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Copyright of Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Unlike the principal Coptic dialects Sahidic and Bohairic, in which the two verbs for "to sit" and "to stand" possess just a single form each, the Southern Coptic dialects (Akhmimic, Lycopolitan, dialect P) have preserved a formal distinction between the infinitive and the stative in both verbs. This information remains hidden in a few text editions, is not widely known and not reflected in current handbooks. The present paper traces the original morphological distinction for both verbs in the major textual witnesses of the South, as well as the progressive morphological collapse that lead to the uniform shapes of these verbs in the dominant dialects. Finally, an etymology is suggested for the puzzling Sahidic standard form ϩⲙⲟⲟⲥ "to sit". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]