  

jwn	jwn	jwn

Derived terms

• jwnw

Noun

 m

1. air or wind, seen as a support holding up the sky [Pyramid Texts and Greco-Roman Period]

Inflection

Declension of jwn (masculine)

singular	jwn
dual	jwnwj
plural	jwnw

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of jwn  

jwn	jwn
[Old Kingdom]	[Greco-Roman Period]

Derived terms

• jwn-wr

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /iuːn/
  • Conventional anglicization: iun

Verb

 3-lit.

1. (transitive) to unite (something) (+ n: with (something else)) [Pyramid Texts]
2. (intransitive, with n or ḥnꜥ) to join (someone) [Pyramid Texts]
3. (in the stative) together [Pyramid Texts]

Inflection

Conjugation of jwn (triliteral / 3-lit. / 3rad.) — base stem: jwn, geminated stem: jwnn

infinitival forms imperative infinitive negatival complement complementary infinitive1 singular plural jwn jwnw, jwn jwnt jwn jwn ‘pseudoverbal’ forms stative stem periphrastic imperfective2 periphrastic prospective2 jwn ḥr jwn m jwn r jwn suffix conjugation aspect / mood active passive contingent aspect / mood active passive perfect jwn.n jwnw, jwn consecutive jwn.jn active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 terminative jwnt perfective3 jwn active + .tj1, .tw2 obligative1 jwn.ḫr active + .tj1, .tw2 imperfective jwn active + .tj1, .tw2 prospective3 jwn jwnn potentialis1 jwn.kꜣ active + .tj1, .tw2 active + .tj1, .tw2 subjunctive jwn active + .tj1, .tw2 verbal adjectives aspect / mood relative (incl. nominal / emphatic) forms participles active passive active passive perfect jwn.n active + .tj1, .tw2 — — perfective jwn active + .tj1, .tw2 jwn jwn, jwnw5, jwny5 imperfective jwn, jwny, jwnw5 active + .tj1, .tw2 jwn, jwnj6, jwny6 jwn, jwnw5 prospective jwn, jwntj7 — jwntj4, jwnt4 1 Used in Old Egyptian; archaic by Middle Egyptian. 2 Used mostly since Middle Egyptian. 3 Archaic or greatly restricted in usage by Middle Egyptian. The perfect has mostly taken over the functions of the perfective, and the subjunctive and periphrastic prospective have mostly replaced the prospective. 4 Declines using third-person suffix pronouns instead of adjectival endings: masculine .f/.fj, feminine .s/.sj, dual .snj, plural .sn. 5 Only in the masculine singular. 6 Only in the masculine. 7 Only in the feminine.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of jwn  

jwn	jwn

References

• “jwn (lemma ID 22570)”, “jwn (lemma ID 22610)”, “jwn (lemma ID 22620)”, “jwn (lemma ID 22600)”, and “jwn (lemma ID 22590)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎^[1], Corpus issue 20, Web app version 2.5.0, ed. by Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning […] and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils […], 2004–23 April 2026
• Erman, Adolf; Grapow, Hermann (1926), Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎^[2], volume 1, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 52.7–52.20, 53.3–53.18
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962), A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 13
• Vycichl, Werner (1983), Dictionnaire Étymologique de la Langue Copte, Leuven: Peeters, →ISBN, page 19