The pronunciation of the Ancient Egyptian name for the Season of the Emergence is uncertain as the hieroglyphs do not record its vowels.
[citation needed] The name refers to the emergence of the fertile land beside the Nile from its annual flood and the growth of vegetation and crops over the following season.
[7] Because the precise timing of the flood varied, the months of "Emergence" no longer precisely reflected the state of the river but the season was usually the time for the planting and growth of Egyptian grain.
In the lunar calendar, each began on a dawn when the waning crescent moon was no longer visible.
In ancient Egypt, these months were usually recorded by their number within the season: I, II, III, and IV Prt.