Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian [Hardcover]

R.O. Faulkner (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0900416327 | ISBN-13: 978-0900416323 | Publication Date: January 1, 1970

This concise dictionary of 'Middle Egyptian' - that phase of the Ancient Egyptian language which had the widest general application - contains 5400 carefully selected words most likely to be encountered by students and scholars in the course of their regular work on Egyptian texts. Each entry gives the most common hieroglyphic form of the word, accompanied by its transliteration, translation, references to texts where it occurs, its less usual hieroglyphic variants, and phrases in which it is used. First published in 1962 and incorporating addenda from 1966, this Concise Dictionary has become the standard work of reference and is now in its tenth printing.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 349 pages
• Publisher: Griffith Institute (January 1, 1970)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0900416327
• ISBN-13: 978-0900416323
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #131,611 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > African > Instruction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Egyptian Language Dictionary par excellance, March 24, 2001

By 

Amenophis III (West Hollywood, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian (Hardcover)

I love this book--and let me tell you why. If you get the chance, pick it up. Feel that? It's light, easy to carry, and nicely transportable. If you've ever had to use the Wörterbuch der aegyptischen Sprache (Dictionary of the Egypian Language) by Erman with its seven lovely volumes (minus 'Belegstellen') you know what I mean. And best of all it's in English, elliminating the need to turn to the useless Budge dictionary if you don't happen to speak German. While Faulkner's dictionary will not have every single word you seek as you translate (hence 'A Concise Dictionary'), it contains more than enough to get you through a text. And most importantly there are citations within each entry as well as occasional examples of words within idiomatic contexts. Overall, highly recommended, as this is the best and most accessible Egyptian language dictionary around.

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Accurate than Budge...., February 28, 2000

By 

S. D. Shaver (San Clemente, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian (Hardcover)

This book is decidedly more accurate than the Budge compendium, which I don't recommend to anyone who wants to study the ancient Egyptian language as all it will do is teach you hieroglyphs the wrong way. Faulkner, however, gives you accurate translations, and while his handwriting makes this book a little hard to study -- and really, a typeface overhaul of this book is long overdue -- he's the best bang for your buck. This book is Egyptian-English; the companion book by David Shennum handles the English-Egyptian side of things, and is essential for anyone who wants to get the most out of this book. Costs a lot compared to the Budge stuff, but at least it won't leave you misreading glyphs and misunderstanding the wonder that is ancient Egypt.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one is the best, December 11, 2001

By 

Mr. Protocol (Venice, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian (Hardcover)

I learned to read Middle Egyptian using primarily Alan Gardiner's Middle Egyptian Grammar, Adrian deBuck's Reading Book, and this dictionary. Unfortunately, Amazon does not seem to carry deBuck, which is too bad, because deBuck is a book of hieroglyphic texts for the student, containing all the important Middle Egyptian stuff: The Story of Sinuhe, the Story of the Eloquent Peasant, etc. To show you how well Faulker and deBuck go together, I need only say that when Faulkner gave a reference for the particular definition of the word I was looking up out of deBuck, as often as not the reference turned out to be the very text I was reading - a pretty clear indication that I was on the right track!

Use Miriam Lichtheim's delightful translations to keep you on the track as far as the overall sense goes, but for the right word at the right time, Faulkner and deBuck go together like ham on rye.

deBuck is from Ares Publisher Inc. Google for Ares Publishers and you'll find them. Also, one reviewer complained that there is no reverse English-to-Egyptian index in Faulkner. True, but there's one published independently, and Amazon has that. I don't have the reference at hand but a little Amazon searching will turn it up.