‘The Ecchoing Green’: A Lexicographical Analysis of the Word wrḫ in Demotic and its Precedents in Earlier Egyptian

This paper explores the etymology, phonological evolution, and use of the Demotic word wrx (“hall, court”), in order to propose a more accurate translation and to define its symbolism as an architectural space. Its antecedent wAx.j “columned hall” is connected to the verb wAxj “to be inundated, to be green, to rejoice,” to suggest a more nuanced translation of wrx as “inundation hall.” The viability of the doublet wAxj ~ wAD is examined, and the space is identified as a hall in the palace or a temple, decorated with papyriform columns, evoking a marshy environment during the most important moment in the year, the inundation. A distinction from wrH (“courtyard”), with which it has been erroneously conflated, is also proposed.