Translingual

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Symbol

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nn

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Norwegian Nynorsk.

English

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Adverb

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nn (not comparable)

  1. (Philippines, Singapore) Alternative form of NN (noon).

Egyptian

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Pronoun

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M22M22

 proximal demonstrative pronoun

  1. this, that
    • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 149–150:
      aHaa
      n
      sbt
      bH
      A2n
      f
      imA1mM22M22D&d n&A1 mn
      f
      nDsmibZ1f
      D&d f
      n
      A1D35wrrn
      k
      a
      n
      tywW23
      Z2ss
      xprr
      t
      nbnTrsnn
      t
      rtrN33C
      Z2ss
      ꜥḥꜥ.n sbt.n.f jm.j m nn ḏd.n.j m nf m jb.f ḏd.f n.j (j)n wr n.k ꜥntjw ḫpr.t(j) ⟨m⟩ nb sntr
      Then he laughed at me – and at this that I’d said – as being wrong to his mind, saying to me: Are you abundant in myrrh, turned into a lord of incense?[1]
Usage notes
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This demonstrative is a pronoun, and so does not directly modify nouns. In Middle Egyptian it becomes used as a demonstrative for plural nouns in place of the old adjectives jpn and jptn. When used in this way, it precedes the noun, with the genitival adjective n(j) in between, e.g. "these feet" is nn n(j) rdw (literally "this of feet").

It forms a contrastive pair with the demonstrative pronoun nf, in which nn is proximal.

Inflection
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Alternative forms
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Etymology 2

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Oréal hypothesizes an origin in a contraction of nj (negative particle) +‎ wn (exists), following Vergote and rejecting an earlier hypothesis by Osing and Loprieno that would suggest an origin in nj (negative particle) +‎ jn.[2]

Particle

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D35
n

 proclitic

  1. (since Middle Egyptian, with a following noun or pronoun) there is no, there are no; introduces an independent negated existential clause
    • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 99–101:
      wa
      a
      A1Z1imnbma
      k
      AA24ib Z1
      f
      n&xtA24a Z1
      f
      rsnn
      nw
      wA1Z1Z1f
      D35
      n
      wxAAnDsA1mHr
      r
      ibsn
      Z2
      wꜥ jm nb mꜥkꜣ jb.f nḫt ꜥ.f r snnw.f nn wḫꜣ m ḥr(j) jb.sn
      Each one of them, his mind was more observant and his arm was stronger than his fellow’s. There was no fool in their midst.
    • c. 1859 BCE – 1813 BCE, The Loyalist Teaching (Stele of Sehetepibre/Cairo CG 20538 Verso) line 19:[3]
      D35
      n
      iizpr Z1
      n
      sbiA13Hr
      Z1
      HmZ1
      f
      iwXA
      t
      Aa2
      f
      mq
      H_SPACE
      T14Y1
      n
      mw
      nn jz n sbj ḥr ḥm.f jw ẖꜣt.f m qmꜣ n mw
      There is no tomb for a rebel against His Majesty; his corpse is thrown to the water.
  2. (since Middle Egyptian, with a following noun or pronoun) without; there not being any …; introduces a subordinated negated existential clause
    • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 6–8:
      izw&&t A1Z2ssT
      n
      Z2
      iiit
      D54
      aD
      d
      t
      Y2
      D35
      n
      n
      h
      wnDs
      n
      mSaA1Z2ssn
      Z2
      jzwt.n jj.t(j) ꜥd.t(j) nn nhw n mšꜥ.n
      Our crew has returned intact, without loss to our expedition.
  3. (since Middle Egyptian) not; negates an adverbial or adjectival sentence
    • c. 2000 BCE – 1900 BCE, Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage/pPetersburg 1115) lines 130–131:
      xprr
      n
      rsD35
      n
      wA1Hn
      a
      AmQ7n
      y
      D35
      n
      wA1mHr
      r
      ibsn
      Z2
      ḫpr.n r.s nn wj ḥnꜥ(w) ꜣm.nj nn wj m ḥr(j) jb.sn
      But it happened while I wasn’t with them, and they burned up while I wasn’t in their midst.
  4. (since Middle Egyptian) not; negates a subjunctive main clause with future meaning
  5. (since Middle Egyptian, uncommon) not; negates a nominal sentence [since the 12th Dynasty]
  6. (since Middle Egyptian, used without anything negated following) or not; contrasts with a preceding clause or phrase
Usage notes
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  • When negating an adverbial or adjectival sentence, this particle stands near the beginning of the negated sentence, before the subject, but it can be preceded by other particles. It is followed by a nominal subject, a demonstrative pronoun, or a dependent pronoun as subject.
  • When (exceptionally) negating a nominal sentence, this particle either pairs with the particle js like the ordinary negative particle for nominal sentences, nj, or simply stands by itself at the beginning of the sentence.
Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • >? Late Egyptian: bn

Further reading

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  1. ^ Or ‘You aren’t abundant in myrrh …’, if the initial particle is read as negative nj instead of interrogative jn. The expected negative particle for such a clause would be nn, so an interrogative is more plausible. For a detailed discussion see Scalf, Foy (2009) “Is That a Rhetorical Question? Shipwrecked Sailor (pHermitage 1115) 150 Reconsidered” in Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, volume 136, issue 2, pages 155–159.
  2. ^ Oréal, Elsa (2022) “The negative existential cycle in Ancient Egyptian” in Ljuba Veselinova & Arja Hamari (eds.), The Negative Existential Cycle, Berlin: Language Science Press, pages 197–230
  3. ^ H. O. Lange and H. Schäfer (1908) Grab- und Denksteine des Mittleren Reichs im Museum von Kairo, volume II, page 149

Irish

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Pronunciation

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  1. IPA(key): /n̪ˠ/, /n̠ʲ/

Letter

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nn (upper case Nn)

  1. A digraph in Irish orthography

Italian

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Adverb

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nn

  1. (Internet slang, text messaging, slang) Abbreviation of non (not).

Japanese

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Romanization

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nn

  1. Rōmaji transcription of んー

Portuguese

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Adverb

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nn

  1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative form of n (not)

Noun

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nn m (uncountable)

  1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative form of n (no)

Interjection

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nn

  1. (Internet slang, text messaging) Alternative form of n (no)