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phonetic determinative

phonetic determinative noun: a type of hieroglyph that functions similarly to a phonogram, representing a series of consonants, but is unable to function autonomously and must follow other phonograms that together represent the same consonants.

Noun

phonetic determinative (plural phonetic determinatives)

  1. a type of hieroglyph that functions similarly to a phonogram, representing a series of consonants, but is unable to function autonomously and must follow other phonograms that together represent the same consonants
    • Now if we look at the meaning of the five-rayed star (Fig. III-1,c,i) as an Egyptian hieroglyph [Gardiner, 1957, 487, symbols N13,14,15], we find that when the star was alone it was used as an ideogram or determinative (sometimes it was also used phonetically or as a phonetic determinative) in...1987, Roger Herz-Fischler, A Mathematical History of Division in Extreme and Mean Ratio, page 52
    • Although the standing ram, fully articulated and thus suggesting vitality, can function as a generic determinative, it also appears in the primary position, often accompanied by a phonetic determinative: either the flaming bꜣ-pot or the nẖnm-vase for ẖnm.2008, Susan T. Hollis, The Ancient Egyptian “Tale of Two Brothers”: A Mythological, Relgious, Literary, and Historico-Political Study, page 65
  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see phonetic, determinative.

Examples of phonetic determinative in a sentence

  • It is difficult to know whether the boat hieroglyph was merely intended as an ideogram, or as a phonetic determinative for the verb ḫd, ‘to fare downstream’.2012, Toby A. H. Wilkinson, Royal Annals Of Ancient Egypt, page 116:
  • At this point, one can notice that “entire words entering bodily into the writing of etymologically unrelated words” is not a phenomenon limited to the so-called “phonetic determinatives”.2015, Stéphane Polis, Serge Rosmorduc, “The Hieroglyphic Sign Functions: Suggestions for a Revised Taxonomy”, in Fuzzy Boundaries...

Forms of phonetic determinative

pluralphonetic determinatives

Origin of phonetic determinative

The Egyptological sense was apparently coined by Alan Gardiner in his 1927–1957 Egyptian Grammar.

Questions about phonetic determinative

What does phonetic determinative mean?
Phonetic determinative means a type of hieroglyph that functions similarly to a phonogram, representing a series of consonants, but is unable to function autonomously and must follow other phonograms that together represent the same consonants.
How do you use phonetic determinative in a sentence?
It is difficult to know whether the boat hieroglyph was merely intended as an ideogram, or as a phonetic determinative for the verb ḫd, ‘to fare downstream’.
What part of speech is phonetic determinative?
Phonetic determinative is a noun.
What is the plural of phonetic determinative?
The plural of phonetic determinative is phonetic determinatives.

Words near phonetic determinative in the dictionary

  1. phonesthetics
  2. phonet.
  3. phonetic
  4. phonetic alphabet
  5. phonetic alphabets
  6. phonetic determinative
  7. phonetic determinatives
  8. phonetic erosion
  9. phonetic name
  10. phonetic names
  11. phonetic spelling alphabet

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: phonetic determinative (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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