State of discomfort accepted by otherworldly figure (5)

I believe the answer is:

egypt

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'state' is the definition.
(I know that Egypt is a African country)

I don't understand the remainder of the clue.

(Other definitions for egypt that I've seen before include "Home of the Sphinx" , "Arab republic" , "North East African republic" , "Land of the lower Nile" , "Cleopatra's country" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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