Horus (English)
Where does "Horus" come from?
The English name 'Horus' comes from Late Latin 'Hōrus', which was derived from Ancient Greek 'Ὧρος'[1][2]. The Greek form was borrowed from the Egyptian word 'ḥr'[1][2][3]. The Egyptian term itself is analyzed as stemming from a base related to either the preposition 'ḥr', meaning 'above', or the verb 'ḥrj', meaning 'to be distant'[4].
Open questions
- The Egyptian form may be derived from a stem combined with a Proto-Afroasiatic nominative case marker, and its ultimate relation to either the preposition meaning above or the verb meaning to be distant remains uncertain. [4]
Full etymology tree
- Horus (English), 'The ancient Egyptian falcon-headed god of the sun, sky, war, and kingship.'
- borrowed Horus (Latin), 'Horus, an Egyptian god'
- borrowed Ὧρος (Hôros) (Ancient Greek), 'Horus (an Egyptian god)'
- borrowed ḥr (Egyptian), 'Horus, the falcon-headed Egyptian god of kingship'
- derived ḥaru- (Egyptian)
- borrowed ḥr (Egyptian), 'Horus, the falcon-headed Egyptian god of kingship'
- borrowed Ὧρος (Hôros) (Ancient Greek), 'Horus (an Egyptian god)'
- borrowed Horus (Latin), 'Horus, an Egyptian god'
Ancestors
- Horus (Latin)
- Ὧρος (Ancient Greek)
- ḥr (Egyptian)
Descendants and derived words
- Horian (English)
- Horus name (English)
Sources
- Horus (English) - Wiktionary
- Horus (Latin) - Wiktionary
- Ὧρος (Hôros) (Ancient Greek) - Wiktionary
- ḥr (Egyptian) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris