Hieroglyphs Addenda · Signs

𓏥

plural

Where it comes from

Three short strokes in a row — no picture, pure bookkeeping. Silent: written under or after a word, they mark it plural. Three is the script’s “many,” as it is in most of the world’s tally systems.

How to remember it

Count the plural: one stroke is the thing itself, three strokes are things beyond counting. When gods, names, or loaves multiply, these three ticks do the multiplying.

In the wild

From a temple library ritual against the gods' enemies (aes corpus). urn:nabu:aes:bbawtempelbib:Q4OD2GDHL5HIXHU3MGUZ3PAMVM:IBUBd5fCxiuh40LfrVMQR1XNMws · license: attribution.

Piece by piece:

  • nn — shall not be: the arms of refusal
  • rn.pl — names, pluralized by this sign’s three ticks, the danger written with the safe substitute stroke
  • ≡tn — your, plural again

A curse takes every name at once — the plural strokes make sure none escapes. The classifier is taught in 101’s chapter 09.

Easily confused