Definition

Nefer is a word in the Ancient Egyptian language that was used to symbolize beauty and goodness. The exact translation of the word in English is "Beautiful on the inside and the outside".

Hieroglyphs and Symbolism

A compound hieroglyph was used to represent this word in documents composed of the heart of a lamb underneath a crucifix. The crucifix seems to have symbolized the esophagus in the Old Kingdom

Old Kingdom

Old Kingdom is the name given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley .The term itself was...

 and the trachea thereafter.

Use

The term Nefer has been incorporated into many female names in Ancient Egypt. Examples include Nefertiti

Nefertiti

Nefertiti was the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a religious revolution, in which they started to worship one god only...

, Nefererini, and Nefertari

Nefertari

Nefertari also known as Nefertari Merytmut was one of the Great Royal Wives of Ramesses the Great. Nefertari means 'Beautiful Companion' and Meritmut means 'Beloved of [the Goddess] Mut'. She is one of the best known Egyptian queens, next to Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut...

.

The term was consecutively extremely positive that it was used to refer to the crown of Upper Egypt

Upper Egypt

Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...

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Pharaoh

Nefer was an ancient Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

ian pharaoh who ruled for two years, one month, and a day, from 2197–2193 BCE, according to the Turin Canon, though he reigned during the reign of Pepi II Neferkare

Pepi II Neferkare

Pepi II was a pharaoh of the Sixth dynasty in Egypt's Old Kingdom. His throne name, Neferkare , means "Beautiful is the Ka of Re". He succeeded to the throne at age six, after the death of Merenre I, and is generally credited with having the longest reign of any monarch in history at 94 years...

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