Decoding the Pyramid: What Its Name Means in Greek and Ancient Egyptian

The root of the sanction of the pyramids is astir arsenic mysterious arsenic the structures themselves. Credits: Jacky Lee, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In English, the awesome monuments built by the ancient Egyptians astatine Giza are called ‘pyramids’. Where does this connection travel from? What does it mean successful ancient Greek, and what does this uncover astir the pyramids themselves? Furthermore, what did the past Egyptians themselves telephone them?

The root of the connection ‘pyramid’

The modern English connection ‘pyramid’ has a agelong and comparatively unchangeable history. It originates from the French ‘pyramide’, which, successful turn, comes from Old French ‘piramide’ successful the twelfth period CE.

This Old French connection was borrowed straight from the Latin ‘pyramides’. Interestingly, this Latin connection is the plural. The singular successful Latin is ‘pyramis’. However, erstwhile the connection was borrowed into Old French, the plural was utilized for the singular, with the ‘s’ removed from the end.

Going backmost adjacent further, the Latin connection for pyramid primitively came from ancient Greek. In the Greek language, the singular was ‘pyramis,’ identical to the Latin. The plural, meanwhile, was ‘pyramides’, again, conscionable similar Latin.

What does this mean successful past Greek?

What is the existent etymology of this connection successful ancient Greek? That is, what did their past connection for a pyramid mean? Interestingly, determination is overmuch statement surrounding this issue. Some scholars reason that it comes from the connection ‘pyros’, meaning ‘wheat’.

The reasoning down this is that this connection for wheat led to the connection ‘pyramis’ being utilized for a definite benignant of barroom made from wheat. We spot this usage arsenic aboriginal arsenic the writings of Ephippus, who lived during the 4th period BCE. According to this theory, the Egyptian pyramids received their sanction owed to their resemblance to the signifier of a cake.

However, according to 1 scholar, a important occupation with this mentation is that the signifier of those wheat-based cakes is unknown. Therefore, their name, derived from ‘pyros’ (wheat), mightiness person a wholly autarkic root from the sanction of the Egyptian pyramids.

Another mentation suggests that the word “pyramis” whitethorn originate from the basal “pyr” (πῦρ), linked to grain, combined with “amis” (αμίς) derived from the verb “amaō” (ἀμάω), meaning to reap oregon to gather. This mentation implies that the past Greeks whitethorn person understood the pyramids arsenic ample storage structures oregon granaries utilized for collecting and preserving grain.

The past mentation suggests that the past Greek connection for the pyramids derives from the connection for fire, which is ‘pyr’ successful Greek. Ancient Historian Ammianus Marcellinus states,  “Some deduce the connection pyramís from pyr (fire), due to the fact that of its signifier tapering to a point, similar that of a flame.” However, this mentation lacks important scholarly support.

Does the Greek connection for the pyramids person an past Egyptian origin?

A mentation that has immoderate favour among linguists is that the Greek connection for the pyramids yet comes from past Egyptian.

One anticipation is that the connection comes from the Egyptian operation ‘pr-m-ws’. This operation is attested arsenic aboriginal arsenic c. 1550 BCE. It appears successful a manuscript known arsenic the Rhind Mathematical Papyrus. The operation refers to the tallness of the pyramid, not the pyramid itself.

Although this operation was associated with the pyramids, it could conceivably person travel to beryllium utilized to picture the structures themselves. Whether this is plausible oregon not is debatable.

The past Egyptian connection for the pyramids

If ‘pr-m-ws’ was not the Egyptian connection for the pyramids themselves, past what did they telephone them? The past Egyptian connection for ‘pyramid’ was ‘mr’. This is sometimes rendered arsenic ‘mer’ oregon ‘mir’.

The root and meaning of this Egyptian connection is unknown. However, galore scholars judge that it whitethorn primitively person meant ‘heap of stones’. Others judge that it whitethorn person meant ‘tower’, portion others judge that it meant ‘high place’.

In immoderate case, determination is wide statement that the past Egyptians utilized this word, ‘mr’, to notation to the pyramids themselves, and not to the geometric conception of a pyramid shape.

Could this connection person been the root of the past Greek ‘pyramis’? Some linguists judge so. They suggest that this connection went done a process known arsenic metathesis, wherever the bid of the letters successful a connection is swapped around.

In this case, the proposition is that the connection ‘mr’ was altered to ‘rm’. There is crushed to judge that the speakers of past Coptic successful Egypt would person placed a ‘p’ earlier this, producing ‘piram’ oregon ‘phram’. The past Greeks could past person adapted this into ‘pyramis’.

Place of ascension

Some researchers and Egyptologists nexus the Egyptian basal mister (also written arsenic mer) to the meaning “to ascend” oregon “to rise.” This transportation is made because, successful assorted past Egyptian texts, mister derivatives are utilized to picture upward movement, particularly successful a spiritual oregon symbolic sense. For example, the king’s psyche is often depicted arsenic rising oregon ascending to articulation the prima deity Ra oregon alteration into a divine spirit.

Based connected this linguistic root, immoderate scholars suggest that the Egyptian connection for pyramid whitethorn bespeak the pyramid’s relation arsenic a spot of ascension. The operation symbolized a stairway oregon gateway done which the deceased pharaoh’s tone could ascend to the heavens. This mentation is supported not lone by the linguistic grounds successful the basal mister itself but besides by its accordant usage successful spiritual and funerary texts, wherever the conception of rising and translation aft decease is central.

While an absorbing theory, this is highly speculative. Appropriately, fixed each the mysteries surrounding the Pyramids of Giza, the precise root of their sanction is acold from clear.