r

Etymology 1

The actual reading of this word is uncertain, as it is always written as an ideogram, but evidence from Coptic suggests the original was rꜣ. The extension in meaning to ‘part, piece, fraction’ might be either by way of a mouthful being used as a standard share in some distribution of food or goods,^[1] or else extended from its meaning of ‘opening’ > ‘division’.

Noun

 m

1. mouth (of humans or animals)
   • Reign of Amenemhat II or Senusret II, c. 1929–1878 BCE, Stela of Hekaib (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, AP 78):

     jnk nḏs jqr ḏd m r(ꜣ).f

     I was an excellent individual, one who spoke with his own mouth.

2. (figuratively, chiefly in titles) speaker, mouthpiece
3. utterance, statement
4. especially, ritual utterance, spell
5. (rare) language, manner of speech
6. opening, hole
7. bodily orifice, opening of the human body in general, including eyes, ears, nostrils, the vulva, and open wounds
8. entrance to a building or other enclosed structure, doorway
   • c. 1401 BCE, Amduat of Amenhotep II (tomb of Amenhotep II, KV35) First Hour, closing text, lines 8–9:

     
     

     jw hy n rꜥ r r(ꜣ) ꜥꜣwj tꜣ hnw n.k srq ꜣḫw ꜥq.k sbꜣ n(j) wrt

     May there be cries of joy for Ra at the opening of the double doors of the earth, and acclaim for you who make the akh-spirits breathe when you enter the door of the Great (i.e. the afterworld).

9. entrance to a land or place in general
10. mouth of a river
11. water’s edge, waterline
12. (especially in compounds) place or thing seen as an opening from one point to another, passage, thoroughfare
13. a measure of volume equivalent to ¹⁄₃₂ of a hnw or ¹⁄₃₂₀ of a ḥqꜣt (about 15 millilitres); mouthful
14. part, piece, fraction
15. (mathematics) used as a numerator of 1 in fractions, literally “piece of (the denominator)”.
    • 12th Dynasty, Siut Tomb I, 285, published in Griffith, Francis Llewellyn, The inscriptions of Siûṭ and Dêr Rîfeh:

      r(ꜣ) ḫmtw-št sjsjw

      ¹⁄₃₆₀

Usage notes

Following Sethe,^[3] it has often been suggested that r should also be taken to mean ‘one third’ as a reading of the sign (questionably attested in hieroglyphs proper), extrapolating backward from the dual form rwj (“two thirds”); however, such a usage remains uncertain, and the reading of the form ḫmt-rw (“three fourths”) argues against the interpretation of r in rwj as specifically meaning a third.

Inflection

More information singular, dual ...

singular	r
dual	rwj
plural	rw

Close

Declension of r (masculine consonant-stem)

In the sense of ‘mouth’ the plural is rare, as the singular is usually used even in reference to the mouths of multiple people.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of r  

r	r	jr	r
	[New Kingdom]	[21st Dynasty]	[Greco-Roman Period]
rare		in hieratic

The senses relating to ‘opening, doorway’ sometimes carry different determinatives:

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of r  

r	r
[Old and Middle Kingdoms and Greco-Roman Period]	[Old and Middle Kingdoms and Greco-Roman Period]
in senses relating to ‘opening, doorway’	in senses relating to ‘opening, doorway’

The sense ‘water’s edge’ is similarly sometimes found with a different determinative:

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of r  

r

Derived terms

• jꜥw-r
• jmj-r
• jmt-r
• ꜥšꜣ-r
• wpt-r
• m r wꜥ
• nḏ r
• r-jb
• rwj
• rwj wꜥ
• rw nw prt m hrw
• r-pr
• r n kmt
• r-sṯꜣw
• rḏj r
• ḫmt-rw
• tp-r

 

Descendants

• Demotic: rꜣ
  • Akhmimic Coptic: ⲣⲟ (ro), ⲣⲱ⸗ (rō⸗)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲣⲟ (ro), ⲣⲉ- (re-), ⲣⲱ⸗ (rō⸗)
  • Fayyumic Coptic: ⲗⲁ (la), ⲗⲉ- (le-), ⲗⲱ⸗ (lō⸗)
  • Lycopolitan Coptic: ⲣⲟ (ro), ⲣⲱ⸗ (rō⸗)
  • Old Coptic: ⲣⲱ⸗ (rō⸗)
  • Sahidic Coptic: ⲣⲟ (ro), ⲣⲁ- (ra-), ⲣⲉ- (re-), ⲣⲱ⸗ (rō⸗)

Etymology 2

Possibly cognate to Hebrew אֶל (ʾel, “to, at”), Arabic إِلَى (ʔilā, “to, until, near”).^[4]

Preposition

1. regarding, with respect to, concerning, according to
2. in order to, for (the purpose of)
3. (with following infinitive) forms the periphrastic prospective of a verb
4. (with verbs of motion, of places) to, towards
5. (in adverbial sentences, of places, roles, or functions) headed for, destined for, bound for
6. (of time) at, in, on
7. against, in opposition to
8. from, apart from (ablative)
9. (after an adjective or adverb, forming the comparative) than, by comparison to
10. (generally in sentence-initial form jr) introduces the protasis of a conditional sentence; if, when, as
11. (with a verb in the terminative as object) until

Inflection

Adverbial forms of r  

jrj	jr

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of r  

jr	jw
[since the Old Kingdom]	[Late Period]
at the beginning of a sentence, and occasionally before pronouns; in wider usage in the Old Kingdom

Derived terms

• ꜣd jb r
• jrj
• jrj ꜣ r gs
• wšd r mdwt
• m ꜣt r ꜣt
• mḏd-r-nbtj
• r ꜣw
• r ꜣbb
• r jwd
• r-jmjtw
• r-jmjtw-nj
• r jmntt
• r jqr
• r ꜥ
• r ꜥꜣt
• r-pw
• r mj
• r mḏdw n jb n
• r nḥḥ
• r ntt
• r ḥꜣt
• r ẖnw
• r sꜣ
• r šꜣꜥ
• r gs
• rḏj mꜣꜥ r
• r ḏbꜣ
• r ḏr
• r ḏd
• ḥrw r
• spr r dmj
• st-r-mḏd
• šꜣꜥ r

 

Descendants

• Demotic: r, jw, jr⸗, r.r⸗, r.ḥr⸗, r.jr⸗, r.j.jr⸗
  • Akhmimic Coptic: ⲁ- (a-), ⲁⲣⲁ⸗ (ara⸗)
  • Bohairic Coptic: ⲉ- (e-), ⲉⲣⲟ⸗ (ero⸗)
  • Fayyumic Coptic: ⲉ- (e-), ⲉⲗⲁ⸗ (ela⸗)
  • Lycopolitan Coptic: ⲁ- (a-)
  • Old Coptic: ⲁ- (a-), ⲁⲣⲁ⸗ (ara⸗)
  • Sahidic Coptic: ⲉ- (e-), ⲉⲣⲟ⸗ (ero⸗)

Particle

 enclitic

1. (with attached suffix pronoun) so, regarding (that, you, me, etc.), as for (that, you, me, etc.)

Usage notes

This usage is distinguished from the preposition by the fact that it occurs as the enclitic second element in a clause instead of at the end of a clause, as is otherwise the case with prepositional phrases.

Alternative forms

Alternative hieroglyphic writings of r  

jr

See also

• 𓂋

References

• “rʾ (lemma ID 92560)”, “r (lemma ID 91900)”, and “jr (lemma ID 28170)”, in Thesaurus Linguae Aegyptiae‎, Corpus issue 18, Web app version 2.1.5, Tonio Sebastian Richter & Daniel A. Werning by order of the Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Hans-Werner Fischer-Elfert & Peter Dils by order of the Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, 2004–26 July 2023
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1926) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎, volume 1, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 103.6–103.9
• Erman, Adolf, Grapow, Hermann (1928) Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache‎, volume 2, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, →ISBN, pages 386.6–388.10, 389.1–392.10
• Faulkner, Raymond Oliver (1962) A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, pages 145–146
• James P[eter] Allen (2010) Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs, 2nd edition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, pages 65, 71, 87, 118, 170, 179–180, 196, 410–411.
• Gardiner, Alan (1957) Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, third edition, Oxford: Griffith Institute, →ISBN, page 429
• Hoch, James (1997) Middle Egyptian Grammar, Mississauga: Benben Publications, →ISBN, page 42

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ro/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /r/

• Audio:

  (file)

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The twenty-first letter of the Esperanto alphabet, called ro and written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈerː/

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Estonian alphabet, called err and written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹ/

Letter

r (upper case R)

1. The twentieth letter of the Faroese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on those of Swedish, German and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and r for information on the development of the glyph itself.

Pronunciation

• Audio; “är, kärrynpyörä, särky, är”:

  (file)

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Finnish alphabet, called är or er and written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ɛʁ/

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The eighteenth letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɾ/

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. A letter of the Fula alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Romanization

r

1. Romanization of 𐍂

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): [ˈr]
• (letter name): IPA^(key): [ˈɛrː]

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Hungarian alphabet, called err and written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) betű; A a, Á á, B b, C c, Cs cs, D d, Dz dz, Dzs dzs, E e, É é, F f, G g, Gy gy, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, Ly ly, M m, N n, Ny ny, O o, Ó ó, Ö ö, Ő ő, P p, R r, S s, Sz sz, T t, Ty ty, U u, Ú ú, Ü ü, Ű ű, V v, Z z, Zs zs. Only in the extended alphabet: Q q W w X x Y y. Commonly used: ch. Also defined: à ë. In surnames (selection): ä aa cz ds eé eö ew oe oó th ts ÿ.

Further reading

• r in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Letter

r (upper case R)

1. The twenty-first letter of the Icelandic alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) bókstafur; A a, Á á, B b, D d, Рð, E e, É é, F f, G g, H h, I i, Í í, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ó ó, P p, R r, S s, T t, U u, Ú ú, V v, X x, Y y, Ý ý, Þ þ, Æ æ, Ö ö

Pronunciation

• (context pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɾ/
• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ɾe/

Letter

r (upper case R)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛr.re/
• Rhymes: -ɛrre
• (Rome) IPA^(key): /ɛɾe/

Letter

r f or m (invariable, lower case, upper case R)

1. The sixteenth letter of the Italian alphabet, called erre and written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

• (Rome) IPA^(key): /ɾ/

Article

Alternative spelling of er.

Etymology

Borrowed from Tagalog r. Letter pronunciation is influenced by English r.

Pronunciation

• (letter name) IPA^(key): /ʔaɾ/ [ʔʌɾ]
  • Rhymes: -aɾ
• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /ɾ/ [ɾ]

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The twentieth letter of the Kankanaey alphabet, called ar and written in the Latin script.

References

• Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (2016) Ortograpiya di Kankanaëy [Kankanaey Orthography]‎ (in Kankanaey and Tagalog), →ISBN, pages 10-11

Etymology

The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Kashubian alphabet article on Wikipedia for more, and r for development of the glyph itself.

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Kashubian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. A letter in the Latin alphabet, representing the sound /r/

Etymology

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɾ]

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The twenty-fifth letter of the Latvian alphabet, called er and written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

• (phoneme) IPA^(key): /r/

Letter

r (upper case R)

1. The twenty-ninth letter of the Livonian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) kēratēd̦; A a, Ā ā, Ä ä, Ǟ ǟ, B b, D d, D̦ d̦, E e, Ē ē, F f, G g, H h, I i, Ī ī, J j, K k, L l, Ļ ļ, M m, N n, Ņ ņ, O o, Ō ō, Ȯ ȯ, Ȱ ȱ, Õ õ, Ȭ ȭ, P p, R r, Ŗ ŗ, S s, Š š, T t, Ț ț, U u, Ū ū, V v, Z z, Ž ž

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /r/

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The twenty-second letter of the Maltese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (Latin-script letters) ittra; A a, B b, Ċ ċ, D d, E e, F f, Ġ ġ, G g, Għ għ, H h, Ħ ħ, I i, Ie ie, J j, K k, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Q q, R r, S s, T t, U u, V v, W w, X x, Ż ż, Z z

Romanization

r (r⁵ / r⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄖ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 兒 / 儿

References

• Wenlin Pinyin dictionary
• erhua on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [r], (more recently among some speakers) [ʁ]

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. A letter of the North Frisian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also

• (North Frisian letters): a, ä, å, ā, b, c, d, đ, e, ē, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, ö, p, r, s, t, u, ü, v, w (q, x, y, z)

Pronunciation

• (letter name): IPA^(key): /ærː/, /æɾː/
• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /r/, /ɾ/, /ʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Letter

r

1. The eighteenth letter of the Norwegian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

• (phoneme): IPA^(key): /ɾ/

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The twentieth letter of the Nupe alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology

The Polish orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the history of Polish orthography article on Wikipedia for more, and r for development of the glyph itself.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛr/

Letter

r (upper case R, lower case)

1. The twenty-third letter of the Polish alphabet, called er and written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Brazil):

  (file)

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The eighteenth letter of the Portuguese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /r/

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. (International Standard) The twenty-second letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.
2. (Pan-Vlax) The twenty-third letter of the Romani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

References

• Yūsuke Sumi (2018) “R, r”, in ニューエクスプレスプラス　ロマ（ジプシー）語 [New Express Plus Romani (Gypsy)] (in Japanese), Tokyo: Hakusuisha, published 2021, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 14

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /r/

Letter

r (lower case, upper case R)

1. The twenty-first letter of the Romanian alphabet, called er, re, or rî and written in the Latin script.