menat means in Ancient Egypt, a heavy beaded necklace and musical instrument with a crescent-shaped plate in the front and a keyhole-shaped amuletic counterweight in the rear, considered sacred to Hathor. It carries an Arena rating of 1356, earned across 16 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, menat ranks #1,266 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #1,438 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words, #1,439 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #2,583 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words.
Why “menat” is a great word
A sacred beaded necklace and musical instrument of ancient Egypt, comprising a crescent-shaped front plate with multiple rows of beads and a distinctive keyhole-shaped counterweight. Its name, borrowed from Egyptian mnjt, was transcribed as menȧt by 19th-century Egyptology. Unlike the sistrum, a ceremonial rattle sacred to Hathor but purely a noisemaker, or the pectoral, a rigid ornamental chest plate denoting status, the menat was a dual-purpose ritual object: a protective amulet and a percussive instrument. It was the weight of dark faience and gold beads cool against a priestess’s breast, the soft clatter of its shaken strands in procession, the symbolic heft of the counterpoise promising life—a device for channeling divine harmony into the tangible world of protection and fertility.
Etymology
Borrowed from Egyptian mnjt in the form of the 19th-century Lepsius-style transcription menȧt.
noun
- In Ancient Egypt, a heavy beaded necklace and musical instrument with a crescent-shaped plate in the front and a keyhole-shaped amuletic counterweight in the rear, considered sacred to Hathor.
- The keyhole-shaped counterweight of such a necklace, considered an amulet to secure divine protection and to ensure fertility.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- sistrum 53% match — An ancient Egyptian musical instrument, to be shaken, consisting of a metal frame holding percussive metal beads. vs menat →
- enneachord 48% match — An ancient Greek nine-stringed musical instrument. vs menat →
- nemes 48% match — A headcloth worn by pharaohs. vs menat →
- neckatee 48% match — A gorget; a handkerchief worn around a woman's neck. vs menat →
- nucament 47% match — A catkin or amentum. vs menat →
- masenqo 46% match — A single-stringed bowed lute commonly used by Ethiopian azmaris. vs menat →
- pschent 46% match — The double crown of ancient Egypt, combining the white crown of Upper Egypt with the red crown of Lower Egypt, worn by pharaohs after the union of the two kingdoms in around 3000 BC. vs menat →
- biliment 46% match — A woman's ornament; habiliment. vs menat →