Editing Nile (section)

== Etymology ==
In the ancient [[Egyptian language]], the Nile is called ''Ḥꜥpy'' (Hapy) or ''Jtrw'' (Iteru), meaning "river". In [[Coptic language|Coptic]], the word [[wikt:ⲓⲁⲣⲟ|ⲫⲓⲁⲣⲟ]], pronounced ''piaro'' ([[Sahidic]]) or ''phiaro'' ([[Bohairic]]), means "the river" (lit. p(h).iar-o "the-canal-great"), and comes from the same ancient name.<ref name="Hillel">{{Cite book |last=Daniel Hillel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DJ7apJDyYsgC&q=Coptic:+Iaro&pg=PA88 |title=The Natural History of the Bible: An Environmental Exploration of the Hebrew Scriptures |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-231-13363-0 |page=88 }}</ref> In [[Nobiin language|Nobiin]], the river is called ''Áman Dawū'', meaning "the great water".<ref name=":0" /> In [[Luganda]], the river is called ''Kiira'' or ''Kiyira''. In [[Runyoro]], it is called ''Kihiira''. In [[Egyptian Arabic]], the Nile is called ''en-Nīl'', while in [[Standard Arabic]] it is called ''an-Nīl''. In [[Biblical Hebrew]], it is {{Script/Hebrew|הַיְאוֹר}}, ''Ha-Ye'or'' or {{Script/Hebrew|הַשִׁיחוֹר}}, ''Ha-Shiḥor''.

The English name ''Nile'' and the Arabic names ''en-Nîl'' and ''an-Nîl'' both derive from the [[Latin]] ''{{lang|la|Nilus}}'' and the [[Ancient Greek]] {{lang|grc|Νεῖλος}}.<ref name="OED">{{Cite book |title=Oxford English Dictionary |title-link=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2009 |edition=3rd |location=Oxford |chapter=Nile }}</ref>{{sfn|Garstin|Cana|1911|p=693}} Beyond that, however, the etymology is disputed.{{sfn|Garstin|Cana|1911|p=693}}<ref>An overview is given by: Carles Múrcia (2006). [http://www.aulaorientalis.org/AuOr%20escaneado/AuOr%2025-2007/AuOr%2025-2007-2/2/U-2-5-Murcia-Nil-amazic.pdf]{{langx|el|Νεῖλος}} : El nom grec del riu Nil pot ser d'origen amazic? {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304065941/http://www.aulaorientalis.org/AuOr%20escaneado/AuOr%2025-2007/AuOr%2025-2007-2/2/U-2-5-Murcia-Nil-amazic.pdf|date=4 March 2014}} ''Aula Orientalis'' '''24''': 269–292</ref> [[Homer]] called the river {{lang|grc|Αἴγυπτος}}, ''Aiguptos'', but in subsequent periods, Greek authors referred to its lower course as ''Neilos''; this term later became generalized for the entire river system.<ref name="goedicke">{{Cite journal |last=Hans Goedicke |date=Spring 1979 |title=Νεῖλος - An Etymology |journal=The American Journal of Philology |volume=100 |pages=69–72 |doi=10.2307/294226 |jstor=294226 |number=1 }}</ref> Thus, the name may derive from Ancient Egyptian expression ''n''ꜣ ''r''ꜣ''w-ḥ''ꜣ''w(t)'' ({{lit|the mouths of the front parts}}), which referred specifically to the branches of the Nile transversing the Delta, and would have been pronounced ''ni-lo-he'' in the area around [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]] in the 8th century BCE.<ref name=goedicke/> [[Hesiod]] at his ''[[Theogony]]'' refers to [[Nilus (mythology)|Nilus]] (Νεῖλος) as one of the [[River gods (Greek mythology)|river gods]], son of [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]].<ref>"Τηθὺς δ᾽ Ὠκεανῷ Ποταμοὺς τέκε δινήεντας,<br />
Νεῖλόν τ᾽ Ἀλφειόν τε καὶ Ἠριδανὸν βαθυδίνην" (Hesiod, "Theogony", 337–338).</ref>

Another derivation of ''Nile'' might be related to the term ''Nil'' ({{langx|sa|नील|[[wikt:nila|nila]]}}; {{langx|arz|نيلة}}),<ref name="Hillel" /> which refers to ''[[Indigofera tinctoria]]'', one of the original sources of [[indigo dye]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marijke Eken |date=2012 |title=The origin of the word INDIGO and ANILA |url=http://www.mekenart.com/CMS/docs/7208_1368446952.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725153255/http://www.mekenart.com/CMS/docs/7208_1368446952.pdf |archive-date=25 July 2018 |access-date=25 July 2018 |website=mekenart.com }}</ref> {{citation needed span|Another may be ''[[Nymphaea caerulea]]'', known as "The Sacred Blue Lily of the Nile", which was found scattered over [[Tutankhamun]]'s corpse when it was excavated in 1922.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Sacred blue lily of the Nile |url=https://lochnesswatergardens.com/blogs/pondblog/sacred-blue-lily-of-the-nile |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725153340/https://lochnesswatergardens.com/blogs/pondblog/sacred-blue-lily-of-the-nile |archive-date=25 July 2018 |access-date=25 July 2018 |website=Loch Ness Water Gardens }}</ref>|date= January 2023|reason=The etymology is not mentioned in the given source, connection between the name Nile and the Nymphaea caerulea is not clear.}} Another possible etymology derives from the [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] term ''Nahal'', meaning "river".<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Nile |encyclopedia=Online Etymology Dictionary |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Nile&allowed_in_frame=0 |access-date=20 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308080503/http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=Nile&allowed_in_frame=0 |archive-date=8 March 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Proto-Berber language|Old Libyan]] has the term ''lilu'', meaning water (in modern Berber ''ilel'' ⵉⵍⴻⵍ means ''sea'').<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Werner Vycichl |date=January–December 1972 |title=L'origine du nom du Nil, Aegyptus |journal=Vita e Pensiero |language=fr |publisher=Pubblicazioni dell'Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore |volume=52 |pages=8–18 |number=1/4 }}</ref>