Ask the Mountie
Why did they name egypt like that?
why did they name egypt like that, while the egyptians name it MISR?
Nour
Dear Nour
Egypt has had many names in many different languages. It’s official name is Junhuriyah Misr al-Arabiyah, - the Arab Republic of Egypt.
In the early period of Egypt, during the Old Kingdom, Egypt was referred to as Kemet (Kermit), or simply Kmt , which means the Black land, or Deshret, (dshrt), which means the “Red Land”,
Later, Egyptians referred to their country as “Hwt-ka-Ptah”, which means “House of the Ka of Ptah”
Ptah was one of Egypt’s earliest Gods.
Egypt, as many people of the world refer to the country today, is a derivative of this ancient name. The Greeks had difficulties with the Egyptian pronunciation of the letter “H” at the beginning and end of Hwt-ka-Ptah so they changed the name to Aegyptus, as mentioned in the “Odyssey”.
Today, the Egyptians refer to their country as Misr. Misr is an Arabic name simply meaning “country” This is probably derived from an ancient term, Mizraim which may have itself been derived from an ancient Egyptian word, md-r mdr.
Yours Truly
Mr Mountie
Leave a tip
Say thank you by buying the Mountie a $3 beer.
The Mountie doesn't get a salary from takete, but makes his living on tips alone. Did the Mounties answer change your life? Leave a tip!