Ankh
/ˈæŋk/noun
An ancient Egyptian hieroglyph representing life, commonly shaped like a cross with a loop above it.
Did you know?Egyptian deities are often depicted presenting the ankh to a king’s nose or mouth, symbolically granting him the breath of life.
Etymological Timeline
Early Dynastic Period, c. 3100 BCE
Egyptian
ꜥnḫ
“Life; to live; the living”
Old Kingdom, c. 2686–2181 BCE
Egyptian
ꜥnḫ
“The hieroglyphic word for life, also used in royal and funerary contexts”
Middle Egyptian, c. 2055–1650 BCE
Egyptian
ꜥnḫ
“Life, vitality, or eternal existence”
Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, c. 332 BCE–395 CE
Egyptian
ankh
“The life-sign retained in religious inscriptions and temple imagery”
Late Antiquity, c. 300–700 CE
Coptic
ⲱⲛϩ (ōnh)
“Life; a later Egyptian linguistic form related to the ancient word”
19th Century
English
ankh
“An Egyptological transliteration and English name for the Egyptian life symbol”