Sahidic

Sahidic is a major dialect of the Coptic language, the latest stage of the ancient Egyptian language, written with the Coptic alphabet derived from Greek with Demotic elements. It takes its name from the Thebaid, the southern region of Egypt, enabling its use as a standard literary dialect in Upper Egypt during late antiquity. From the 2nd century CE onward, Sahidic became the most widely used form for Christian literature in Egypt, producing a large corpus of biblical translations, patristic writings, and other religious and philosophical texts.

The Sahidic corpus is among the best preserved Coptic texts, and it provides the primary basis for linguistic study of Coptic, including grammar, lexicon, and textual criticism. Notable is its role in the Nag Hammadi library, discovered in 1945, where many treatises survive in robust Sahidic translations, making it central to both Coptic and Gnostic studies.

Historically, Sahidic flourished in the Thebaid, but declined after the Arab conquest of Egypt as Bohairic, the dialect of the Nile Delta, gained prominence in liturgical use. Scholarly work continues to rely on Sahidic texts to reconstruct the phonology and morphology of the Coptic stage of Egyptian.

Modern study: Sahidic remains a foundational field in Coptic linguistics, with grammars, lexicons, and critical editions that illuminate the language’s syntax and vocabulary, even as Bohairic dominates liturgical practice today.