The obelisk hieroglyph in the
Egyptian language is ''t(kh)n'', and is the identical word with the same spelling (different
determinatives), for 'to beat a drum', musician, etc. There are other meanings for 'tekhen', as well. The obelisk is a
determinative in the Egyptian language, and the word ''t(kh)n'' has multiple spellings, since obelisk construction was done over various timeperiods. Some spellings are:〔
Budge, 1978, (1920), ''An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary,'' section t,
X1 p. 843b.〕
X1
*Aa1:N35-O25-.-X1
*Aa1:N35-W24:Z7-O25-O39 The second spelling uses the shortened variety of the
block-of-stone (hieroglyph),
N39 as the 2nd determinative.