Tawosret

Tawosret is a variant spelling of Tausret, an Ancient Egyptian name borne by one of the few female pharaohs. The name derives from the Egyptian tꜣ-wsrt meaning "mighty lady", composed of the feminine determiner tꜣ combined with wsr "mighty, powerful" and the feminine suffix t.

Historical Significance

Tawosret (also spelled Tausret or Twosret) was the last ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, reigning around 1191–1189 BC. She is recorded in Manetho's Epitome as "Thuoris, who in Homer is called Polybus, husband of Alcandra, and in whose time Troy was taken." Her reign was short, possibly lasting one to three years, as she assumed the regnal years of her predecessor Siptah. Excavations of her mortuary temple at Gournah suggest it was completed during her reign.

Linguistic Background

The name tꜣ-wsrt epitomizes the Egyptian New Kingdom's honorific naming conventions, combining female power (the determiner tꜣ for goddesses or royal women) with the word for "mighty" (wsr). Variants like Tawosret appear due to different transliteration conventions for hieroglyphs, particularly the vowel representations. Tawosret is one of several Greek/Latin-influenced forms alongside Tausret and Twosret.

• Meaning: "Mighty lady"
• Origin: Ancient Egyptian
• Type: Historical name; dynastic name
• Usage regions: Ancient Egypt