ka

/kah/, n. Egyptian Relig.

a spiritual entity, an aspect of the individual, believed to live within the body during life and to survive it after death.

[1890-95; < Egyptian k']

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▪ Egyptian religion

      in ancient Egyptian religion, with the ba and the akh, a principal aspect of the soul of a human being or of a god. The exact significance of the ka remains a matter of controversy, chiefly for lack of an Egyptian definition; the usual translation, “double,” is incorrect. Written by a hieroglyph of uplifted arms, it seemed originally to have designated the protecting divine spirit of a person. The ka survived the death of the body and could reside in a picture or statue of a person.

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