morph_e

Chapter VII. Verb Classes 1

§146. Verb Classes. The system of classification of verbal stems adopted in this work is according to their consonantal and vocalic forms as shown in Sahidic. Reference to the older forms is only occasionally noted. The student is advised in the beginning to work at texts with the aid of Crum’s Coptic Dictionary, and to familiarize himself with the various verbal forms as they occur. Later he student can consult the etymologies given in Steindorff's, Koptische Grammatik, Sethe's Verbum, and Spiegelberg's Koptische Handwörterbuch. Note: The forms with a doubled vowel after the first consonant (baabe, moone, nhhbe, etc.) are especially confusing. Thus their Sahidic forms are in a section of their own (§170), although etymologically they are derived from various classes.
§147. The following abbreviations used in describing the verbal classes should be noted:

Abbreviation	Verbal Stem Consonants	Special Characteristics
2 lit	2
2 lit gem	2	2^nd doubled
3 lit	3
3 lit inf	3	3^rd weak
4 lit	4
5 lit	5
3 lit gem	3	3^rd doubled
4 lit inf	4	4^th weak

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
bwl	‘To loose’	b(e)l-	bol=	bhl

It is probable that all the verbs in this class were originally 3 lit, but contained a weak consonant which fell away at an early period. Evidence for this is forthcoming from the hieroglyphic forms of about 40 verbs which had become 2 lit in Coptic; e.g.

Coptic	Translation	Hieroglyphic	Coptic	Translation	Hieroglyphic
kwb	‘To double’	k3b	pw6	‘To break’	ph3 (h dotted)
6ws	‘To sing’	hs’i (h dotted)	6wk	‘To gird’	hkr
pwn	‘To pour out’	pnn	pw4	‘To divide’	pss

It may be noted that, with the exception of Qual, the vocalization of the first syllable of 3 lit verbs is the same as 2 lit. The majority of the 2 lit verbs follow the model bwl exactly. Note: After m and n the formative vowel of the Absolute changes to ou (§14); e.g. mour ‘To bind’, nout ‘To grind’. Note: Before 6 and 4 (representing old h [curved underline]), o of the Pronominal form changes to a (§15); e.g. ma6.ou for mou.ou ‘To fill them’. Likewise pa6= ‘To break’, ta6= ‘To mix’, oua4= ‘To wish’, oua6= ‘To put’, `a6= ‘To smear’. An exception is 6w6 ‘To scratch’, which shows 6o6=.
§149. Some verbs, which in their Construct, Pronominal and Qual forms follow the model of 2 lit verbs, show in their Absolute Form an apparent 3 lit inf form; e.g. bwte ‘To pollute’ bet-, bot=, Q bht. Likewise bwke ‘To tan (leather)’, kwte ‘To turn’, lw2e ‘To hide’, nou6e ‘To shake’, nou`e ‘To throw’, swte ‘To redeem’, twpe ‘To taste’, w3e ‘To press’, 3wte ‘To wipe off’, 3w2e ‘To leap’, `wte ‘To pierce’, 2wpe ‘To seize’, 2w`e ‘To dig’. Note: pw2e ‘To break’ po2= but Qual po2e (as 3 lit inf form).
§150. 2 lit verbs without initial consonant (§17) are:

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
wl	‘To hold’	ol-	ol=	hl
wp	‘To count’	ep-	op=	hp
w4	‘To cry out’	e4-	o4=	––
wk	‘To be content’	––	––	––
w4	‘To intrude’	––	o4=	––

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
sw	‘To drink’	se-	soo=	shu
`w	‘To say’	`e-	`oo=	––
ouw (alternate form of ouw6)	‘To cease’	––	––	––
6w	‘To suffice’	––	––	––

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
eiw	‘To wash’	eia-	eiaa=	eih
kw	‘To place’	ka-	kaa=	kh
ww	‘To conceive’	––	––	eet
2w	‘To continue’	––	––	2eet

§152. The following verbs presenting monosyllabic Absolute forms are irregular. Most of them are really 3 lit in r verbs.
(a) Ending in a:

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
na	‘To have pity’	––	––	––
na	‘To go’	––	––	––
4a	‘To rise’	––	––	––
sa	‘To be beautiful’	––	––	saiwou

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
me	‘To love’	mere-	merit=	––
oue	‘To be distant’	––	––	ouh(h)u
6e	‘To fall, light upon’	––	––	6hu

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
ei	‘To come’	––	––	nhu [from nou, §152(e)]
sei	‘To be satisfied’	––	––	shu

The following verbs are very frequently used, especially in forming Compound verbs (§177):

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
5	‘To give’	5-	taa=	to
4i	‘To measure’	4i-	4it=	4hu
3i	‘To carry’	3i-	3it=	3hu
`i	‘To take’	`i-	`it=	`hu
6i	‘To beat’	––	6it=	––

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
lo	‘To cease’	––	––	––
`o	‘To sow’	`e-	`o=	`hu
`o	‘To put forth’	`e-	`o=	––

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
nau	‘To behold’	––	––	––
mou	‘To die’	––	––	moout
nou	‘To be going to’, ‘To be about to’	––	––	nhu [§152(c), 144]

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
6mom	‘To become hot’	––	––	6hm

The verbs in this class are few in number, as the fate of many of them was to become 2 lit at an early stage; e.g.:

Absolute	Meaning	Derivation
pwn	‘To pour out’	pnn
twm	‘To shut’	tmm
6wn	‘To approach’	hnn

The few 2 lit gem words which have survived in Coptic show only Absolute and Qualitative forms, and are intransitive:

Absolute	Meaning	Qual
kmom	‘To be black’	khm
2non	‘To be soft, weak’	2hn
kbo (Boh xbob)	‘To become cool’	khb

Note: 2non ‘To bow (the head)’ is transitive taking `w= (‘Head’) as its object. In this class should also be noted 4iai ‘To be long’, Qual 4oi or 4ai.
§154. Class III: 3 lit; Model:

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
pwr4-	‘To spread’	pr-4-	por4-=	por4-

To this group belongs by far the largest number of verbs, over 200 in all. The few exceptions to this vocalic structure of 3 lit verbs of the pwr4 model need not occupy the student's attention. It is to be noted that the Pronominal and the Qualitative forms are identical. The Construct form is sometimes written with an e, but quite often without; e.g. tkm- and tekm- ‘To pluck’, 4tb- and 4etb- ‘To muzzle’.
§155. A few verbs ending in e are actually 3 lit verbs like pwr4 but have lost their final t, and in the case of 4wpe a final r (original hpr [curved underline]). It is to be noted that in the two verbs which have Construct and Pronominal forms, the original t reappears:

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
rw4e	‘To suffice’	re4t-	ra4t= (§15)	––
sw6e	‘To weave’	sa6t-	sa6t=	sa6t

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
rw6e	‘To wash’	––	––	ra6e
4wne	‘To become sick’	––	––	4oone
4wpe	‘To happen’	––	––	4oop

Absolute forms only: swbe ‘To laugh’, sw4e ‘To drag, to creep’.
§156. Four verbs show their original vocalic form by the loss of an original medial consonant (§6):

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
kwws (kwns)	‘To bury’	(Boh kes-)	koos= (koons=)	khs (old krs [k dotted])
lwws	‘To be bruised’	les-	(Boh las=)	laas(e)
sww3	‘To defile’	se(e)3-	soo3=	soo3 (old s’if)
4wwt	‘To cut’	4(e)t-	4a(a)t=	4aat or 4ht (old š‘d)

These forms are interesting in that they show an intermediate stage in the metamorphosis of a 3 lit verb into a 2 lit. For example, by the time of Shenoute (†451 AD), 4wwt had become a 2 lit verb 4wt with the regular 2 lit Qual 4ht.
§157. Model:

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
knos	‘To stink’	––	––	kons

Verbs with the formative vowel after the second radical in the Absolute Form are intransitive and show only Absolute and Qualitative forms. An exception is 6ro4 ‘To become heavy’, which is both transitive and intransitive in meaning. A Construct form to 6ro4 also occurs: 6(e)r4-. Verbs of this class with m or n as the first consonant show the forms:

Verb	Meaning	Verb	Meaning
m-ka6	‘To become painful’	m-ro4	‘To become red’
m-ton	‘To rest’	n-4ot	‘To become hard, difficult’
aro4	‘To become cold’	has no Qual of its own; or4, the Qual of wr4 ‘To be cold’, is used instead

Note the Qualitative forms of the following: ourot ‘To become glad’ Qual roout.6ko ‘To become hungry’ shows two forms of the Qual (§141): 6okr (the old masc form in which the final weak consonant r reappears) and 6kaeit or 6koeit (the fem form, which is more common than the masc in Sahidic). `ro ‘To become strong’ (which is both an intransitive and a transitive verb) shows Qual `raeit.
§158. Model 4lhl ‘To pray’. A few verbs, mostly intransitives, show only Absolute Forms with h as the formative vowel after the second consonant. It is probable that nearly all these verbs are loan words.

Coptic	Meaning
erht	‘To row’
l6hm	‘To roar’ (especially of lions)
s2hr	‘To sail’
telhl	‘To rejoice’
4lh	‘To creep’
6inhb	‘To doze’
6rh2	‘To become still’
2eph	‘To hasten’
2rh	‘To dig’

Note: `(e)l6hs ‘To become exhausted’ is really a 4 lit verb, but is noted here as being the only 4 lit showing h as the formative vowel in the last syllable.
§159. Model ou`ai ‘To become whole’ Qual ouo`. The verbs following this model are few in number and are mostly intransitive. They are mostly irregular in their Qualitatives.

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
anai	‘To be pleasant’	––	––	––
6tai	‘To be fat’	––	––	––
aiai	‘To increase’	––	––	oi
asai	‘To be lightweight’	––	––	aswou
a4ai	‘To become many’			o4
`tai	‘To ripen’	––	––	`ht

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
s6ai	‘To write’	se6-	s6ais= (or s6ait=)	sh6
skai	‘To plough’	sek-	sok=	––

§160. A number of verbs show, like the model verb ou`ai, the formative vowel a in the last syllable. These are snat ‘To fear’ and 4tam ‘To shut’ (Construct 4tam-. 4ta ‘To become faulty’, 6ra or 4ra ‘To drive, compel’ (absolute forms only), 4ma ‘To become lightweight or fine’ shows Qual 4oome. `na ‘To quench’ has forms `ne-, `na=; a pronominal form only `na= occurs with the meaning ‘To send’. Note: srit ‘To glean’ shows a pronominal form srat= (sometimes srit=).
§160a. Two common verbs have short o as their Formative Vowel after the first consonant. Both verbs originated from forms with a weak medial consonant, but unlike the majority of verbs which originated from similar consonantal forms, they have not become 2 lit (§148). The Qualitative form of the first of these two verbs shows this tendency at work:

Absolute	Meaning	Construct	Pronominal	Qual
roeis	‘To become wakeful’	––	––	rhs
sooun-	‘To be acquainted with’	soun-	souwn=	––

Less common are the Absolute Forms roou4 ‘To have a care for’ and 6oou4 ‘To abuse.’ The rare tooute ‘To gather’ (from old twt) shows the forms touht= and Qual touht.