sḫm

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /sɛxɛm/
  • Conventional anglicization: sekhem

 3-lit.

1. (intransitive) to be(come) physically powerful or vigorous [since the Pyramid Texts]
2. (intransitive) to be(come) powerful, capable (+ m: through the power of (magic, the Eye of Horus, food, etc.); + mm: among (the gods); + ḫr: before (a god); + ḫnt: at the head of (people); + m ḫt or m sꜣ: in pursuit of (enemies)) [since the Pyramid Texts]
3. (intransitive, of poison, magic, names, etc.) to be(come) potent, effective
4. (intransitive, of a quality such as might) to be(come) strong, intense, great
5. (intransitive, with m or (since the 18th Dynasty) r or (rarely) transitive) to have or take control of, to have power over (enemies, people, gods, places, oneself, etc.) [since the Pyramid Texts]
   • c. 1900 BCE, The Instructions of Kagemni (pPrisse/pBN 183) lines 1.10–1.11:

     jr šww m srḫ n t nj sḫm.n mdt nbt jm.f

     As for one who is free of notoriety regarding bread, no word can take control of him.

6. (intransitive, with m or (rarely) transitive) to have the use of, to be able to make use of (one’s limbs)
7. (intransitive, with m) to take possession of (a thing)
8. (intransitive, with m, of knives, lions, snakes, poison, magic, etc.) to have power to freely harm (someone), to have injurious power over [chiefly Late Period]
9. (intransitive, with m or r, of fire) to burn, to consume (someone) [Greco-Roman Period]
10. (intransitive, with m, Late Egyptian, of sleep) to overpower, to overtake (the body)
11. (intransitive, with m and infinitive) to be(come) capable (of doing something), empowered or entitled (to do something)
12. (intransitive, of the heart/mind) to be(come) bold, daring, courageous, spirited
13. (intransitive, of the heart/mind) to be(come) overbold, impudent, audacious
14. (intransitive, of the face) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
    1. to be(come) defiant-looking or spirited
    2. to be(come) grim

Often found in parallel with bꜣ, spd, and wꜣš, among other verbs.

 m

1. power, capability, especially capability to overpower [since the Pyramid Texts]

   Synonym: sḫmt

2. violence

Often found in parallel with bꜣ and kꜣ as a quality that is ‘with’, ‘by’, ‘behind’ someone, etc. May also be found in parallel with words such as wsr and qn.

See under the verb above.

 m

1. being of divine power, Power; chiefly used as an epithet for various gods, exceptionally also for kings [since the Pyramid Texts]
   • c. 1550 BCE – 1295 BCE, Great Hymn to Osiris (Stela of Amenmose, Louvre C 286) lines 7–8:

     sꜥḥ ꜣḫ ḫnt sꜥḥw wꜣḥ jꜣwt smn ḥqꜣt sḫm nfr n(j) psḏt jmꜣ ḥr mrr mꜣ n.f rdj snḏ.f m tꜣw nb(w) n mr(w)t dm.sn rn.f r ḥꜣt […]

     Effective dignitary, foremost of dignitaries, enduring of office, established of reign, the fair power of the Ennead, gracious of face, the sight of whom is beloved, the awe of whom is set in all lands in order that they pronounce his name first, […]

2. (with following genitive, or else plural) earthly image or incarnation (of a god), cult image, including statues, paintings, standards, people, etc. [since the Middle Kingdom]
3. (in the plural) gods in general [Greco-Roman Period]

• Bohairic Coptic: ϣⲓϣⲉⲙ (šišem)
• Lycopolitan Coptic: ϣⲓⲥⲙⲉ (šisme)

 m

1. sekhem scepter [Pyramid Texts and Middle Kingdom]

 m

1. sistrum [since the Middle Kingdom]

   Synonym: zššt

   ― jrj sḫm ― to play the sistrum (+ n: for (someone))

• ḥwt-sḫm

 m

1. (hapax) sword [Greco-Roman Period]

• “sḫm (lemma ID 851679)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎, Corpus issue 17, Web app version 2.01 edition, Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning by order of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils by order of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 2004–15 December 2022
• “sḫm (lemma ID 142180)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎, Corpus issue 17, Web app version 2.01 edition, Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning by order of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils by order of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 2004–15 December 2022
• “sḫm (lemma ID 142140)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎, Corpus issue 17, Web app version 2.01 edition, Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning by order of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils by order of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 2004–15 December 2022
• “sḫm.w (lemma ID 142400)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎, Corpus issue 17, Web app version 2.01 edition, Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning by order of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils by order of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 2004–15 December 2022
• “sḫm (lemma ID 142130)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎, Corpus issue 17, Web app version 2.01 edition, Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning by order of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils by order of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 2004–15 December 2022
• “sḫm (lemma ID 142190)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎, Corpus issue 17, Web app version 2.01 edition, Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning by order of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils by order of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 2004–15 December 2022
• “sḫm (lemma ID 142150)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎, Corpus issue 17, Web app version 2.01 edition, Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning by order of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils by order of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 2004–15 December 2022
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1930) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎, volume 4, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 243.3–249.16, 251.18–252.7
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 241
• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 377.