pharaoh
/ˈfɛːrəʊ
/noun
A ruler in ancient Egypt: the time of the pharaohs [as name]: Pharaoh has rejected Moses' request...
- According to most beliefs, pyramids were built with the help of great armies of slaves, by the ancient pharaohs of Egypt as tombs for preserving their royal bodies.
- Such iron was used in making the sacred crook of Osiris held by the pharaohs of Egypt.
- In dynastic Egypt, pharaohs celebrated the ‘Sed’ festival at Karnak in which the king was ritually killed and reborn, symbolising the replenishment of his energies.
Derivatives
pharaonic
/ adjective ...- In about 3100 B.C., Egypt was united under a ruler known as Mena, or Menes, who inaugurated the 30 pharaonic dynasties into which Egypt's ancient history is divided - the Old and the Middle Kingdoms and the New Empire.
- Priests were the main practitioners of magic in pharaonic Egypt, where they were seen as guardians of a secret knowledge given by the gods to humanity to ‘ward off the blows of fate’.
- Ancient Egyptians left behind a rich artistic heritage in the form of pyramids, pharaonic painting and sculpture, hieroglyphics, and architecture.
Origin
Middle English: via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek Pharaō, from Hebrew par‘ōh, from Egyptian pr-‘o 'great house'.
Pharaoh goes back to Egyptian pr-‘o ‘great house’. Early English spellings included Pharaon and Pharaoe; the final h in later English spellings was influenced by the Hebrew spelling in the Bible.
Rhymes
- under-rehearsed
- under-report
- under-represent
- under-representation
- under-resourced
- under-resourcing
- under sail
- undersaturated
- undersaturation
- underscore
- underscrub
- undersea
- underseal
- undersecretary
- undersell
- under separate cover
- underserved
- underset
- undersexed
- undersheriff
- undershirt
- undershoot
- undershorts
- undershot
- undershrub