Knot (hieroglyph)
Encyclopedia
The ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...

 Knot hieroglyph, or girdle knot, Gardiner
Gardiner's Sign List
Gardiner's Sign List is a list of common Egyptian hieroglyphs compiled by Sir Alan Gardiner. It is considered a standard reference in the study of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs....

 sign listed no. S24, portrays a reef knot. Besides its use as a hieroglyph, it has usage in statuary and reliefs; it is also an amulet, typically made of worked stone, or as jewellery elements.

Language usage

The knot hieroglyph is used in the Egyptian language
Egyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...

 as the verb, (th)s, (th)ss, for to knot, to tie, to tie together, etc.V13:S24:O34-.-V13:O34:O34-S24 It is used as the phonogram
Phonogram
Phonogram may refer to:* Phonogram , a comic book by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie* Phonogram , a grapheme which represents a phoneme or a combination of phonemes...

 for (th)s, as well as the determinative
Determinative
A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they may derive historically from glyphs for real words, and...

. There are many alternate spellings.
For the noun, it is Egyptian language (th)s, (th)s.t, S24:X1*Z1-.-S24:Z1-.-S24:O34-Z7:D40-.-S24:O34-G43-F41 for meanings of: knot, tie, ligature, backbone, vertebrae, spine, etc.

Figure-of-Eight knot

The knot used as an article of jewellery was especially known in the Middle Kingdom
Middle Kingdom
Middle Kingdom may refer to:*China, traditional translation of its common name, Zhōngguó *Middle Kingdom of Egypt*Middle kingdoms of India...

. It can be found in necklaces (see gallery photo), and as a small brooch. In Amulets of Ancient Egypt, a two-part, hollow gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...

 piece is shown, with a detailed rope-detailed fiber; it is made with a tongue and groove closure for the parts.

See also

  • Gardiner's Sign List#S. Crowns, Dress, Staves, etc.
  • Square knot
  • Girdle of Isis
    Tyet
    The tyet is an ancient Egyptian symbol of the goddess Isis; its exact origin is unknown. In many respects the tyet resembles an ankh, except that its arms curve down...

    , or Tyet
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