egyptiska

Egyptiska is a Swedish adjective meaning “Egyptian.” It is used to describe things connected with Egypt, its people, culture, or languages. The term can refer to both ancient and modern contexts, for example in discussions of ancient Egyptian culture or Egyptian artifacts. In everyday Swedish, the nationality and the modern language are more often specified with other terms, but egyptiska remains a common label when discussing Egypt-related topics in a broad sense. In scholarly contexts, egyptiska is frequently used when talking about history, archaeology, and philology tied to Egypt.

Etymology and scope: The word derives from the ancient name of the country, via Latin Aegyptus and Greek Aigyptos, with parallel forms in many European languages. As an adjective, egyptiska forms part of phrases describing culture, art, history, or language associated with Egypt. It is distinct from terms naming contemporary national identity or language, such as egyptier for Egyptians or arabiska for Arabic.

Language context: The modern official language of Egypt is Arabic, so contemporary linguistic discussions typically use arabiska. The label egyptiska is most often encountered in reference to the ancient Egyptian languages—Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian, Late Egyptian, Demotic—and their descendants such as Coptic, as well as the material culture and inscriptions studied in Egyptology.

See also: Egyptology, ancient Egyptian language, Coptic language, hieroglyphs, Demotic script.