Meaning and Origin
What does the name Egypt mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
Origin and Meaning of Egypt
User Submitted Origins
Greek
46%
African
37%
English
9%
Islamic/Muslim
3%
African American
3%
Arabic
3%
International Interest
Also see international interest
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Egypt
a country at the northeastern corner of Africa. At one time it was joined with Syria to form the United Arab Republic.
Other Dictionary Sources
- An ancient empire to the west of Israel; centered on the Nile River and ruled by a Pharaoh; figured in many events described in the Old Testament
- A republic in northeastern Africa known as the United Arab Republic until 1971; site of an ancient civilization that flourished from 2600 to 30 BC
Wiktionary
From Middle French Egypte, from Latin Aegyptus, from Ancient Greek Αἴγυπτος (Aíguptos) (see also the Mycenaean Greek ethnonym 𐁁𐀓𐀠𐀴𐀍 (ai-ku-pi-ti-jo, “Egyptian”)), from Egyptian ḥwt-kꜣ-ptḥ (“Egypt; Memphis; the temple of Ptah in Memphis”, literally “The temple of the ka of Ptah”), whose Late Egyptian pronunciation is reflected by Akkadian 𒄭𒆪𒌒𒋫𒀪 (ḫikuptaḫ).
- A country in North Africa. Official name: Arab Republic of Egypt.
- (historical) A civilization based around the river Nile, on its lower reaches nearer the Mediterranean.
Egypt was also found in the following language(s): Czech, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Slovak