Sumerian Grammar and Chrestomathy
Sumerian Grammar and Chrestomathy
Sumerian Grammar and Chrestomathy
AND
CHRESTOMATHY
\VITH A VOCABULARY
BY
PARIS
LIBRAIRIE PAUL GEUTHNER
68, Rue Mazarine, 68
Agents fol' AmcI'ica : G. E. STECHERT & Co, New York
1911
ABBREVIATIONS
Names oí Principal Sources etc.
Stephen LANGDON.
Pages.
Preface o ••••••••••••• o •• o o o •• o •• o . I-II
Abbreviations, Names of Principal Sources etc o" .. , . Y-YII
Historical OuUine.
in-gi(n) and ki-in-gi-ra in late texts are employed for matu 'Iand', simply
(SAL 7331)and ki-in-gín =
il'?itu 'earth', IV R. 1a, 22 (v. HOMMEL,Geographie,
242 n. 4). HOMMELcorrectly derived sumer directly from kingin by assuming the
palatalisation k> s before i and n> r. PRINCE, Materials /01' a Sumerian LeaJicon,
p. 206, has given an interesting derivation 01 kengin by analysing it into kin' land',
and gin 'reed', , land of the reed'. See al so LENORMANT,Étudrs, 2nd Série,.p. 29.
LllNORMANTnot only derived sumer (the U arising from the labial m) Irom kengin,
but with SAYCEconnected it with the Biblical .,~~W,followed by RADAU, Early
Baóylonian History, 216. Sanb.ar in the Amar~a Letters and on a tablet of
Boghazkói is a killgdom of the Mitanni and can have no connection with kingir
= sumel' = "~tW, which seems to me correcto See for Sanlwr, WEBER in KNUDT-
ZON'SEL-AMARNATAFELN, 1080-3.
1. The city a-ga-dé-(ki) is identical with the la ter akkadü-(ki), usually written
uri.(ki), v. MEISSNEIl, SAL 8878. The name of tbe city is written a-ga-dé-(ki)
in all periods and is distinct from uri-(ki) the 'land of Akkad'.
2. Usually located on tbe Tigris opposite Sippar, but by HOMMEL,south-east
of Babylon, and by THUREAU-DANGIN,OLZ. 1909, 205, east 01 Babylon on the
Shatt-el-Nil.
3. Ninib's temple at Nippur é-su-me-DU should perhaps be read é-su-me-rá,
for references, v. SBP. 346 and the n. pro Amel-é-su-me-I'á, BEP. VP, 37,8.
HISTORICAL OUTLINE 3
§ 2. The pronunciation sumer is known to us only by the Semitic Sumerian
as a
loan-word swneru. The Semites designated this language as the lisan
language.
sumeri, or language of Sumer, and tbeir own language as akkadü or
Akkadian. So for instance a date promulgated by Samsuditalla as the
official Sumerian date formula for the year has a Semitic translation,
called akkadü-sa, 'its Semi tic rendering' '. An interlinear text con-
taining Sumerian lines and a Semitic translation under each line has
the note [saplis) akkada elis su[mera), 'bel-ow the Akkadian (Semiticj,
above the Sumerian ' 2. In ZA. IV, 434, BEZOLD published a tablet deal-
ing with geographical and racial terms. Line six should probably be
restored, eme-K U nig-si'g-ga eme [akkadi (ki)], which is there translated
by lisan sumeri tamsil akkadi = Sumerian is the counterpart of Akka-
dian. BEZOLD in Florilegium J.l1elchior de Vogüé, 53-8, has discussed
the question a new, but with impossible conclusions concerning some of
the texts.
The usage of the two words sumerü and akkadü appears clearly in
an inscription of Asurbanipal, who describing his early education says :
" Among the craftsmen 1 busied myself (?); the counsel and wisdom of
the heavens with the wise masters ('1) 1 solved. 1 read the dreadful
mysteries which should not be revealed ('1). To translate into Akkadian
the skilfully made tablets which were obscure in Sumerian 1 was
restless ('1)3." Here the word sumeru is ideographically expressed by
the Sumerian eme- KV which seems to be a late /orm invented by the
Semites. eme-KV has not been success/ully interpreted. In thosetexts
where it occurs 4 the /or1n o/ KV gives no clue as to which 01 the three
original signs E, lET, ~ is intended. eme o/ course means (speech,
4 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
Sumer and § 3. The kings of the Sumerian dynasties of Ur, Isin and Larsa
Akkad.
employed the title 'king of ki-en-gi (sumer) and akkad', but the Semitic
conqueror, Hammurabi, used the words mat su-me-ri-im u ak·ka-di-im.
This double expression to designate southern and northern Babylonia in
their aneient racial divisions as Sumerian and Akkadian (Semitic) con-
tinued to be used by the Assyrians and Babylonians to the end of their
political existence and was current even among the Persian kings.
Strictly speaking we should designate these two languages of the cunei·
form scri pt as Sumerian and Akkadian, the terms which the Babylonian
and Assyrian scholars themselves adopted. 1 shall, therefore, designate
the Semitic dialects, as Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian. For the
non-Semi tic and primitive language of the inscriptions 1 adopt the term
Sumerian, a word which the later representatives of this people
seem to have recognized as a ter m applicable to their country and race.
[For a discussion of the dialects of Sumerian see the chapter on Pho-
neticsj.
§ 5. The literature of the classical period may be divided into three Types of
literature.
elasses, historical, commercial and religious. Doeuments of the third
type are extremely rare in this periodo If the Sumerians composed
hynms, liturgies, epics and mythologies before 2500 B.C. none have sur-
vived '. The only document which we might designate as distinetly
religious in motif of eomposition, the aecount of the building and
dedication of the temple of Lagash (Sirpurla) recorded on two great elay
cylinders of Gudea [circa 2500] offers little opportunity for estimating the
kind of religious literature which the ancient Sumerians must have
possessed. Gudea speaks of his sacred literature" and the temple singers
are mentioned from the earliest period onwards '. The type of doeument
classified under the general heading of eommereialliterature, if we may
apply the term literature to contraets, sales, eonveyances, lists of temple
3,nd private property, yearly and monthly aeeounts of templeand palace
estates, constitutes by far the most fully represented source of Sumerian
§ 7; The inscriptions from the earliest period which may be said Oldest
inscriptions.
to represent the oldest script in Asiatic civilization reaching back to a
period certainly as early as 4000 B. c. are in the probable order of their
antiquity '; Black stone tablet, General Theological Seminary, New
York City, v. AJSL. XXIII, 19, reverse uninscribed; stone tablet
with rude figure Ol aman seizing one of three small trees (?), wearing a
lo\v cap with two tal! palm leaves; inscribed both obv. and rev., Dée.
ép., pl. Ibis; SCHEIL,Notes d' Épigraphie, no. L. AO. 2753, stone tablet
from Suruppak, obv. and rev., published and translated by F. THUREAU-
DANGIN, RA. VI, Contrats al'ehai'ques, no I. Semi-circular stone re-
sembling Blau A, Dée., pl. I te!', no. 6. Flat stone tablet, rever se unin-
scribed, ibid., no. 5. Fragment of a list of purchases, BM. 22506 in
CTV, 3.
These inscriptions upon stone are al! business record s shewing that
the Sumerians in the first stages of their civilization used writing for
practical purposes. The writing is linear and the scribes compose the
signs, some of which are still not far removed from pictographs, by com-
binations of straight and curving lines.
gash, Urnina, Déc., pl. 2 ter; Entemena, CT. X, pl. 1; CT. v, pl. 1; Déc. ép., XLVI
and pl. 5; one unpublished in the Louvre, v. SAK. 32; Urukagina, Déc. ép., XLIX,
Ur-Bau, Déc., pl. 27; Inscriptions upon stone mixing bowls, Eannatum, PSBA.1890,
p. 60, with plate opp. p. 112; Enannatum, RA. IV, 108; plaques. Urnina, Déc., pl. 2;
Déc. ép., XXXVlI (diorite), Urukagina, Déc. ép., L (baked clay). A fragment of a
vase inscription, a dedication for [the life of] Grukagina is BM. 12030.
1. The so called Blau Monuments now in the British Museum, Babylonian
and Assyrian Room, case D, nos. 14 and 15 are declared to be forgeries in the
official Guide 19u8, p. 156. Several of the entries, however, make good SC)]lse.for
example 20 water buckets, 20 linen garments, 2 woollen garments, 20 jewels, A.
obv., cases III, VIII, X, XII. Notice al so the rey. case 1, 1 1;2 bur for the kalu
priest, where the numerical system is exactly the same as in AO. 2753. Photo-
graphs of both A and B in the American Journal o( Archaeology, 1888, pIs. IV, V.
Copy by BARTON,in JAOS. XXII, 120; corrections XXIV, 389.
- .._-"'"~--"'" '__ ~_~'~''''.'.''''<t<:_".
-.~.,~--~~-,...~.~ -~-_.- ..._--_._' ---'--.- -~~---- ~- -"'-~-~~"-"-=~-
8 SUMERIANGRAMMAR
10 SUMERIANGRAMMAR
now in the Louvre is the most im portant early SeJ;P.itic record in exis-
tence. Published by SCHEIL,Délégation en Perse, vol. II, 152. Ana-
lysed and commented upon by HROZNY,Vienna Oriental Journal, XXI,
11-43. For the proper-names v. HOSCHANDER,ZA. XX, 246-302, only
letters A-B. [SAK. 160-3.J
Interval § 14. From the dynasty of Akkad to the dynasty of Ur, 2900'-2474.
between
Akkad and 1. Lugal-usumgal', patesi of Lagash under the dynasty of Agade,
Ur. 1eft no literary remains; dedicated a seal to Sarganisarri, [SAK. 164 fJ
and one to Naram-Sin [ibid., 168 kJ; frequentIy appears in documents
of the period [DHORME, op. cit., under Sal'l'u-usumgalJ.
2. Ur-Bau. Qne important inscription on his statue, a stamped
brick, two baked cIay pegs, a door-socket, a stone tablet and a vase.
SAK.60-63.
Qne tablet dated in his reign, RTC. 1863•
tion whieh they merit in Semitie philology. The remarkable study of HOSHANDER,
eited above, may lead to important results. Still a purely philologieal investiga-
tion oí the Obelisk of Manistusu and the tablets mentioned under § 13 is much
needed.
1. This is the extreme date to which we can assign Sarganisarri according to
tbe commonly accepted interpretation. Allowing 300 years for the reigns under
+
§§ 12 13 and an unknown interregnum between them, we would arrive at 3200 for
Urukagina and about 3400 for Ur-Nina. The dates assumed by KING in his his-
tory of Sume1' and Akkad [3000 for Ur-Nina, 2650 Sarganisarri] are in any case
hazardously 10w. Commercia1 documents of this period, RTC. 180-260, and
PINOHES, Amh., no. 13.
2. The period between Naram-Sin oí Akkad and Ur-Bau of Lagash is wholly
unknown. TH.-DANGIN assi¡ms three ru1e1's Ugme, Urmama and Basama to this
periodo None of these 1eft historica1 inscriptions. Tab1ets dated in these reigns,
RTe. 181. 183. 184.
3. An apparent1y ancient sea1, TOSOANNE,Temtes divcrs, [RT. XXX,] p. 9; clingú',
gal-kw' uku(?)-us ur-d ba-ú, Dingir-gal-kur minister of Ur-Bau. Identification
with the patesi uncertain.
4. An other patesi Urgar. also son-in-law (?) of Ur-Bau, honored with the dedi-
catian of a female statue by a daughter of Ur-Bau, SAK. 63, no. 13.
5. RA. n, 79. Valuable because it defines the meaning of bur = püru, as
, stone bowl'.
HISTORICAL OUTLINE 13
1. 43 d year of Dungi.
2. Read si-mu-ru-um instead of LAU'S si-bu-um (? ¡.
3. Add. SCHEIL, Notes d'Epigraphie, LI.
4. SAK. 146-9.
5. SAK. 227.
I
.~~----------_._---_.~-~~-'--
HISTORICALOUTLINE 15
1. Also under Bur-Sin. Vide SAK. 233 n. e) and REISNER, TU. no. 60. ef.
ibid., no. 143 date. 146 date.
=
2. Add, SCHEIL, Notes cl'Epigraphic, no. XII RT. XVII, 28-29; no. LI (in
RT. XXII), tablets 1-2. PELAGAU,Bab. lII, 2, sá-tilla, nos. 2, 18.
16 SUMERJANGRAMMAR
§ 17. With the disappearance of the dynasty of Isin whose members Sumerian
ceases to be
were themselves Semites, Babylonia must have been thoroughly Semi-
spoken.
ticised. The contracts written at Babylon, Sippar and Erech are in
the main Semitic from the middle of this dynasty onward. Nippur,
however, continued to be a Sumerian speaking city as late as the rise
of the Sea Dynasty under lluma-iZa '. Sumerian seems to have been the
officiallal1guage of Arad-Sin (Eri-agu) and Rim-Sin, last of the kings
of Larsa [SAK. 210-221], as well as of a late dynasty at Erech [ibid.,
§ 19. The inventors of the Sumerian script began by making pic- Pictographs.
tures of objects arranged one above the other in perpendicular columns
to form sentences. As they progressed, for convenience the tablet or
object inscribed was turned to the left ninety degrees so as to enable the
scribe to write from left to right. vVhen this evolution took place the
pictographs seem to have remained in their original positions so that
they were really written lying on their left sides. This mayexplain why
so few of the signs have retained even a slight resemblance to their origin-
al forms. The following signs can still be iden ti fied 2. ~~ r, a star.
the sign is balag (identified by the author himself). No. 92 perhaps ggf. No. 210,
was used by the Semites in the early period for
No. 261 =
&.~+
as well as
sudul, Br. 10875, v. SAK. 82 n. el. 262 gig is used for dugud (263) in
.&.~~fH·
Gud. Cyl. A 4, 17 and Ur-Bau Sto 3, 6. No. 265 read su.lug. No. 285 usan, =
Br. 8189. No. 286, the sign inserted appears to be e:I§J, v. DE GENOUILLAC,
TSA. LX¿Y, and no. 12, rey. III. No. 448 = 1JI5=J yin in the sense of si1Jlu,
but e:UJg in the sense of uku crown. No. 451 used for m Gud. B 6, 52, and
Cyl. A 16, 8. A great many new forms of known signs and several unidentified
forms have been found. No. 4 is not the gunified form of no. 3, see p. 57 n. 3.
2. The original forms are not given here; for most cases they may be found
in ltEC. In a few cases I have cited the texts. The importance of this subject
for linguistic purposes is sligbt and has been greatly and ingeniously exaggerated.
20 SUMERlAN GRAMMAR
~,adrum.
3. For original, v. Blau, and CT. V,7 obv. In.
4. So TH.-DANGIN, ReDue critique, vol. 37, p. 202.
5. See HILPRECHT, OBI., photo 37.
6. The original sign in SCHEIL, Notes d'Epigraphie, no. L, in RT. XXIII.
The wool·comber is the aslakku, also called mudru XX=~ rg ff·
By asso·
ciation the scribes used this sign for woollen garment siptu. Tliudru was also used
for reed-mat burú, SAL 8095 (uncertain).
THE ORIGIN AND PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SUMERIAN WRITING 21
The sign is ordinarily em ployed for 'pelt, lea ther'. <~T nim REC.
165, a two winged insecto
§ 20. The princi pal method of inflecting signs to modify their mean- Gunification.
ings is the so called gunification or addition of several strokes, usually
four or five, indicating that the signs so modified denote the su perlative
of the original. The word gun means literally 'weight, burden' (biltu),
and a sign so treated is said to be gunified, that is, it represents the ori-
ginal idea plus the modification of greatness. The grammarians, there-
fore, in their lists usually place the gunified form after the simple formo
The additional strokes were ordinarily added to the top of the sign,
or when turned horizontally, to the left of the sign'. The following
have been so treated.
3. ~n
sig, 'be bright' and 'to fix'. Original 11. Gunified ti
si(g), su(g), same sense.
manth', full-moon, middle of the month. The original sign for month
t>- is a gunified 't.)' day, i. e., 'the great day'. E<:;<<< f (murub) is
really a doubly gunified formo
12. ~1ma, for gunified form, cí. p. 19 n. 1), both signs used for
a kind of 6g.
14. ili, the gunified form ~ilionly CT. XXVI, 40, col. IV, 10.
15. ~ és, house, t::tli és-gunu, great house, a city. Late sign
;::(«< ¡.
16. 4 = 1 bur (or 18 gan of land, d. CT. V, 3, col. lII, and
= 10
REC. 509) and ti
mathematical sense. The late sign is and ~, g
bur. Here the gunification has a purely
the latter never
1. Notice in no. 8 and in REC. 261, the peculiar form 01 the gunification by
placing two lines in a slanting position above and below the signo
2. Falsely regarded by late grammarians as composed of DU with inserted se.
The same false analysis pertains to no. 6, which the grammarians analysed into
utu ~T with inserted <<<o
_--'--'-- "'-~;..o:.-
~ __ .-~-_.o.,=..--
THE ORIGIN AND PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SUMERIAN WRITING 23
1. But, eL RTC. no. 5, obv. IlI, 2 f.; Gud Cyl. A 2, 8. 25. For the ancient
sign add GBl. 94 to REC. 294.
2. The seribes regarded ::Hf as the gunified form of ::t=, yet this is uneertain.
Doubtful also is the explanation of ~T as the gunÜ of :"n ¡. In CT. V, 7 obv .
..fHT is not conneeted with:
3. The root sir =
araku is eertain.
ni·
4. A gunifieation, in which the interior strokes have become three heads, in
B. M. 19984 obv. 8.
5. parl?u.
24 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
H <T~ (eri), 'water of the eye' is often written T<T~f nig a-ak-ku-igi- =
igub, ef. K 2839, rev.H, 21. We therefore find eompounds written both
ways; thus in Gud. Cyl. A 13, 14 the word for a saered person, devotee,
usag, is written with ~TH~enelosed in lo;::TT==l=, but the word is spelled
out ú-sag-ga-ge in SBP. 300, 1'. The inventors of pieture-writing by
thus introdueing a Inotij into a sign were able to express involved ideas.
So for instanee the sign for 'city wall " dúru, represented a huge gate
flanked on eaeh side by a short portion of the wall. Within this they
introdueed the sign for pitú, 'open', representing the notion of an entranee,
REC. 370. The same Inotij is introduced into the sign for 'month' to
denote the beginning of the month '-L~ REC. 237'. The sign for
water is also introdueed into signs with ingenious results. ~~IDJ,'to
drink',=KA 'mouth' with A 'water', inserted. Cf. also ~UnT pisan, a
water vessel. The method of modifying signs by other signs did not
always follow a fixed rule; for example ~H<T~r has two signs
inserted, but the same eombination appears often as n ~T <T~ 3.
~ se, 'barley, grain', is inserted into the following signs; ~~, ~Uln,
perhaps originally the pieture of an instrument for threshing grain i
~~, gaz', to thl'esh grain; perhaps also in .&.~~,REC. 213 and
CT. XV 22, obv. 8. ~~T""'T,originally written with se above, 01' en-
elosed in, the sign Inusen, bird, henee 'a grain bird', usa.
..•...•..
Gigns § 22. More involved ideas were expressed by plaeing two signs
juxtaposec1.
together. For this eombination the seribes employed the formula
X-Z-/w. To represent the word for 'marsh' apparu, the Sumerians
Wl'ote ~il&.'reed' and Ir
'water', whiell thegrammarians explained
as ,gi-a-a-ku, that is, the two sign-names were plaeed side by side and
then the suffix ku added '. Three signs may be treated in the same
way ; ~ nT::= <IEr ...-,..¡- «4-t =
ú-ki-i-iskul'-akku, pronounced ~utra,
a kind of plant'. Yet the grammariam often omit the suffix ku;
<mJ .:::.
n* ~T = ki-:sag-aragubbü
3. N ot infrequen tly do we find
this suffix appearing \vhich the Semites borrowed; a-sur
in loan-words
= asuraklcu,. a-mar =
amal'ukku!. Yet the majority of com pound
loan-words do not have this suffix'.
1. The pronunciation was, however, gi-diir, where du,' represents the wOl'd
tul> dul, a swamp, lit. 'reedy swamp', K 4174, rey. 7.
2. K 4174, obv. 1, 9.
3. ¡bid., rey. 36.
4. Cf. also nig-na = niknakku. In those cases where Id forms the second
element of the co~pound the final ku is assimilated to ki,. t-T <I§J utu-ki- =
ki, cL LEHMANN,Samas-sum-ukin, p. 146. The element h, which appears so often
in grammatical texts as hu and in loan-words made by compounding two words,
is probably connected with the emphatic particle ge, Ira see § 131, originally he,
Ira, inflected with the Semitic nominative inflection u. lf this be the true
explanation then all those loan-worcls which end in hu must be considered as
construct compositions : a-sur-a-he, "water of radiance", etc. eL zagmuhlm
"beginning 01the year"; girginakku, a chest for tablets; imsukku, Del., H. W., 93 b.
5. e-gal = egallu :.pur-gul =
pur¿rullu. The most important lists of loan-
words are the two publications, LEANDER,Ueber die sumerischen Lehnwó¡·ter in
assyrischen, and LANGDON,Sumerian Loan-words, Babyloniaca, vol. n.
6. For b) v. Gud. Cyl. B 18,22.
7. The ter m ideogram implies much more than pictograph. Although the Su-
merian script undoubtably consisted in mere pictographs in its primitive stages,
yet the earliest literary remains have preserved almost negligible traces of these
crude signs. As early as 4000 BC. the system had already succeeded in writing
more composite ideas by means of modilying ancl combining signs.
26 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
of igi 'eye' and bar' bright', i. e., igi-bar = naplusu, or as a noun baru
, seer', also appears as bar-igi in galubar-igi = baru '.
bination for writing the word to beget2 is the gunified mu,~en = 6sh,
(see above p. 21), or by inserting the sign for 'water' into the sign for
'heart', .t-HnT, really composed of sag-a or a-sag, but pronouncedpeiJ.
Naturally the pronunciation more.often corresponds to the writing
as, ==HH~T""é-gal=house-great; ll:J •...
~l¡ ur-mag=dog-large;
T•...<~TT me-larn = melarnmu.
Rise of the § 25. The system ,originally purely ideographic, had already
phonetic
system.
partly passed into the syllabic stage before the period of the oldest in-
scriptions. Tbe monosyllabic words became mere syllables. Since the "'-
roots are largely bi-consonantal a large number of syllables are bi-con-
sonantal. Thus the sign ~nf,
ideograpb for Ztalag, 'strong man', readily
yielded the syllable Ztal and since the noun ~wl, derived from a root gil,
to demolish, meant 'demolition', the scribes wrote <~ ==TTf, literally
, place demolished " for nidútu, a plot with ruined house. We have
here a purely phonetic process which can be understood only by the
reduction of the language to its phonetic roots. In fact we shall find
that the written system even from the beginning of our knowledge of
the inscriptions is much more phonetic than has been supposed. The
sign ~TT*, originally used for sag, 'head', carne to mean sag,' gift', a
nominal derivative of the verb s(q, to give. In a large number of cases the
final consonant was lost, thus giving rise to syllables with a consonant
and vowel. ~n
originally employed for sig, horn, became si. ~na
gin, a reed, became gi. After this step had been taken it was possible
to write the root sig, which had a large numberof meanings, phoneti-
cally ~n~H.&.si-gi. Syllables of this kind whose origins can be
traced are; ~n<rrig, > ri. ~;:Hrar' (meaning?)
seize violently,
> ra. ~H dad' > da. ~~r~i kag, mouth, > ka. <I§J ki(n),
place, >ki. <::~mi, apparentIy late from gig > gi > mi. T~ (e)me,
tongae, > me. ~~T tud, to beget, > tu. HTH til, to live, > ti.
~T te,q, to touch, > te. ~n~ zig, to rash, > zi.
§ 26. A large number of syllables seem to have lacked a final Original
syllables
consonant from the beginning. ~~Tba, to grant, ~ bi, that, ~~ bu, withou t final
pu. l' ga, milk.
<1* di, ~T du, to walk. =::iTT gu, planto 1i-~ consonant.
H< {¡a. ~T<T {¡u. l8 ka. ~~T la. li. tEU la. ~~~n ~r
+
ma.
~T~pi,
~
ear,
n za, a jewel.
*
ma, name.
pa.
»--~
~~T na,
"UTI I'U,
n za, to know.
carved stone.
to give. ~
:::H=
sa, a neto
ni. nu, noto
~nT ta.
<T~ si, "i: se, were so used by the Babylonians of the classical period,
the consonant corresponding to the Hebrew W. It has been generally
assumed that Sumerian possessed a sound s. This applies also to the
syllables is, as, us, es. The Babylonian of the Code of Hammurabi
clearly distinguishes tvvo classes of sibilants is, us, as, si, sa, su and
es, is, as, as, si, sa, su, se. 1t is natural, therefore, to as sume that a
distinciion existed' in Sumerian from which these syllables were
1. Uncertain.
2. The value sa oí the sign yis probably oí Semitic origin, being the Semi-
tic relative ¡¡a, a translation oí the Sumerianneuter relative nig (v. page 113). Errors
have arisen by supposing sa to be Sumerian; íor example
ZÚ, in V R. 42 eJ, 25 f., are to be transcribed as loan-words
T -gu-un-nu, 'q7 -gu-
gargunnü, garguz[zü).
Correct BRÚNNOW, 12175 f.
28 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
Manistusu, yet it is also written gn-at, face B, col. XII 3, XVIII 31.
vVe haye, then, the following difficult situation. It seems necessary to
as sume that the Semitic sibilants were in process of permutation when
the Semites borrowed the signs. Some \Vords had already cbanged s s >
as in case of tbe verbs cited aboye. Tbe suffixes are su, sunu, sa, sina.
The nouns swnu, samsu, salim are frequent. On the other hand the
yerbs sapaku, sakanu, rasú, seme' are written as they would be in tbe
Codeo vVe assume tbat all these yerbs suffered permutation and were
)
pronounced with S. vVe ought to find examples of ete. ~n,gn,
corresponding to s in tbe Codeo N o word has yet been found in this
period pbilologically eonnected witb a word eontaining s in later Baby-
lonian. On the aboye assumption tbe sole example of an original s in
the early period is the proper name Enbi-as-tar' [Y. Bab. II, 138]. I
eonclude that Sumel'ian possessed a sound corresponding to the Semitic
s but, beside the s in as-tar, the only cases, where Sumerian syllables
'sum > 'su, to thresh. It is not at al! likely that Sumerian possessed
syl!ables containing the emphatic letters t and ¡:;. The Semites were
forced to employ for such syIlables those signs whose values most
nearly conformed to these sounds. For ta they wrote ~n (da); for
ti <1* (di) and a, the latter value derived from the Semitic equi-
r
valent tabu 4; for tu W~T, original value dun. For ¡:;a H (za); ~~n
employed universaIly for ¡:;i is apparently a little-used sign in the clas-
sical texts 3. Its original value must have been zi. For ¡:;u (zum). ~a=
The syllables at, it, ut, W;, i¡:;, u¡:; al! have the Sumerian values ad, id,
ud, az, iz, uz and served for both simple and emphatic sounds in the
Semitic script.
§ 28. The syIlables with the vowel before the consonant in most cases Origin of
simple
represent the original word. In other terms they are unchanged roots
syllables
employed as phonetic values. ~~1ap, ab, ocean; ~~1
ad, father, (also beginning
employed for at);~S aga, to do, to work, > ag, employed also for ak
with
a vowel.
and a's. a~~fH u!Ju, poison, > utJ, em ployed also for atJ and itJ.
2. According
= pap-desseku,
to the grammarians ~a is composed of ~ pap and dis,
CT. XII, 16 a, 16. The sound if- is proven by the loan-word !sil,
1
ibid.,17.
3. The original consonant!s is partly supported by the variant gin> gi, to
send.
4. The Sumerian valne of
the Semites employed for ti.
a dug may have given rise to a value di which
[The Semites made use of this sign for ua, aa, iaJ. ==b.T al, pick,
loan-word allu. ~ ama, > am, wild-ox. ~T an, heaven.
<T~~n"""T ar (meaning uncertain, a compound of ígi +tal which
became a phonetic elemení at an early date). ~"""""H az, as [a~SemiticJ;
composed of pel REC. 182, and za, originally written before the signo
Original meaning uncertain, perhaps a kind of medicine, loan-word
asa. a== as,desire aisiatu, curse arratu, also - ás the ordinary word
for one. «< d thirty. ~n isi > is. ~ ib, ip. id, it as phonetic
values in Sumerian are uncertain '. ~T"""T~ igi> ig, 'door', employed
for ik, í~. ~T il. ,&,4t imi, immi, > im, bitumen. ~:rH innu
> in, straw. :Trr ir. ==T gis> is, wood2; also employed for iz and
oceasionally for is. ==1F ub, region, quarter; also employed for up .
..t-T udu >, ud day; also employed for ut which may be the original
word for ' day'. ~"""""~T ug , fierce animal " employed for uk, u~.
<==T..t- ul. ==~nTum. ==TH unu >un, 'people', apparently a phonetic
developement of ugu, the classical word. lId ur, dogo T"""T usu "t:~
> US, a grain bird; also employed for uz (and Semitic us). ~T gus
> us; originally gus the word for 'male', the sign when used for us
means 'to follow (ridü)' or 'to fix, place (emedu)'.
vowei síghs. § 29. The signs for the vowels were originally employed as pic-
tographs, but, with one exception, they appear to have been pronounced
as simple vowels from the beginning. The sign for e (==H) had at
nrst the value egi and meant canal'. H a, water. Three signs were
employed for u,. <. u, ten; ==HT==, ú, may represent a net woven with
large strands at righí angles with the warp, but the original meaning of
the sign with the value úcannot be determined. "Ve have also to reckon
with the possibility of its being a value obtained by the elision of a
1. In fact Sumerian daes nat seem to have developed a phonetic value id/t,
employed as such.
2. This explanation is clearly to be preferred to the derivation of the values
is and is far this sign fram the Semitic equivalent ü~u.
3. The ,"áncient sign may possibly represent a canaL PRINCE, Matel'ials, 92,
made the same suggestion.
THE ORIGIN AND PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SUMERIAN WRITING 31
§ 30. The language, evidently well equipped both for ideographic Practical
hints.
and phonetic expression, should, if clearly written, present no difficulty
in conveying the ideas of those who wrote it. We have, however, to
contend with peculiar obstacles, the most serious obstacle being the fact
that the signs, which may have been used originally with a few fixed
phonetic values, have in many cases borrowed homophonic values of
widely different meanings. This confusion arose from the lack of di-
versified roots in the language. The root V sig has as many as ten differ-
ent values '; theoretically all of these could be written with any sign
which had the value sig regardless of its pictographic meaning. For
example the sign ~n
may possibly represent a hand with pointing
front finger, hence sig 'horn', but the sign may be employed to write sig
= be bright (napa!Ju, namam), sig=to rush, pierce, (nagasu, naJsabu),
sig = to establish, (suzzuzzu), sig= be weak, (enesu), sig= seize (a!Jazu),
sig == be full (mala), sig = to oversee, counsel, (dababu). In this case
only sig, 'horn' and 'to rush, pierce', belong to this signo Gn the
other hand it would be possible to write all of these values phone-
tically, si-ig or si-gi. Confusion also arose through the elision of final
consonants
For example a
a process which resulted in a large number
dug had the meaning 'good'
of homophones.
(tábu), which by elision
became du, hence da (~~nT.t-) carne to mean tdbu; also ~f~fHf,
ordinary sign for the synonymn damJsu, carne to have a value du CT. l
XXIV, 6, 25). dúg (~~T~T)has the meaning 'be full' (malU), which
became dü (+) = malü,. ordinarily one would translate + by bana,
1. The vowel ü written also with the signs containing i must be reckoned with
here, so that an uncertain number of these syllables may have been pronounced
BÜg, especially those which became sib or sim.
32 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
'to build'. The translator when dealing with a sign having the valuf;l du
must, therefore, keep in mind a very large number of possibilities. The
value might represent du + any one of twenty or more consonants.
The form of the ancient pictograph helps one to select the most
probable values, but at the same time the student must risk being very
wide of the mark if he have no Semi tic translation to control his texto
~.
tí
1
f
CHAPTER III.
§ 31. The script evolved by the Sumerians has the capacity Vowels.
of writing but four vowel sounds, low back a, high back ü with
labial rounding, mid-palatal e and front palatal L. It is probable that,
when a separate vowel sign was employed for any of these vowels,
1. The principal works upon Ihis subject are, LENomIANT, Etudes Accadiennc8,
seconde série, pp. 25-63; SAYCE, Aceadian PhonoloDY, Philological Society's
Transactions, 1877-9, pp. 123-142; PAULHAUPT, Akkadisch-Sumeri8che Ke¡;[8chrift-
Tabte, p. 134 and numerous notes by the same author in other works; HOMMEL,
Die Sumcro-akkadi8che Sprache, Zeitschrift für Keilsehriftforschung, l, 161-8;
LEHMANN,Samas-sum-uhin, pp. 131-160; PRINCE,Materialsjor a Sumerian Lemicon,
§ IV; FOSSEY,Le8 Permutations des Con8onnes en Sumérien, Hilprecht Anniversary
Vol. 105-120, al so BALL, ibid., 33-59. The student must be emphaticalIy warned con-
cerning a great deal that has been written upon sound-change in Sumerian. vVith
sufficient ingenuity phoneticians have been able to prove sound-changes which
are incorrecto Many signs have several sounds, due to synonymous roots only, as
for instance ~ = du and ru, synonymns for banu, to build; it is needless to
assume a process el > l' to explain this phenomenon. Oeeasionally seholars in
ignorance of the forms of the signs in the early period and confused by the fact
. that some signs with different sounds and meanings have coalesced into a single
sign, have attempted to explain the multiplicity of sounds attaehed to signs of this
and +
kind by sound-ehange. The sign
mas confused under one sign
++ for example has two major values bar
in the later script. By assuming b> m
L
and r > s we might arrive at the absurd result that bar = mas. ~T = [jan and
har, represents two signs • [jan and ~ kar; obviously any attempt to explain
[jan= kar by sound-ehange would be ridiculous. The scribes, themselves, are fre-
quently to blame, since they occasionally attribute meanings to one Sumerian word
which· belong to another word simply because both Sumerian words happen to be
written with the same signo
GRAM. SU:lr. 3
34 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
the long vowel was intended. To express any of these sounds in com~
bination with consonants separate syllabic signs had to be chosen. In
the case of signs representing closed syllables we presume that the
vowel may be short or long as circumstance requires, eo go, ~TTr Ug,
lag or l'tg, lag. The quality of the short vowels as well as that of the
long vowels must have varied somewhat according to the consonants
with which they were used The imperfect system of writing furnishes
10
Vowel a. § 32. The sign n is generally employed for a the lower velar long
vowel. Another sign ~ T had the same phonetic value, usually di s-
••••
tinguished as á, and appears frequently as a variant of n. Only the
sign n is written for indicating long vowels, l;a-a, na-a, etc.2
Vowel u. § 33. The system possesses three vowels for the high back velar a,
vizo <T~IEUU, < u and ~nT~ ú. Inasmuch as the SemÍtes general-
ly wrote their copula ü (1) with the sign <T~IEU,its phonetic quality
is unmistakably fixedo It is the sign usually employed for the nominal
augment a, e. go, u-tud 'begetting', from the root tud 'to beget'. It
appears as a phonetic element in words, as u' mu-un 'lord', written
also u-mu-un, but rarely as a vowel prolongation as in da-u-de, IV
R. 35, no. 6, II 50 The verbal prefix a, by means of which many com-
pound verbs were formed, is generally written <T--~, yet the form
==TTT== appears in these constructions as well as in the nouns formed
with the augment ü, eL ú-kúr= mákalu food, and for the prefix in com-
pound verbs Babyloniaea, II, 84 L < and ==TH== are the forms which
regularly appear as the vowel prolongation du-u" tu-u" in the syl-
labars, yet for ú eL, ga-mu-ú-sub 3, mu-ú-da-zu" in classical texts.
It seems improbable that the language should have evolved three
signs for u all having the same quality; we should have expected a
middle back vowel i5 and perhaps a labialised l, i. e., ü the so-called
umlauted u, Greek and French u. The principal proof which can be
§ 3~1. The signs ==E and ==H are invariably used to denote the Yowels i, e.
vowels l and e,. a tendency to reduce l
(n to e (e) 5 is characteristic of
Sumerian. In fact all the syllables open or closed possessing the vowel
i (l) could be pronounced with e (e) ad libitwn. For example the syl-
lable kl in the combination ki-el, was pronounced ke and the vvhole word
kel, a closed syllable with long vowel 6.
\
1. CT. XII, 10 b, 26.
2. Rm. 2588 rev. 32.
3. CyI. A 3, 17.
4. CyI. A 9, 4.
5. SIEVERS, 759.
6. Umlauted e and L, l. e., o, a, seem to have been written a-e, u-e, ef. za-e
probably pronouneed zü, BA. Y, 710, no. LXIV, 6; SBP. 210,15 f, etc. la --ET
= la-e, Br. M. 38181, 11. For a, ef. mar-ta-e, =
marta SBP. 210, 3; 258,11 ete.
Other examples are ga-e (go), SBP. 278, 6, ba-e (bo), ibid., I. 7, and for the sound
o written e-a, see 1. 8, and 284, 18, me-a (mo). See also under Pronouns pp. 102 f.
36 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
Glides. § 35. Inasmueh as the system possessed no signs for the laryngal
explosive' (~) and the laryngal voieeless spirant h (~), we must assume
that the Sumerians pronouneed their vowels with the smooth on and off-
glides. It is neeessary, however, to speak with reserve on this point
as well as on many others where ignoranee is foreed upon us by the
meager nature of the written eharaeters.
Semivowels. § 36. N o separate signs exist for the semivowels i and If," and henee
the diphthongs ai, ia, al:! and If,awere written a-i, i-a, a-u, u-a; ef. ua,
SBP. 270, 28, the ordinary exelamation for 'woe 1' pronouneed If,a. aIf,
in d·ba-ú.
I -----1------------
HIGH I MIDDLE j LOW
Velars o (?)
~ a, ti Written á a
(
Palato- Velar ¡, e, e o
Rounded a
(J wriortten
e-aa-e
I I u-e l or l
writte~ I
Notice tbat tbe seript for a and i eould be pronouneed also o and ü
an ineonsistency due to tbe poverty of eharaeters for expressing sounds.
The method of indicating o by a-e and ü by u-e is apparently a late
invention, not employed before the dynasty of Dr. In the early system
a, o, a, e, l, Ü, o together with their short sounds had to be vvritten with
§ 38. l'he consonants, so far as we are now able to determine their Consonants.
qualities and places of articulation, are the following :
1. Velar's: the back explosive surd ls- (q) and the front explosive
surd k; the corresponding sonant explosive g must have be en ar-
ticulated well towards the palate in most cases. l'he language
certainly possessed a spirant sonant velar g" which when
reduced becomes g, cL ~Tlag also with value lag, ~B gil' > gire,
~~ gas =
maoJl,~u and ==~ gaz =
maOJJJ}u. l'he velar voiceless or
surd spirant !J appears to have been the actual Sumerian value in sev-
eral of the signs containing g as ig, gi, ga, ag etc. l'he reduced value
of this sound would be k, for which cL H< ga, lJa with value ku. In
fact the same set of signs served for the syllables containing g and lJ.
2. Palaials : the semivowel i written with the vowel-sign l (==E:)
occurs only before a and chiefly in the combination iá Vl, ia :-n ' id
:n ~f,and ==~Hia. l'he sound occurs in the complete palatalisation
of l, cf. malla> maiia, wri tten mal-ia, el'. 11, 14, 15, also in ge-ni-ib-il-
ia-dúg, pronounced genibijiadúg, RADAU,Miscel., no. 4, 53. l'his semi-
vowel developed between the vowels a-a =
ajia, consequently we find
m(¿-ma-a-a =
mamajia [POEEEL, no. 18, 13J, whence the combination
H H took on the values ia, ai, and the Semites wrote it interchangeably
with ~~Hto express their own diphthong ia. Perhaps also palatal
nasal i1. See below. In the case of the g which becomes d, it is pro-
bable that we have to do with the sound (j, a palatal spirant.
3. Denials : the voiced and voiceless explosives d and i,o a spirant
1. Arabic t'
rare in Indo-Germanic languages, v. SIEVERS, 344.
2. Rm. 2588, 1. 44 and cf. MEISSNER,SAL 2864.
3. The first to make a clear statement on this point was RANKE, Personal
Names, p. 12; a more detailednote by POEBEL, p. 3, and later by RADAU,1. C.
38 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
'-
THE PHONETJC ELEMENTS OF SUMERJAN AND SOUND-CHANGES 39
k>ñ.
§ 39. The following table represents what 1 conceive to have been
the Sumerian consonantal system '.
1:
~ ""
.Q... u -- --
"~- j,n
'"
'"ñ
r
zo;
¡=¡
'"'O
E
lJ ng
Z
...
I;-.
o;
o..
:;;...
(7) In
Z Q3
h(¡?('1) w
8(?)
'"b
g1;
7:¿p sd
-~--.....--.------...
t
DORSAL
k(?)
(?)
(7)
LAHYNGALS
k
SPIRANT.~
...
LOSIVE.
Oi
I a) surd I
r I
NASAL. ¿
I
COROi'\A,L
Palatalisa- § 40. Full palataJisation 2 occurs only in the process alla, ala,
(jon.
iZa> atia, discussed above under paZatals.
Partial palatalisation occurs in : a) dentals to sibiZants before the
vowel i. dim zem > = banü, V Raw. 11, 32; dug > =
zib tábu",
1. Constructed after SIEVERS, p. 147. Compare also HOMMllL, ZK. l, 164 and
LEHMANN, op. cit., 156-160. It must constantly be kept in mind that owing to the
deficiency of the script several signs had double values: signs containing p might
also represent w (surd) and In frequently represents w (sonant). ng represents both
n[J and ñ.
2. Compare LEHMANN, Samas-sum-uhín, p. 149.
3. It is difficuIt to account for the change u> i in this word, a change whiQh-
must have been carried out before the dental passed into the palatal sibilant. We
may perhaps assume the value ü for u in this instance.
-, -,.....
- =-"==-'~--------
THE PHONETIC ELEMENT'S OF SUMERJAN AND SOUND-CHANGES 41
occurshefore and after all of the vowels, so that it is difficult to resist the
inference either that the glide !l developed between the consonant and
vowel in certaincases 1, or that the script for a and i really indicated the
soundso and ü in these cases.
'-- ,~
THE PHONETJC ELEMENTSOF SUMERJAN AND SOUND-CHANGES 43
the vowel ti a pronunciation 6 and for [the sounel Ü, the elifficulties would disappear,
since al! of the vowels would then be rounded. We have already seen that a-e
probably represents umlauted e =
o, hence it may not be at all improbable that
in lack of a sign for 6 the scribes wrote a and for ü they employed t as wel! as
u-e'.
dul' cf. su-l§J =sudul in Gud. Cy!. B, 15, 10. ur> ul the demonstra-
tive, see § 164.
§ 44. ? > r, in dül' H for dul 'svvamp', only in ~n4H gi-dul' I>r.
= apparu.
§ 45. n>l, and l>n, interchange of n with nasal l. a) n>l; n>I,I>n.
kanaga> lwlama. kanam> kalam, CT. XII, 27 a, 9 f. an-gub>al-
gub, often in late verbal forms, see BRÜNNOW, p. 544; only once in
early texts al-zu-zu-a, Syntaxe, p. 241.
udun> udul, a word for 'crock, jug', loan-word utunu from an
original utun > udun <~ ; for udul, cf. ==E= (udul) = dilsaru, MEJSS-
NER, SAL 2691.
44 SUMERJANGRAMMAR
*
igi>ide=enu 'eye'. age>ade=eda' flood', ASKT.98, 34. sig>sidi,
> ~n
LEHMANN,p. 150.
=
<T* suf;wnumu. Also f¡ d in muf¡ > mud aladu,
Aeeording
>
to SWEET tbis cbange is impossible unless
=
the 9 represents the sound [j as in gem 1. gis> dis in T gis> kes > =
=
dis zikaru, v. Babyl., IV, 31. gen> gen> dé-en, the ordinary prec-
ative prefix of the verbo
Fortis
§ 52. Substitution of a fortis for a lenis. g>k in ká-am-ni-gul-e,
for lenis.
a precative for ga (> ga)-am-ni-gul-e, azag > asakku,
SBH. 31,10.
Babyl., 11, 107; for the form asaku, v. CT. XV, 49,111, 12and50. z>s
also in zabar> siparru and guza >
kussu, notice the change 9 k in >
>
this exam pIe and b p in zabar> sipar; é-gal =
ekallu, 'palace'.
=
es·lal! a81aku,' a wool-cleaner, carder', !§J .(ol
have written upon the subject, most recently PRINCE, Materials, po xv.
The following list though not exhaustive contains the most important
exampleso el3bar>asbar=purussu. eseman > esemen=melultuand
kippu, 'chamber of joy'. egar> amar=lanu, V R. 11 d, 50. amgm>
=
eni,gin, II Ro 29 a, 29 CT. XIX 21, K 4393, obv. 9. a-mar abubu =
is probably for a-mil', 'raging water' o anim >
enim sama, 'heaven'. =
gurin >
gurun and gurin >
girin=enbu 'fruit'. ilusunirda=senirda.
asir> esir =
nI:l>-{,(o. T '. utima> itima etutu 'darkness', =
B. M.
34950, 7. ki-ku> ki-ki, passim in sign-names, as esgunu-leiki, utu-
nun-kiki, v. BRÜNNOW, p. 572. swnag samag >
um[fatu,. ~~TnT =
and ~~TlCJT=samag, for su-mag, 'distress of the body'; sumag>
sumug =salu sa [furri, ~~n~nTT. dupsar> dapsar in loan-word
=
dapsartu, II R. 24 a, 6. lupes> lipes libbu, <f'ID, for lu 'man', and
pes 'heart 'o usag > usug, see the glossary. I~enkal> kankal= nidl1tu,
<IEI ~Tn· es-u> usu =
30, composed of es 'three' and u 'ten'.
suten >siten=malaku, CT. XIX, 17 a, 28 <lliJ ~T (siten):.t=o siten
derived from su +- ten, 'to put into a resting place', a pavement.
da-du-a for du-du-a =
aliku, 11 R. 16, 28.
Harmony § 57 o Following the tendency to reduce all the vowels of a word to
in
noun forms. the same sound, the language possesses a number of words formed on
this principIe, e. go, dagal, 'wide',
ama' mother', dumu, 'son', babbar,
'sun', murub, 'centre', nagar, 'carpenter', urudu, 'copper', lagar, 'psal-
mist', alal, paíl, etc., etc.
The effort to bring about vowel harmony in the prefixes of verbs is
evident at all stages of the languageo mu-un-du-tur-tur-ne (du for da),
IV R. 15* b, 62. gu-mu-na-du and ge-im-mi-gí in the same construc-
tion, CT. 1,46,1 f. gu-mu-gul-li-en, CT. 1,46,140
The principIe of harmony is carried so far that case endings are
assimílated to the vowel of the root, e. g., mupadda intuk, 'he has a
name', where we expect mupadde.
=
§ 59. a) Consonants : es-es isis, 'to weep'. Differentia-
tion.
g{r> kir, 'to hasten'. gil> kil, 'to hew'. Sonants dissimilated
to surds to avoid two sonants in one syllable.
b) Vowels : edu for udu, 'sheep', IV R. 20 obv. 26
[HOMMEL J. elal
for alal, 'water-bucket', [PRINCEJ. su-dü-a, 'to take in tbe hand "
becomes su-di-a, 11 R. 24 a, 6. dú-sugur> dasutJur, 'a fish " Gud. Cyl.
B 12,1 and CT. XV, 26, 15.
=
§ 60. a-i a in kara-innib-dü-e karannib-dü-e = POEBEL, no. 57, Vowel
contraction.
22; gara-innib-kú-a=garannib-kúa, no. 4, 15.
§ 61. The scri pt does not enable one to determine w hether the langllage Affricatives.
\.
THE PHONETIC ELEMENTS OF SUMERJAN A:"ID SOUND-CHANGES 49
ame-si-di, and eme-gal. An interpretation of these terms which, with the excep-
tioll of eme-sal occur onlyhere, must be conjectural. eme-gud = lisanu elu,
'lofty speech'; eme-mus = lisan zimi, 'speech of adornment'; eme-si-di = lisan
mesal'i, 'correct speech'; eme-gal = lisanu I'abu, 'great speech' o Concerning
eme-TE-NAD we have notthe slightest basis for conjecture.
GRAMo SUMo 4
CHAPTER IV.
The Determinatives'.
§ 65. The deterrninatives for gender are nita{¡' male' :rr<T and sal Gender.
certain cases where the word was so well known that a determinative
was unnecessary as in dingirenlil, it is conceivable that dingir did not
figure in the pronunciation. In such instances as nasru (i$$uru),
'eagle', invariably written with the Sumerian á-musen, it is conceivable
that neither i,~$uru was pronounced in Semiticnor musen in Sumerian.
Yet it is inconceivable that the Sumerians should have neglected the
pronunciation of the determinatives, which formed one of the few precau-
tions against unlimited confusion. For example tbe word kan (~~),
when determined by tbe word gis (wood), becomes giskan=bukanu
and sikkuru, 'a bolt or bar', but when determined by duk (vessel, jar),
we have duk-kan =
dilsaru, 'jar', and also the loan-word tukkanu,
tukanu 1. Not only does the loan-word shew that the Sumerians pro-
nounced this determinative', but evidently great confusion would arise
by its omission. Occasionally glosses indicate that the determinative is
to be pronounced, as in ~T gi-is ku-u-ru tJ=kuddu, K. 4403 obv. 15.
List of § 67. The determinatives, in the order of the modern system of ar-
determina-
ranging the signs, are as follows. Unless especially noted the determin-
tives.
atives are supposed to be prefixed.
~~TTsu, for objects made of leather; the original word usu> uzu,
means 'flesh, body, skin " and it is c\lstomary to transcribe the deter-
minative into Semitic by the word for ' skin " masku 3. sume$i = manzu,
1. Vide Bab., II, 117, and CT. XII 43 a, 3.
2. Other examples are gisgar =
iskaru, wagon; gisgir =
gisgirru, sword
(R. 4408 rey. 24); gisúr = gusuru, beam, (notiee the vowel harmony); gis!Jal
= gis'Jallu, seepter; gislJasu (K. 2042 obv. 10).
3. Assyriologists generally employ the construct for sueh woras as masa k,
sipat, but ilu, iI¿u,ete., whieh is ineonsistent. I do not believe that the Semites
in tended the eonstruet, although it is eoneeivable that with dropping of the final
vowel u the forms beeame identieal with the eonstruet. Sumerian did not eonsid-
er the determinative as a !J0nstruet for the infleetion ge never oeeurs in these
eombinations. Yet in favour of this reading in Semitie are forms like gidup
= !Janduppi, stylus, and see espeeially CT. XIV 49, B. M. 93086, where the
determ. gi is translated by !Jan in several ideograms. On the other hand we
have ginigsurra = !Ja-nu-u kuninnatu, a kind of wieker basket, CT. XIV 47 b 14,
where the eonstruet is clearly impossible. Also gisgig =
ir¿r¿i
r¿allum,II R. 45, 57,
indicates the absolute formo
;~
THE DETERMINATIVES 53
a kind of drum 7, SBH, 72, rey. 10. suPA-mes appati, 'reins '. =
For lists with the determinative su, see B. M. 35503 rev.; 42339 rey. +-
93085 rev.; II R. 44, no. 8; and especially NIK., plates 81-88, list of pelts
of various animals.
~~ T dingir, 'god', employed for both genders. See for lists of tbe
Br. Mus., BEZOLD, Cato 2094.
~~TT eri, uru, 'city '. eri appears in this construction first in the
Semi tic inscriptions and does not figure as a determinative in Sumerian;
cf. for example NUN-(ki) = Eridu, Gud. B 4, 8, with eriNUN-(ki),
Hammurabi Code, 1, 64. The Semitesgenerally accepted the Sumerian
spelling for the cities whose names had already become famous as
ká-dingir-ra-(ki) for Babylon, ud-kib-nun-(lú) for Sippar, but in those
cases where they themselves were the first to put the name of cities into
writing they employed the determ. eri, as erilJárranu, i. e., aluJ;Jar-
ranu, etc'.
~~ ~~~T
iti
'month'
,
. 'o iti-sekin-tar=Adar' , itiezen-d. bau , month of the
festival of Bau, eighth month, etc.
1. Statistics fail me on this point and the statement here must be subject to
correction.
2. OT. XIV, pIs. 3 and 9.
54 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
~ TT a.
gin > gi =
J;;anu, 'reed', em ployed before names of articles
made of cane. gigar-sullugga= namsu, a kind of vessel made of cane'.
giaga-aga=1:fuEfEfw$U, a reed hut3•
~~r~+ mul, 'star', see also below <~T~(ul). For the lists of
stars in the Br. Mus., see BEZOLD, Cato p. 2096.
~~f ká, 'gate', and M'gal, 'great gate' (abullu), only before the
proper-names of gates. ká designates thegate of a temple or an im portant
building, and ká-gal the city-gate of the outer-wall. The lists of proper-
names determined by ká in the Br. M uso have never been published 5.
Sporadic examples are ká cluglisucl = biibuDuglisucl, a figurative name
of aehapel'. A list of the ká-gal's in Babylon, SBH. 142, obv. col. 11.
~~n sim =
ru(,(w, 'product of ,resinous trees, ointment, pastry,
salve'. As a product of plants it is distinguished from ú sammu, the =
latter being a drug; the two are employed in the same list K. 4586.
Used with gis, sim indicates a tree which produces resin, etc., as gis-
sim-li = burasu, resinous cypress, see Rm. 367. On sim, see OLZ.
J909,112.
~H.t
duk, 'jar, vessel'. N ever applied to very small receptacles
as cups, saucers, etc. [The latter were determined only by the mate-
rial in their composition, as clay, bronze, copper.] dukalal_ alallu,
'a pail'. dukga = karpat sizbi, 'milk bowl'. duksig = silslsu 'oint-
ment bottle".
~---------
THE DETERMINATIVES 57
58 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
1. CT. XIV 2 a 1.
2. eL ki·ur-ri on a tablet of Nippur, HILPRECHT, Deluge, p. 3, no. 2.
3. NABuNA'm writes ki-uri in Nbn. 8 II, 20, but this is rather an archaism.
THE DETERMINATIVES 59
I.EJ túg, 'fibrous cloth and articles made of fibrous cloth' 6. The
determinative may convey only the general notion of cloth often without
regard to the material; consequently we find expressions ¡ike túg lwd-
lal, a garment made of linen (J..'itü). DP. 73, obv. I, túgsig=sissiktu, a
kind of cape made oi wool, V R. 15 a 24. vVoollen garments are,
however, ordinarily distinguished from the túg class by means of the
sign s/{j = (úpatu 'wool'. It may well be that túg in its stricter sense,
refers to eloths made ofjíbrous material such as flax, hemp, straws of
various kinds. The original sign REC. 468 should, after the analogy of
IEXX~, sig 'a comb, carding machine fol' wool', represent 80me kind
1. SAK. 210.
2. ¡bid., 70.
3. Ibid., 225.
4. This principie is not violatecl by such examples as kagalad-(ki) [¡arsag ki-
mas-!w, Kagalacl, mountain of Kimas, where garsug is suffixecl.
5. For example, see the inscription of a patesi of Susa, SAK. 176, süsi-(ki)
= Susa, the city, ancl ma-ti Elamti-(ki), the lancl of Elam. Notice the clistinction
of su-bir-(ki) =
Subartu ancl krirsu-bir-(hi) =
Subartu, II R. 50 e, 48 ancl 60.
6. Accorcling to SCHRANK, Eabyl.-Sü!mriten, p. 30, '5ubatu, túg, has the =
special sense 'unclershirt'. Be that as it may, the original Sumerian worcl canno!
have any such special signification. Compare Gucl. Cyl. A '¿7,7, kurkurra túg-dím
im-dril, 'it covers the lancls like a mantle '.
60 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
of an instrument for preparing flax and hemp. Notice that the list V
R. 14-15 distinguishes between garments tág and Slg. In the ancient
lists the quality of the túg and St.g are indicated in the same manner so
that we must infer that túg refers to material as well as slg. Compare
RTC. 304, obv. 1 19, túglaZ túg-du with síg-du, 301, rey. 3, etc.;
here du denotes a quality or grade of túg and slg. More often one finds
sig-túg together, as, 2 talents 2/3 mana of sig-túg ZugaZ, that is, of cloth
composed ofboth wool and hemp (?) of the firstquality, REC. 301, obv.l.
In RTC. 302, obv. 1-3, túg is distinguished from kad (~-J) commonly
supposed to be flax, or cotton. The general sense of túg should, llow-
ever, be no longer in doubt, although a careful examination of the whole
subject of the weaver's art would lead to more exact definition.
H< [¡a, 'fish', originally perhaps [¡u, later ku,. the value ku-u-a,
Sm. 1300, obv. 31, leads to the inference that a final consonant may
I have been lost. Almost invariably placed alter the word 3. gun-ne-(!Ja)
= kuppu. The fish most often met with in the early inscriptions is the
I su[¡ur ([¡a), A~, REC. no. 288, evidently the picture of a large flat fish,
1 resembling the skate, the plaice. and the turbot. The Semitic word for
su!Jur ([¡a) is bu ... B. M., 93074. The 'bearded skate' is mentioned
1. Composed of ti 'water' and the sign for 'swiftly going', gal, inserted in an
enclosed space, the whole meaning 'water running between confines'.
2. REC. 28, not to be confused with dalla, no. 30. Both signs became
+~~.The simple sign Tf ([d) is employed as a determ. in the inscriptions of Ur-
Nina and once in Eannatum, v. SAK. 3, note/-
3. Prefixed in gadug.sugur, gasugur, Gud. Cyl. B. 12, 1.
~----_.
THE DETERMINATIVES 61
§ 70. The objectioe. alan-na-e mu-iud, 'he has formed a statue', Object.
Gud. St. 1. 5, 1. é-a dusu-bi ... sag-ga mu-ni-gál, 'in the temple the
head-cushion he carried upon (his) head', Cyl. A 20, 25. giserin-bi
ig-gal-Sú mu-dím, 'the cedars he fashioned for great doors', Gud. St. B
5, 45. e-bi bal-e-da-bi, 'if he overstep the fosse', SAK. 18, V, 38.
dúg-bi iJa-ra-ab-ba, 'may it speak an utterance', SBP. 282, Hl. nagal-
gal-e ,~u-um-me-ti, 'the great hail thou holdest', ibid., 24. uk-e ... mi-
ni-in-nad-e, 'he has caused the people to dwell', POEBEL, BE. VI, 2,
p. 130,1.7.
It will be noticed that the accusative ending is often avoided by attaching
the suffix bi, the status rectus of the indefinite article '. A certain psychological
sense of obJeeticity is added by means of the demonstrative bi, and consequently
this suffix took on a wide variety of meanings derived from the adverbial notions
expressed by the accusative. The peculiar development of this particle will be
discussed when the adverbial notions of the accusative have been noted.
§ 71. The adoerbial accusative has the inflection of the rectus and Adverbial
accusative.
denotes the end 01 motion, which is a purely objective concepto
... an-m
ki-gar-ra, 'built unto heaven', Gud. Cyl. A 9,11. an-ni im-us, 'it attains
unto heaven', ibid., 16. an-azag-gi ú-a ba-zig-gi, 'it is exalted ... unto the
pure heaven', Cyl. A 10,9. é-e im-ma-gin, 'unto the temple he went', Óyl.
A 18, 8. é-mu-lu-e tu-tu-ra-zu-dé, 'when thou enterest into the house
of man', Sm. 954 obv., 9. zágissirgal-e ba-gub=ana paruti izzizma,
'he stepped upon the alabas ter', VA Th. 251 obv. 21• bur-azag-gi lal-
geStin de-a, 'honey and wine poured into apure vase', Cyl. A 25, 15.
The same notion of motion toward an object may be carried into the
temporal sphere whence we get the so-called accusative of extent of time.
ud-kúr-e=ana arlrat umi, 'unto distant days', CT. IV, 17c 14, ordi-
narily written ud-kúr-Sú. The accusative of time is falsely used for
'time in which', in ud-ne-e=ina umu ann'i, 'on this day', K. 5135
rey. 19=V R. 50b 22.
Adverbial bi. § 72. The feeling concerning the usage of bi in the accusative made
itself particularly prominent on the adverbial side. Already in the clas-
sical inscriptions we have gibil-bi= essis, newly, Cyl. A 19, 22, and
igi-bi=ina pani-su, before him, ibid., 20, 6, where we should expect
gibil-sú and igi-ba. In translating texts the student must expect to find
forms with the suffix bi employed in a variety of ways and success in
discerning the force of any given example can be obtained only by consi-
derable experience. The adverbial notions of bi, expressed in Semitic
by ina or the suffix is, are due to the peculiar force of the accusative
ending in Sumerian. The Semitic ma'dis, greatly, may be expressed
in Sumerian either by the directive SÚ or by the directive accusative e, i,
hence we have ma{¡-bi and ma{¡-sú both for ma'dis.
imi-bi and imi-bi-sú =
ina ramanisu, 'of himself'. The same force
may be found in the ni· of gamgamma-ni im-ta-ab-e =~adadanis ita¡:¡i,
'in humiliation he went forth', SBP. 218,11.
Oblique case. § 73. The obligue case or status obliguus, inflected with a has
several clearly defined usages, viz., locative, instrumental, dative and
temporal.
--...=_--------~--_.---
INFLECTION AND POSTFIXES 65
=
§ 74. The locative : eri-a inama(jllzi, 'in the city', CT. XVI, Locative.
9, 18. sil-a gub-ba-me8=inasaki ittanamzazzu sunu, , in the street they
stand " CT. XVI, 15, col. V, 14. sag-ba gi-unú ... mu-na-ni-da, 'therein
the giguna he built', Gud. B 5, 18. é-a sig-bi s'ig-e mu-ni-ga-ga; 'in
the temple he made glorious the brick', Cyl. A 18, 27. é-mag-ni-a,' in
her great temple', Gud. St. A 2,5. Used in a pregnant sense of entering
and resting in a place, as é-a ba-si-in-tur, 'into the house he entered',
IV R. 7 a 17. é-a tú-a é-da-zu-dé, 'when thou goest to the house of wash-
ing', V R. 51 a 28. uru-zu-a é-um, 'from
AIso tbe locative of separation,
thy city cause to go away (the wicked)', Bab., IlI, 248,25. kas bur-
ra de-da, 'to pour beer from the bowl', Cyl.B 6, 26. sita-na,' in his
(its) water pot', IV R. 27 a 8. an-na, 'on high', (elis), IV R. 9 a 61.
ki-a s'ig-gan mu-un-da-ab-úg =
ina irEíitim innassa!J, 'from the earth
it is torn', IV R. 4 b 5. imi-bi ki-azag-ga im-mi-dib, 'tbe clay from a
sacred place he took', Gud. F2, 16.
66 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
!lar, 'he executed faithfully the commands', literally, 'he placed a faith-
fuI hand upon the commands', Gud. St. B7, 7-9. igi-nanig-nu-mu-na-
ni-ra, 'she did not smite her face', literally, 'did not smite anything to
her face " Cyl. A 13,9. The dative exterior object of compound verbs
is really an ethical dative, or the so-called dative of advantage and
disadvantage. An example of tbe dative not an exterior object is dub-
ás-ás nam-lagara ... X nu-ab(?)-sú su-na ba-an-sim-ma, 'two sealed
deeds of tbe rigbt to tbe psalmist's office ... unto X, the ... , be gave into
his hand', POEBEL, no. 42, 2-6. Here su-na, 'into his band', is
clearly a dative of interest. é-a ,qis-f¡ar-bi im-ga-ga,' for the temple
he made a plan " Gud. CyI. A 5, 4. ki-bal-a slg-s'tg-ga-e-ne, 'for
the hostil e land - tbeir overtbrow is it', IV R. 18 a 35. é-a du-ba
mul-azag-ba gu-ma-ra-a-de, 'for the temple - for its erection - by
tbe bright star he spoke to thee', Cyl. A 6, 1. til-la lu-gal pap-f¡al-
la-ge ma-e mu-un-si-in-gin-ni, 'For the life of the suffering man me he
has sent', K. 4654 rey. 16.
An example of the dative with persons is Gud. Cyl. A 17, 12-15,
v. p. 126.
Temporal. § 77. The temporal function of the status obliquus denotes time in
which, or at which an event transpires; ud-ba, ud-bi-a, 'at that time,
then', passim in all periods. úr-ri-gig-a,' dayand night', K. 3931, 7.
Genitive. § 78. a occasionally indicates the genitive both subjective and ob-
jective. é adda-na, 'house of his fatber', POEBEL, no. 64,12. mu lugalla,
'in tbename of the king " ibid., 33,14; 59,12. lugal kingi url'a,(written
~ <lE! E:~n),'kingofSumerandAkkad',VR.62a35. ugmussd-
tur-ra, 'poison of tbe vi per', IV R. 26 a 14. umun-e e-tur-a, 'lord of
the sbeepfold', SBP. 318,12. a, genitive, can be employedonly when •.
the construct is in the oblique case or tbe object of a verb, in other words
only when ka could be used. In tbe last case SBP. 318, 12, umun-e
is evidently an accusative, but the passage is not clear to me. In e-adda-
na in-dü, 'he redeemed tbe bouse of his father', tbe rule is clear. See
also CyI. B 6, 14, uru-ni és girsu-(ki)-na sum-mu-da, 'to establish
his city, the abode of his Girsu " where na is evidently used to indicate
INFLECTION AND POSTFIXES 67
§ 79. The status obliquus express es various adverbial ideas, espec- Association.
ially that of association to avoid the use of da with neuter objects. din
kas-a de-da, 'to pour out wine with beer', Cyl. B 6, 26. The descriptive
obliquus in kalam ú-sal-la ge-gál-nad, 'that the land repose in peace',
Cyl. B 22, 19. d·iskur súr-ra-na Id si-in-ga-bul-bul, 'Adad wbo in his Description.
rage causes tbe earth to quake', IV R. 28, no. 2, 11. ana d·enlila-da
zag-di-a-na, 'in bis rivaling witb Anu and Enlil', ASKT. 80, 19. The
oblique case is even translated by an adverb in gul-la-na = lJadis, 'in
bis joy', ASKT 80,17.
1. Postfixes have the obligue inflection a with the exception of sú and occa-
sional dé for da. The reason for the rectus sú is inexplicable. We should expect
sa.
68 SUMERIANGRAMMAR
language. On the other hand the notions of movement from the centre
toward the exterior or from the exterior toward the centre do not appear
to have been differentiated. Thus the king of Lagash says gir-su-(ki)-ta
umma-(ki)-sú ... e-gín, 'from Lagash to Dmma he went'. Butthe Ela-
mites come from Elam and sir-bur-la-(ki)-ta nigga 1 nim-(ki)-Sú ni-ilá,
'from Lagash carried booty to Elam " THUREAU-DANGIN,Une Incursion
Élamite, RA. VI, obv. II.
radative. § 81. ra is evidently identical with the verb ara (~T) 'to go',in
fact both ra, ri and ir a ppear in this sense.
Tbe fundamental sense of ra is toward, implying motion toward
and is employed properly witb persons only'. Tbe Semitic translation
ana approximately represents the Sumerian ra. lt is true that the
grammatical texts occasionally translate ra by ina, but ra in an-ur-ra
= ina isid same, 'on the horizon of heaven' is clearly the phonetic ending,
locative, and ra in VR. 50 a 33, is ra accusative, see below 3.
a-a-ni-ir ba-an-teg, 'unto bis fatberhe drew nigh', CT. XVII, 21,
117. galu-ra ba-ni-in-gar, 'upon a man be bas put (a curse)', IV
R. 7 a 19. sag-gíg galu-ra sa-mu-un-ma-mal" , beadache against a
man one has sent' 5. lugal-a-ni-ir ... X ... é gir-su-(ki)-ka-ni mu-na-dü,
'for his k.ing X has built his temple in Girsu', SAK. 148, no. 22.
ad-da-ne-ne-ra in-na-ab-kallagi-ne, 'to tbeir father they will pay',
POEBEL, no. 28, 25. sal-nitag-dam-zu-ur ...
sagga-[zu] gu-mu-un-
[na-de], 'unto thy wife say what is in tby beart', RADAU, Ninib the
Determiner, etc., 66, 4. a-a-za-ur ide-za d. multil-ra u-ba-e-ni-bar-
4. Variantof gn ~H
5. So the Sumerian,
issakin, IV R. 3 b 48.
T ~H
impersonal
l
3. BRÜNNOW, 6366 L, has given a misleading statement concerning ra.
bar, 'look with thine eyes to thy father to Enlil', RADAU, Miscel.,
nos. 3, 23.
é-a-ni du-u-dé ... ma-a-ar ma-an-dúg-ga, 'he commanded me to
build his temple', SAK. 212 e, II 7. umun-ra, 'unto the lord [it is not
pleasing]', SBP. 98,26. en-d. ningirsu-ra ... mu-na-da-dib-e, 'he brought
in for the lord Ningirsu', Cyl. A 8, 21; 9, 4. gu-de-a-ar ... sag-an-sú
il-da, 'to raise high tbe head for Gudea " Cyl. B 6, 17. dagal d. mus-
ten-m, 'unto the mother Musten (he spoke)', SBP. 312, 23. Dative of
disadvantage: mu-lu zi-da-ra ki mu-ni-ib-ri-rig, 'bread of faithful men
it has seized', SBP. 22,49.
I t will be seen that ra is the ordinary inflection for the dative
of persons, corresponding to the indirect object in the inflected lan-
guages. The ethical dative a is employed apparently with things
only. Tbe distinction between these two constructions is clearly
indicated in SAK. 26 g) 11, 3-6=h), IV lO-V 1, d.ningir-zu-ra gú-
edin-na su-na mu-ni-gí, 'unto Ningirsu Guedin he resto red into his
hand'.
sú.
§ 83. SU, a widely used and intricate suffix, not only differs from
lIS functions.
ra in that it has a preference for inanimate objects1, animals etc.,
in the sense of toward, but the particle has also the force of up to, reach-
ing unto, contaet with, and even with in the sense of by means ojo
The sign ordinarily employed for su is mr sú which also has the values
éS, ús, and we may not be wrong in assuming a root usu *, but the origin
of the particle is wholly obscure. The variant l:=T (su), occurs'. Like
m, Súoften accommodates itself to the preceding vowel becoming, us, es,
is, as.
Sú unto. § 84. sú, in the simple sense of toward, unto, fo. lugal-mu galu uru-
a-ni-sú gur-ra dagal-a-ni-Sú aga-a-ab, 'my lord who is merciful toward
his city, attentive toward his mother', K. 133, rev. 15. é-a-sú in-bal-
bal-e-ne, '(from house) to house they rush over', IV R. 1 a 26. nibru-
(ki)-sú bad-du gub-ne-en-te-a-[ J,' unto Nippur the distant he ap-
proached not', 11 R. 10 a 54.
id-da-sú ba-an-sum-mu, 'into the river they shall throw him', V R.
25 a 6. durun-bi-sú im-ma-an-gí, 'he sent her back unto the abode "
SBP. 328, 17. uru-M u-di-M ga-ni-lag-en, 'unto the city, unto the
spectacle let us go', AS KT. 119,26. su-du-a-ne-ne-sú al-gub-ba, 'into
their open hands be placed', II R. 8,56. lil-la-ás tu-ra-bi, 'he bas given
it over unto the wind', IV R. 11 a 19.
Corresponding to ra, dative of persons, we have sú in tbe same sense
with things. 1 udu-nitag ki-a-nag enlitarzi-sú, 'one male sbeep for the
parentalia of Enlitarzi', DP. 56.
§ 85. The particle developing the pregnant notion of arriving at, Sú actitive.
§ 88. sú, possessing the pregnant sense oí cantact with, was emin- Sú adverbial.
1. Br.5651.
2. Notice the personal dative force of ra infixed.
3. sú employed here in two senses, 1V R. 12 rey. 46.
72 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
sú causative. § 90. sú is employed in the sense of because oj, at the sight oj, in
Gud. Cyl. A, 9, 13-5, which is also an excelleIÍt example of the agglut-
inative character of Sumerian. é lugal-bi igi-sud il-il cl.imi-dugud-
(musen)-dím sig-gi-a-bi-sú ane im-si-dúb-dúb, 'because of the temple,
whose lord casts a far-away gaze, \vhich gleams like the zu bird, the
- -~-'-Í
- .-- --- _.-_.-
INFLECTION AND POSTFIXES 73
§ 91. sú, like m, may indicate the direct object, but only of things. 8ú accusative.
§ 92. Another unique usage is Gud. Cyl. A 5, 13, where Sú appears 8ú absolute.
in the sense of as to, concerning; galu an-dím ri-ba ki-dím ri-ba sú, 'as
to the man \vhose form is like heaven, whose form was like earth'.
il-Sú, 'to raise to the summit of heaven the holy grain goddess, her tbat
sheds radiance afar .... " Cyl. B 11, 19.
§ 94. da. The sign with whicb this postfix is written E2TT da.
lts functions.
clearly represents tbe right arm of a person, the gunified form ~ T
(eí) being employed for 'hand', Semitic idú. Inasmuch as the latter
sign never appears as a postfix which would be the case if da were
connected with Semitic idú, we conclude that da is apure Sumerian
word 'for right arm ' and frol11 this idea the interpretation must depart.
da l11eans pril11arily wiih, beside, a persono In the psychology of the
language da corresponds to m, the one based on the notion of movel11ent
toward a person, the other of rest near a person or of action exerted by
the persono da may be treated as a noun and augmented '; anda-ne
= itti-su,CT. XIII, 36,21 '. eda =
itti,. galu eda-ene, 'thosewitb them',
74 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
CT. XV, 9, 18'. [da frequently appears in the status rectus as dé.] ana-
da nam-en-na kis anna-ge mu-un-ne-si-l:n-{¡al-{¡al-la, 'he (Sin) divided
the lordship of all the heavens unto them with Anu', IV R. 5 a 62. dúg-
mu mu-lu-da an-da-ab-di-e, 'my word one shall repeat for me among
men " II R. 8 a 29 f. za-da a-ba-a in-na-bal-e, 'who shall make war
with thee' ? S BP. 200,22. gal-lá-da {¡arran im-Si-du, 'with the gallu-
demon she journeyed', SBP. 314, 26. malga-sug-da mu-da-gin-na-a,
, (he) who came with Malgasud', RTC.19, III. umma-(ki)-da dam{¡ara
é-da-aga, 'with (the) inhabitants of Ummahe made war', SAK. 38,1,25.
Tbe notion of accompaniment, to act in conjunction with a person, was
introduced into tbe sphere of neuter objects. inim-da gurra-dacan,
'(who) sball act against the word'? SAK. 18, II 6.
1. Cí. K. 5423, 2.
2. eL Syntaxe, 225.
3. The construction with sú does not appear to be original: nu-gal'-l'a-zu-sú
= ana la gamali, OT. XVI 32,168.
INFLECTlON AND POSTFIXES 75
liquor', ibid., 10, 3. a-a d. mullillida-da maga mu-e-du, 'to praise father
Enlil in song majestically we come', SBP. 278,7. é-azag-dü-dé,' fo
build the sacred house', Cyl. A 1,16. a en-ra sum7rw- da, 'to give water
to the lord', Cyl. B 6, 25. The same function appears with infinitives
after verbs of commanding. e-dé 1 ni-mi-dúg, 'he commanded to take
away', SAK. 40, IV 32. sum-mu-da mu lugal in-pad, 'He swore in
the name of the king to give', MYHRMAN, no. 13, 6 f. da of purpose
also in namtil ... gu-de-a-da ka-su-gál-la-da, 'to pray lar the life of
Gudea " Cyl. B 8, 18.
by the field he leit', SAK. 38, III 24. e-da sig-sig-ga-bi, '(the spearj
which was fixed in the temple', Cyl. A 27, 18. abzu-cla su-ga-ám, plac-
ed beside the Apsu', Cyl. A 24, 27. e-mu-cla musen-clim im-ma-ra-dal-
en, 'in my templethey caused me to fly like a bird', SBP. 6, 17.
1. Or en-ne (i).
2. Notice the long vowel du-u, compensation for dug.
3. ZnIMERN, Noldehe Festschrijt, 961, has another interpretation in which da
is regarded as having bircumstantial force, , if his mouth is not consecrated'.
4. Varo su-zu-de. Notice the objective force of Sú, see § 91.
76 SUMERIANGRAMMAR
da of rest
with
§ 100. da of 'motion toward', apparently incompatible "'1th the
after motion. original meaning of contact with, may be due to the desire to express
rest with after the motion. e-da ge-en-da,...ab-gí.:..gí, 'may he restore thee
to the water', IV R. 13 a 44. This construction is altogether replaced
by ta; evidently da is original. Vide § 110.
ta of
§ 101. ta is the counterpart of sú, having essentially the force ofjrom,
separation.
employed with neuter objects only. The pictographic idea of the origi-
nal sign is still inexplicable. é-ta e-a-ni, 'from the house he went forth "
SBP. 282,28. é-kur-ta ... im-ta-ab-e, 'from Ekur he went forth', SBP.
218,11. uru-ta im-ta-e, 'he caused to go from the city',Gud. B 4, 4.
tur-azag-ga-ta mu-un-tum-ma, '(butter) which from apure stall one has
brought', IV R. 4 b 28. ka-bi-ta ugu nu-sál-sál'-e-ne, '(the weapon)
from whose mouth poison flows not', IV R. 20, no. 3, 15. ud-gal an-
ta su-bar-ra mes, 'a great storm are they which from heaven is hurled',
IV R. 1 a 18. bur-ta nig kur-mu, 'who eats out of a bowl', SBP. 74, 11.
Arising out of the notion of motion from a place, the temporal ta, 'since',
, from a certain time', readily arose; ud tUI'-ra-a-ni-ta, 'from the days
of his' youth " SBP. 256, 17. ud ul-lí-a-ta, 'since those days', SAK.
198 e) 16.
ta locative.
§ 102. ta locative, in exactly the same sense as the locative of the
status obliquus, does not appear to be compatible with the original
meaning. gir-nun-ta ... ba-pad-cla-a, '(when) in the girnun he chose
him', SAK. 34 k) III, 2. lÍm-ta umun-bi na-am-ba-da-an-tar, 'in the
city whose lord has cursed it', SBP. 238, 13. idim-abzu-ta imin-na
mes, 'in the depth of the sea seven are they', IV R. 2 a 32. ta and da
both locative are clearly held apart in gú ídluln-ma-gir-nun-ta-ka e-sú-
tag, 'he left (his slain soldiers) upon the bank of the canal Lumma-
girnun '; glr-pad-du-bi edin-da e-da-tag-tag, 'their bones in the plain
he left', SAK. 38, III, 20-24; yet it is difficult to understand the precise
difference between da and ta here.
ta
§ 103. ta, instrumental, in the same sense as sú instrumental § 86, instrumental.
and the instrumental of tbe oblique case. su usán-ta ... su-zu dé-in-dúb-
dúb, 'with a whip ... thy body 1 smite', CT. XVI 29, 76. su-el-a-ni-ta
lnu-an-na-an-tar-tar-ru-da, 'with his clean hands he has torn it', IV R.
8 b 40. nazaginna guSlún-rusa kú-me-a-bi-da ta su-a matJ-bi ib-ta-
an-dú-us-a, 'after he had made brilliant with lazuli, radiant gold and
silver-me-a', date of Samsuditana.
ta causative.
§ 104. taof meansand cause'. dúg-ga-zu-ta SUL-A-LUM-bitJen-
dutJ-du,q, 'by thy command may his offense be pardoned', IV, R.17 a 57.
ib-ba-bi-ta súr-ra-bi-ta .. , anna ba-an-e-ne, , at his rage and wrath ...
they ascended to heaven', IV R. 28, no. 2 obv. 15-19. á d.nina-ta, 'by
the might of Nina', Gud. D 4, 2.
igi-Sú. § 112. igi-sú, 'towards the face', beíore, over against. igi-uku-
SÚIl-igi-bar-ra-zu ní-a gegallam, 'before the people whom thou regardest
comes abundance in plenty'. igi-ni-Sú si-im-sá, 'before her he intro-
duced' , Cyl. A 16, 30. su-lal igi-bi-Sú si-sá-a-bi, 'the sulal installed be-
íore it', Cyl. B 16, 13. igi-ni-Sú ba-gul, 'before her it is plundered, SBP.
288, 20. igi-Sú may be employed as an adverb; igi-sú mu-na-gín, 'he
ki-ta.
§ 114. ki-ta, 'from the side of " 'at the side of', 'from', 'beside'.
ki-daga-ta lugalázagzu su-ba-ti, '(a sum of money) from Daga Lugala-
zagzu has received' '. ta appears in its locative sense in ki ana d·innina-
ta, 'with Anu and Innina', SAK. 2201) II 13.
ki-ra.
§ 115. ki-ra, 'to the place of', only in ki-bi-ra = eli sasu, 'unto
him', Sm. 11+980,rev. II=K. 8299 rev. See PSBA. 1910,161
line K. 12830 (2).
da-ta,
§ 116. da-ta, 'from the hand " 'from beside', 'from'. da-galu
tura-ta nam-mu-un-da-tur-tur-ne, 'from the sick-man let them not en-
ter', ASKT. 94, 42.
§ 117. bar-ta, and bar-Sú=ana arki, ina arki, 'behind', have not bar-ta,
bar-sú.
yet passed into pure prepositions but may be noted. bar-mu-ta ana =
arki-ia, 'toward me from behind', CT. XVI, 8, 282. bar-mu-Sú,' (who)
is behind me'? SBP. 8,5'.
§ 118. mu-sú, 'for the name of', 'for the sake of', 'for', = assu 3.
mu-sú.
In a list of payments, B. M.
\ 18373 obv. 3, occurs the entry, 12 shekels
received from Lu-Ninsa.g, mu ur-d·ninmar-ki-Sú, 'on behalf of Ur-Nin-
marki'. At the end of a list of quantities of grain given to farmers occurs
the note mu se-kllr-ra engar-sú, 'for provision of the farmer(s)', B. M.,
1. Literally 'from beside'. ki in this case has the meaning ittu 'side'. RTC.
294,4.
2. CL na-ru-a bar-ta gub-ba, 'an inscribed stone placed behind' (here an ad-
verb), DP. 55 IV 7.
3. mu-sú is also employed as a relative adverb; mu asag nam-sutug ... sá-
nu-ub-dúg-ga-ás, 'beca use the field does not equal the value of the anointer's affice',
POEBEL, no. 119, 14 f.
80 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
sag-Sú. § 120. sag ... sú, 'for, or, at the head', is employed in two senses
aeeording to the interpretation of sag, whieh means literally , head, top "
whenee sag-Sú = above, superior to; dúg-ga-zu ... sag-bi-Sú e-a-ám,
'thy word arises above all' '. sag is, however, more often taken in the
sense of ' one " 'one head of oxen, sheep, slaves ete.' Consequently
sag-sú means ' in substitution for '. 1 gud-gis sag áb 10 Sú ='
one OX,
reached theage ofvirility, in plaeeof aeow ten years old', B. M. 19064.
1 an'su nitag sag ansu su-gi Sú, 'one mature mule in place of an old
mule', PINCHES, Amherst, 38 rey. 1,3.
su-ta. § 121. su ... ta, 'from the hand of', 'from'. su d·nannar-twn ta,
'from Nannartum (he reeeived two sealed tabletsr, POEBEL, no. 42,11'.
Position § 122. The suffixes ra, sú, da, ta should logieally follow all others,
of suffixes.
as in uru-ni-ta, 'from his eity', lugal-ni-ir, , for his king', etc. Exceptions
oecur which are difficult to explain. ana d. enlila-da zag-di-a-na gas-
tin nam-dug-ga-e-da-na = 'in his rivaling with Anu and Enlil, in his
makingabundant the wine', ASKT. 80,19. ta oceurs before the eon-
struct ending ka in gú íd·lwnmagirnun-ta-ka, 'at the bank of the river L.',
SAK. 38, 11I 205• For the ordinary eonstruction ef. úr d. ininni-ka-Sú
§ 123. Properly speaking su and ra in the sense of 'toward', or re- The cases
with
presenting tbe function of an accusative should govern nouns in tbe ra alld su.
status rectus. igi-ni-sú,' into her presence'. lugal-ni-ir,' for bis king '.
a-a-ni-ir, 'unto bis father'. In tbe case of ra tbe proper syntax wiII be
found in most instances ; of course wben ra has tbe function of a dative
the oblique ending sbould be used; ma-a-ar ma-an-dúg-ga, 'he com-
manded me'.
In case of sú denoting 'motion toward', yet employed with tbe
obliquus as é-a-Sú, 'to the house', tbe force is rather 'to and rest in'.
The case employed before sú wiII depend largely upon the emphasis
placed eitber upon tbe motion toward or rest in 1.
On the other hand the inherent force of da, with, ta, from, would
naturally require the oblique case; za-da, with thee, ba-da, witb it, etc.
but vowel barmony would prevent this as in mu-lu-da,. indeclinable
words as patesi-da do not conform to the rule. The cases are, however,
clearly distinguished in é d.ningirsu lugal-na-ta, 'in the temple of
Ningirsu his lord', Gud. B 1,2, and uru-ni-Sú, ' (he looked) toward bis
city', ibid., III
7'.
Indef1nite
§ 125. For the personal plural indefinite the personal suffix nl was
plural.
doubled, giving ni-ni which became ene (sel' § 159), often shortened to ne
especially after vowels '. Thus we have e dingir-e-ne-ge, •house of the
gods'; ursag dingir-ri-e-ne-ge 'champion of the gods' ; and lugal din-
gir-ri-ne-ge, 'lord of the gods', Cyl. A 10, 12.
labar-e-ne engar-rí-ne ... u-mu-tum 2, 'if the psalmists, the farmers ...
brought a sheep', SAK. 54 i) 1, 14.
Persons and objects after numerals have no inflection for number.
600 lu·nim-(ki) = '600 Elamites'. 5 gar = ' 5 biscuits '.
The plural suffix i8 identical with the possessivl' pl. suffix ene,
'their' (see p. 108); to avoid confusion the language generally employs
bi-ne for the possessive suffix.
Concerning the relative position of the plural and construct ending,
the construct comes last if the em phasis is upon possession by all the
members included in the plural. Thus we have enima dingir-ri-ne-ka,
'by the word of the gods' 3 ; gud dingir-rí-ne-ge, 'the oxen of the gods' ~ ;
and this is the ordinary syntax. \Vhen the genitive has the force of
describing the construct and is thus more logically connected with it
the construct ending precedes the plural. sal ud-bi-ta-ge-ne, 'women of
the former days' 5. sib udu-stg-ka-ge-ne, 'shepherds of the wool-bear-
ing sheep', NIK. 155 rey. 1. nu-sar d.ba-ú-ge-ne, 'the gardeners of
Bau', TSA. 42 rev.; DP.I06 V; 108 V.
Definite § 126. In the classical period the inflection for the definite plural is
plural.
1. ne because oi its association with ene had the force of a plural as a suffix
of both nouns and verbs, also as a verbal infix. Strictly speaking ne is but a va·
riant of ni and often occurs in the singular. (SAYCEwas the first to give this ex-
planation of e-ne.)
2. Sic! singular.
3. SAK. 54i) III 29.
4. Ibid., 1 23.
5. Ibid., III 20.
INFLECTION AND POSTFIXES
83
regularly me " employed only after nouns whose number is exactly de-
fined; lu ki-enim-ma-bi-me, 'the witnesses', RTC. 16 rey. 1 (nine wit-
nesses). dupsar-me, 'the scribes', RTC. 17 obv. IV (nine scribes).
su-ga-me, 'fisber-men', TSA. 7 In 9 (three fishermen). sal-me, ibid.,
10 rey. 1 2 (ave women). In all tbese examples the names of the
persons included in the plural noun are given but a numeral does not
stand before the noun inflected by me. me is indefinite in ursag-digga_
ni-me, 'the dead heroes', Cy1. A 26, 15.
§ 128. Nevertheless the Sumerians by mere force of analogy must The postfix
have felt tbe necessity of indicating tbe plural. of tbings in some way ga-a.
beside tbe laborious method of repeating tbe whole word or of no indic-
atioD at al!. As a matter of fact the word ga-a 2 (.4 TfJ, which means
§ 129. The plural es, as, us employed only with verbs, was
attached to the definite pl. me giving rise to a new inflection me-es,
probably written T~ <<< at first, but latterly T---,
employed by the
Semitic scribes to indicate the plural of both persons and things. dingir-
{¡ul-a-mes, 'the wicked gods' passim. {¡a-mes, 'fishes', musen-mes,
, birds ',etc. The ending does not appear in the inscriptions of the
classical period and may be a Semitic invention. This (mes) plural
inflection of nouns is probably not identical with mes=sunu, 'they
(are)', i. e., the Bd pl. of the verb me, 'to be'. gim-ma ekur-díg mes,
, offspring of the palace of the dead are they " IV R. 1 a 12. dam nu-
tuk mes, 'a wife they do not take, (theyare not taking)'.
§ 130. The dual is indicated by placing the sign for one ---, written
twice)o+-, after the word, pronounced ás-ás but ordinarily written )o+-
and easily confounded with the sign HAL2. ru-d·ninsubur erin-gi-zi
sab-d·ba-u dumu ba-zi za{¡ás-ás, 'Lu-Ninsubur the cane-maker and Sab-
Bau son of Bazi, both living' " B. M. 14313 obv. II, 11. lugal-melam
im-bur-ur-a za{¡ás-ás, 'Lugalmelam a potter (?) and living', ibid., 153•
We may have to do with the dual in kunuk ás-ás nam-labar u {¡a-la-
ba-ni " 'two sealed deeds of his right to the psalmist's office and of his
1. The examples thus far known from the early period are all definite plurals.
2. See also OLZ. 1910,Sp. 196.
3. Interpretation uncertain.
4. Notice the combination of the article ba with possessive ni.
INFLECTION AND POSTFIXES 85
property " POEBEL, no. 42, 3'. ~ indicates the plural in as-me ás-ás
=samsati, 'sun disks ". The Semitic scribes indicate the dual by n
min, the ordinary word for ' two " but this method does not appear to be
Sumerian. su-min,' two hands '; igi-min, , two eyes '.
pious servant of his lady', ihid., 2, 11. Here na refers to the same
person as the construct arad. When the antecedent is neither the
construct nor the genitive, the suffix may precede or follow. é uru
girsu-(ki)-ka-ni, 'the temple of her city Girsu " Gud. Al, 8. é-usbar-
ra-na-ka, , from the house of his kinsmen " SBP. 32, 24'.
The plural ending, on the other hand, follows the particle if it
indicates the plural of the construct but precedes if it indicates the plural
of the genitive. bár bara-ge-ene,' occupants of the chapel " II R. 35,
no. 2, rey. 2. dingir an-na an-ki-ge-e-ne, 'Lofty gods of heaven and
earth', V R. 51 b 31. But gú-gal dingir-ri-e-ne-ge, 'great gúgallu of
the gods', II R. 19 a 19. gud-dingir-rí-ne-ge,' tbe oxen of the gods',
2
SAK. 54 i) 1, 23.
1. In any case the possessive suffix placed at the end indicates that the ante-
cedent is in closer relation to the genitive than to the construct and Dice Dersa.
2, Names of animals and things are not inflected in the plural.
3. AMIAUD, ZK. l, 233 f., attempted to defend this as the rule but lound no
examples in classical texts.
4. Vowel harmony for lagge.
5. Notice the vowel harmony. We expect -ni-sú. (§ 91.)
INFLECTION AND POSTFIXES 87
sá mi-ni-in-ili, 'Sarnas lifts his head toward the land " IV R. 20 no. 2
obv.7.
§ 134. ka has not only the force of uniting two nouns in the genitive ka with
functions of
relation but the various adverbial notions attacbed to the status obliquus
obligue case.
are also expressed by it, the case ending a being transferred to the
particle ka. dúg d.ningirsu-ka, , by the command of Ningirsu " Cyl. A
20, 1. é-anna sag girsu-(ki)·ka mu-na-ni-dü, , Eanna within Girsu he
built for her " Gud. C 3,12. kalig-mu(s) é-usbar-ra-na-ka ák-kur-sú
ba-ü, 'the strong man rides from the house of his kinsmen unto the
mountains', SBP. 22,24. é-bi-a-ka' é-gurun-na-ka, 'from his home,
from the house of his domain', SBP. 324,1. kar nibru-(ki)-ka, 'at
tbe quay of Nippur;, POEBEL, no. 15, 10. ki me-ka, 'in the place of
battle', 1 R. 51 b 24.
§ 135. When tbe construct is the direct object of a verb or governed Obligue
genitive after
by a postfix the oblique particle ka (var. ga) must folJow the genitive·. accusative.
igi galu-ka u-me-ni-str, 'bind tbe eye of the man', IV R. 29* 4 C
rey. II 22. é d.ningirsu-ka ... ba-ta-e, 'the temple of Ningirsu he made
to arise (in majesty), CyI. A 24, 13. gis manu gis KU matJ anna-ga su-
mu' mu-un-da-ab-gál, 'the erü mighty of Anu 1 have taken in my hand',
CT. XVI 3, 86. (gi-gar udu-ka .. , su-a ne-gí, 'he has rendered an
account of the sheep " NIK. 312. Gud. CyI. A 17, 15 forms an excep-
tion which 1 cannot explain; cl.nisaba-ge e gis-tug-pi-ge tg-mu-na-dag.
'Nisaba opened unto him understanding', literalJy 'opened the house
of wisdom '.
en-an-na-túm. .. patesi d.ningirsu-ka... ses ken-ág é-an-na-túm
patesi sirburla-(ki)-ka-ra, 'to Enannatum ... patesi of Ningirsu ...
beloved brother of Eannatum patesi of Lagash". N otice that the
construct governed by ra not only causes its own genitive to be oblique
but that tbe constructs in apposition have the same force. dam sangu
!ramo
§ 137. The particle kam 4»--0(, represents the obligue ka and the
verb (a)m to be. ud-ba entemena patesi sirburla-(ki)-kam enlitarzi
sangu d. ningirsu-ka-kam, 'then Ent. was patesi of Lagash and En1.
was priest of Ningirsu'. Considerable difficulty presents itself in con-
nection with this construction for we should expect the status. rectus
ge-em * here, a form which never occurs. If we accept my interpre-
tation of the V1ñ as the verb 'to be', then the construct is the complement
which is regarded as thus deflected from the status rectus sufficiently to
throw the genitive into the obligue case.
min-lwm-ma ... d.nin-dub-kam, 'thesecond is thelady ofwriting',
Cyl. A 6, 5. 1 uda-nitag mas-da-ri-a dam lu-má-lag-ka-kam, 'one
male sheep is the property of the wife of the sailor', NIK., 157, obv. I.
gú-de-a patesi sirburla-( ki) 1 gis-pi-túg-dagal-kam .arad ni-tug d. nin-a-
na-kam pisan gisu-sub-ba-ka gis ba-an-gir, 'Gudea patesi of Lagash,
(who) is (a man) of vast understanding, (who) is a revering servant of
his lady, in tbe receptacle of the mould cast a form', Gud. F 2, 6-13.
igi-zi-bar-ra d.nina-kam, 'for the faithful seer of Nina', Cyl. A 17,10.
§ 140. ge often rnarks the subject of a sentence, even when the ge marks
word so inflected does not consist of a construct and genitive. 1 gud bar subjeet.
Inversion
§ 141. Occasionally the genitive precedes its construct. su-bí-a-,qe
of genitive
and tJul-lu-bí gú,q-gúg-a (u-me-ni-dutJ), 'the dreadful evil of his body relieve',
construct. IV R. 7 a 37. ma-e d.en-ki-ge galu-1fin-gi-a me-en, '1 am the mess-
enger of Ea' '.
1. Notice the vowel harmony of ra-na; the syntax demands ri-ni, but the
rectus is sufficiently indicated by ge.
2. Vide Chrestomathy no. II col. II 1.
CHAPTER VI.
§ 143. The two consonants give the root its general fixity of mean- Nouns
derived from
ing, and thé internal vowel adds a modal significance. Thus for the the
root 9+1' we have the verb [¡ir=e$6ru, Oto outline', and the nouns verbal root.
stood. kid, 'to search, excavate', aaraf¡u (~T ~rrr);kad, 'a pond,
excavation', timm' i
kud, 'judgment', d¿nu (~)'.
sig, 'to be high', elu (~nTfl, sa/sú, súpú (~f); sa,q, 'top, head',
r¿su (~rr*),also as adjective elú, 'high', asaridu, 'foremost'. sug,
'height', elitu (~~ttt).sug is also employed as a denominal verb,
sa/sú. sug' chief' in mas-su(g) = massü 'leading goat', Bab. III 78 n. 2.
sig, 'to give', nadan u, sara/su (~nor ~f) ; sag, 'a gift', Si7'i/stu
(~n*). Since this root often appears as sum (~f) the original root
may have been Vsüg. sir> sir', 'to be bright', namaru, napaau
(~'k:J,~~). sir, sir is also employed as a noun núru, 'light', (~<~,
+,~~),slr = dipam, 'torch " AO.4489, rey. 9. sár, 'splendour' na- ~
musisatu (4), naspantu, 'thunder-bolt"; the denominal verbsár= ba-
ra/su, Oto ligbten', occurs. sur=f¡arru, 'raging', (~, ~) ; izzu,
'angry', (~~rr*).sur al so a denominal verb, f¡aram, Oto blaze',
ezezu, 'to be angry'.
gir, 'to hasten, travel', araau, paradu, gararu, (~~ nr, tr);
also the noun gir=Mpu, 'foot', «~), urau, aarranu, 'route', (~~rn,
<E=), girru>kirm', 'way', lábsu, 'path', «~). gir, (~r,~)
= sanú, 'foal of the ass'. The same root in nimgir> ligir = nágiru,
'messenger'. The no un formgar='wagon', narkabtu (~rB), varo
Roots with
§ 144. A number of roots appear to have had but one consonant
one
from the beginning. In most of these cases the vowel remains constant eonsonant
for both verb and noun. followed by a
1. Br. no. 3709, and ef. surrü the loan-word for 'psalmist', SAL 2405.
94 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
announee" Gud. Cyl. B 2,6. Variant sl1 (~S)=nabu, nad7l (IVl inf.
af fdii)'. Conneeted with this root is the noun sá «T*) = milku,
, advice', and cf. sá-gar, ' one who advises " maliku.
The noun sU (.,gT) , ' hand ',has no cognate si, sa, yet notice that
compound verbs are formed with both su and sa prefixed; su-srr-sir and
sa-sir-sir both =
karabu, , to offer with prayer 2 '. The prefixed element
in both cases must be the same whether it be connected with the word
for ' hand ' or noto
The ordinary root for ' to go " alaku, appears as di <T* but more
regularly du ~T· There are no simple nominal derivatives.
Qne
consonant
§ 146. uru (~~T) =
ardu, 'male', uru (~~T)=allu, 'strong',
and frOID the root erí, 'to beget', belongs to a class of nouns with a single
two vowels. consonant and apparently two eharacteristic vowels. For the verbal
root eL a-kurgal e-ri-a, 'whom the father - the great mountain -
ereated', Gud. Cy!. A 8, 16 and nin-eri, 'lady of begetting " CT. XXV
1, 13. imi-ri-a = im-e-ri-a, 'what is ereated by oneself', kimtu, , fa-
mily' '. A nominal derivative is (l.ari>eri, ~T n ~~.(-f,= iltuzer-
banltu, 'goddess of begetting " loan-word ilu erü-a; also a-ri-a = ri1Jutu,
, begetting' and denominal verb ra1Jú, 'to eoneeive'.
Other roots of this elass are; - ili, 'to be high " 'to Hft " w henee
the derivativei-lu=askuptu, 'door-sill'. egi=~ .(-T~T =liJ.;útu,
, edueation' '; the verbal root is found only as dialeetie eg (~H) rabú, =
, to grow up , ; egi = l§!=
rubú, ' prinee' (ef. CT. XV 22, 18 for this
reading), henee ~l§!
sal-egi =
rubritu, 'mistress'. N ouns whose
derivations eannot be traeed but represent this formation are; - ama, 'mo-
ther' ; a-ri-o, a-rá, ára, ár-ri = J.;armu, namú, 'ruins; 'udu, 'sheep';
uzu (~H), ' flesh " perhaps eonneeted with su:= zumru, , body'.
96 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
§ 150. The four prefixes an, in, im, al forming both abstract and Euphonic
augments.
concrete nouns are evidently euphonic augments.
a) an: an-dúl=andullu, 'shadow', from dul, 'to cover'; an-dúl,
Gud. Cyl. A 3, 14. Code 01 Ham., 2, 48. Perhaps also in annam =
mimma swnsu. antul = suklú, 'perfection' from til, 'to be complete'.
[So read for +
ID SAL 1138].
b) in: indubba in nin indubba-ge, Gud. Sto B. 8, 52, 'lady of
letters?' ~. in-di =alaktu, 'way', from di, 'to walk', BA. V 620, 14.
Pl'efix gis. § 151. gis: gis-nig-ga, 'property', OBI. 110,5. gis-kesda= riksu.
gis-!Jar = wlurtu, 'design'. gis-sir= mlru, 'light'. gis-pi-tuk,' under-
standing', from pi-tuk, 'haying ears'.
i
18, 19; 28, 18 but simda Cy!. B 15,20; iluninsar and ninsarda RA. IV,
Tablettes Chaldéennes inédites, no. 52 rey. 4; ma-mú, ma-mu=suttu,
'dream',mamuda Gud. Cy!. A 4,14; CT. XXIII 18, 38; ma-mu-dam
Cy!. A 12, 13, im-dúb-bu-da=tapsul;tu CT. 1, 45,14.
da is prefixed in da-rig> da-ri-a= li/sú, !}abaru.
du in si-im-du, REISNER, Tempelurkunden, 124 VII 3; perhapsalso
in mas=!}abltu, 'kid',andm.as-du=!}abUu [BR.1908J. ab-du=elUu,
'growth of vegetation', 11 R. 30 e 13. mu-un-du suruptu, 11 R. 33, =
no. 2 b 19; mundu= suruptu, 'burnt offering' [BR. 1290J, from the
root mun, 'to burn' i cf. mu-(n) = isatu, CT. XII 8 a 11; munu=l;im.,.
(itu, 'flame' [BR. 9695]. [The same root in mun = tabtu, 'salt'; also
in umun = nisakku, 'sacrificer'J.
For variant tep > ten, in imi-teg, 'self', v. § 169.
man' and gal, 'great '. Loan-word ab/sallu. as-bal, 'curse', from as,
'a curse', and bal (tamú), 'utter', here 'uttered' : as-bal=arratu.
su-bad, 'hand-open " name of a standard unit of linear measure, Stele
Vaut., obv. V 7 : TH.-DANGIN, RTC. 138, 3 : see Journal Asiatique,
1907,97 n. 3. lik-bar, 'dog-savage', hence ba7'baru, 'hyena'. lik-
mag, 'dog-Iarge', hence nesu, 'lion '. é-gal, 'house-Iarge', hence
egallu> ekallu, 'palace'. a-sur,' water-shining " hence asurru and
asurrakku, 'fountain-water', 'source-water', me sarruti, CT. XVII
34, 23. tu-gal,' man-great " lugal, 'king'.
2. Adjective and Noun : gal-túr, 'the great court', RA. VII 108 Adj. + nonn.
col. 1 3.
3. Noun and Verb : á-ag(g la, 'oracle', 'injunction'; á, , oracle, Nonn + verbo
sign' (literally hand) and aga, 'do, act', Semitic teriu, urtu, teslitu.
á-gal, 'wise', le'u, muntalku, from á, 'wisdom', and gál (basu), 'to
possess '. lu as-bal, ' man w ho utters a curse', amelu arru. sag-bu-bu,
, head-trembling " a disease, Semitic nús /sa/s/sadi : the word fol' nasu,
'to tremble', is bul, he re shortened to bu. The construction is composed
rather of a noun and infinitive, an inverted construct, see no. 5.
bur-gul, 'stone-vase' and 'to scul pture', hence pU7'/sullu, 'sculptor'.
100 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
~~-==-~~.:::...::-~._--
CHAPTER VII.
Pronouns.
§ 155. Sumerian makes no distinction in form for the genders of First persono
the first and second personal pronouns. The original root of the first
person according to the grammarians is gin S e 284, which apparently
became men at an early date. \Ve are inclined, however, to doubt tbe
authority of the grammarians on this point, since gin> men may well
be for {je the empbatic particle+en, a form of the verb 'to be', the
whole meaning 'verily it is', often translated by anaku and atta 1 in
the Semi tic idiom; thus me nu-gín and za-e nu-gín would be trans-
lated by ul anaku and ul atta, 'not 1, not thou'. As a matter of fact
the Sumerian gín does not correspond to anaku and atta; the phrase
actually means, , I verily it is not', 'thou verily it is not'. In the
texts we often meet with gín or me-en employed in this sense without
me or za-e, the real words for '1 and thou " as en-men, '1 am lord',
or mulu gu sar-sar men, 'a tender of the garden plants art thou' 2. Thus
aros e the erroneous notion that gin> men was the Sumerian word for
I and tbou.
The first person singular is regularly me-e anaku for tbe status=
rectus; me-e dam-dam-ta (sic) =
anaku assatu 3. me-e gal-lá-bi '1 =
1. See RADAU, Ninib, the Determiner of Fates, p. 42, 1. 40 and note 4, p. 47.
The third person Sü should also be expeoted.
2. SBP. 276 rey. 4.
3. ASKT. 130,63 .
•
-----------------,-- _-:--:--:---;:~-~~:::~::::-:;.
First per. § 156. The suffixed forms used wi th nouns vary somew hat
suffix.
1. SBP. 272,19.
2. SBP. 120, 11.
3. SAK. 60 Il 4.
4. Ibid., 12 VI 4.
5. sa ana/fa idú, IV R. 7 a 30.
6. SBP.198, 11. Other references in BR. 5443.
7. This curious method of writing the rounded e by placing the umlauting vowel
e before the (j (a) must not confnse the stndent. The form is really a status rectus.
8. V R. 12 a 24, written both ma and ma. It is probable that HAUPT,
ASKT. 118 rey. 9, ma-cla should be corrected to ma-I'a =
iasi; for I'a employed
in the sense of an accusative see § 82. n
9. Babyl. IV 249, =
SBP.150, 3. See me-en-ne =
nCnu in BR., 10409 and
MEISSNER, SAL 7930.
•
PRONOUNS 103
from the independent forms. The status rectus is mu, obliquus ma.
It is possible that the vowel u is due to the labial m. lu,gal-mu, , my
king', lugal-ma, 'for, to, myking'. l-celSágga-mu,'ohmygoodmaiden'1 ..
é-mu im-ma-ab-túm-mu-ne =
'my temple they plunder". di-kud-
a-ma su-ni-ib -bal-e-a, 'whosoever changes my de<?rees', status obliquus,
dative object of a compound verb3• é-ma,' in my temple' '. uru-ma,
'in my city". mu is employed incorrectly for ma in ki-mu-ta=itti-
j,a, AL'. 91 a 27. The plural suffix of the first person was origi-
nally identical with the independent form mene, but when attached to
words it is generally shortened to me since the accent then fell on the
word to which the form ,vas attached. We have, however, at least one
example of me-en in en-me-en= béli-ni 'our lord', SBB. 39,3. The re-
gular form in ad-da-me-e 'our father', dagal-me 'our mother'". The
plural has no inflection for the cases. An example of the oblique plu-
ral is ki-me-ta=itti-ni, AL'. 91 a 28.
§ 157. Following the analogy of the first person we should expect the Second
persono
independent status rectus of the second person singular to be ze-e or zi-i
and za-e (zo). zi and si are found as sporadic forms 7, yet za-e is the
only word em ployed in the texts for atta. an-na za-e mag me-en = 'in
heaven thou art great'. e-lum za-e, 'mighty art thou' 8.
The statusobliquusisza-a; za-a-su=[anaJkata, 'untothee".
mil nam-ti-la za-a-ge, 'the incantation of life verily [is] of thee'
(belongs to thee). ság-ga tag-tag-li-bi za-a-gen, 'to make clean and
bright verily is of thee' '. The form za-e is employed falsely for za-a in
za-e-ra =
ana kli8ama' .
In certain cases ::a-e is translated by kf1tu where the Semitic idiom
demands the oblique form but the Sumerian the rectus. Such exam-
pIes must not be considered errors, as za-e enem-zu=k[;du amatka, 'as
for thee thy word '.
The plural is zi-ne written zi-en in the syIlabar K. 5423, me-en-zi-
en=at-tu-nu <l§J, where zi-en=attunu'.
Seco pero § 158. The suffixed seco pero sing. is zu for the rectus and za for the
suffix.
obliquus. The singular mu may have caused the change zi > zu by
force of analogy. sag-zu ge-en-tig-e, 'may thy heart be pacified'. ta-zu
mu-un-zu, 'thy form who com prehends'? & ni anona a-nim za-da sa-mu-e-
da-gál, 'fear in high heaven is caused by thee". The scribes employ
zu and za so indifferently and incorrectly that -the distinction between
them appears to have been lost and the choice made according to vowel
harmony. The sibilant z accommodates itself more readily to the palatal
a, a fact which may account for the prevalence of the form za for both
rectus and obliquus. For zu in the oblique case, v. mug-zu-Sá, 'over
thee', a clear case of harmony, SBP. 282, 22. mur-du-::u,' at thy
thunder', 280, 14; zapag-zu-sú, 280, 13.
For za in status rectus, V. ma-e e-ri-za u-gul (01' sun ?)-an-ma-ma,
, 1 thy servan t pray unto thee' 6.
1. K. 246 IV 58.
2. Vide Bu. 11766. zu-ra SBP. 272, 16, in nu-za-ra appears to be a case of
vowel harmony for na-za-ra. Cf. also za-e-dim, SBP. 282,22 f.
3. The force of me-en-zí-en, un-zí-en, etc., in this syllabar is still a mystery to
me. See also Sylltaxe,' 214 n. 1. This text gives the pl. zi-en augmented
by the prefixes n and b with various vowels; anzen, anzen, inzen, enzen, ubzen,
abzen, ib-zen, íb-zen. CI. da =
itti, augmented anda =
itti CT. XIII 36,21.
4. SBP. 114, 41.
5. ¡bid. 276 rey. 2. BUÜNNOW,11722, explaiued za as dialectic for za, an
expJanation which misleads students.
6. IV R. 19 b 51.
PRONOUNS 105
1. No distinction was made between the personal pronouns and the demon-
stratives.
2. Here falsely read ja. See also BR. 5329 and MEISSNER, SAL 3664. Perhaps
also, in CT. XV 7, 22. There are few passages in texts where ni and na occur as
independent personal prono un s or as demonstratives.
#
1. SAK. 86 Statue I 4, 6.
2; IV R. 25 b 54.
3. SBP. 138, 30.
4. IV R. 27 b 48.
5. SAK. 72 VII 36. The variant 138 XVIII 3 has é-ba.
6. BRÜNNOW has therefore entered both na and bi as =
ana and ina. Strictly
speaking this entry cannot be correcto The forms really indicate the oblique case
only (bi incorrectly).
7. SAYCE,An Accadian Seal, p. 4.
8. Compare na-an-na-ta =
ela sasu, IV R. 12, 3 and the strengthened ni-
na-a = ana su-la-su], K. 5423, 18.
PRONOUNS 107
§ 160. The possessive' suffixes are identical with the independent Third pero
poss. suffix,
and demonstrative forms; bere, bowever, the language attempts to dis- rectus.
tinguish persons and things; the exceptions to this rule are nUl11erous
especially in late texts. ama-ni,' his (her) mother '. sag-ni, 'her beart',
gab-ni, ' her breast ' 3. ka-silim -zu dúg -bi ga-l'a-ab-ba, 'may thy sonor-
ous voice give its utterance" ; gal-la-bi, 'its booty (the dogs defile)' ".
gisik-anna-bi, , its high gates' 6; iu!ml-li-e-ne kin-gí-a-mes (sic!), 'unto
his friend send hil11 " (accusative oí end oí motion), CT. XVI 46, 156;
(the varo falsely na for ne).
§ 161. The obligue endings, su-na galla-da, 'to put in his hand', Third pero
Gud. Sto E 8, 8. sab-ba-na=ina libbi-Su, SBP. 242, 18. igi-na, 'in poss. su ffix,
obliquus.
his face' 7. uJ'U-na... nal'ig ba-ni-gar, 'in his city he períorl11ed lustra-
tion' 8. ki-ba,' in its place' 9, but ki-bi, , to its place', accusative of end
L The text K. 5423, 27-30 gives the word ne (he) augmented by the prefix 11.
exactlyas in the case of zen, but the augment b is lacking; un-ne, un-ne, [in]-
ne, [en- ]ne, probably all =
su-u.
2. The force of a suffix may be objective as well as subjective, as in isis-
na-sú, 'with wailing for him', SBP. 306, 26.
3. SBP. 290, 9 f.
4. 282, 19.
5. 294, 32.
6~206, 14
7. SAK. lO2 XlIl 9. [Compare also RADAU, Ninib, etc., pp. 16-18].
8. Ibid., XII 21.
9. SAK. 36 n) 1 12.
-
108 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
§ 162. The foIlowing table will explain itself after the preceding
discussion ' .
1. Often with the verb gi = táru, in the phrase ki-bi mu-na-gi = ana asri-su
utir, SAK. 42 above 15 etc.
2. Sic 1, negative after the prefix ba 1
3. Vide BR. 5137.
4. ene occurs sP9radically, as in me-a-e-ne=ianu sunu, 'where are they?', lit.
'their where', II R. 42 f. 8. 'sa-ne their bond', SBP.272, 11.
5. LENORMANT, Langue primltiee, p. 168, attempted to construct a table of
pronouns.
••
PRONOUNS 109
~ A
ene~
/'-
PER.zene,zenza
ma
zune-
zune
mu
zu
men,
ba'
bine
ni',
STATUS bine
me
STATUS
bi'
bime zen
(rare)
ene
na'
ne
STATUS
za-e(zo), ene
me
zaRECTUS
Slba,mene
OBLIQUUS
OBLIQUUS
IZl, ma
bi-a
nz-me
na SUFFIXED
enzen INDEPENDENT ne-n~ (rare)
-mu'
,1st
benene
PER. bi-ne Plur.
Plur. ~mene
1,n" '''""
Yariant ul. § 164. By the change r> l arose the form ul. é-ul,' that temple
yonder', 'the other temple', Cyl. B 2, 11; 6,2. ud rtl-li-a-ta, 'from
those days, (since long ago)', SAK. 198 e 16, and 72 VIII 27. The
form li has chiefly a tem poral significance. ur' -ri-li-na 3 = ina úme
ulluti, 'in those days', SBR. 97,48. Transferred to the future li carne
to mean 'the future', arkatu. li-zu = arkat-ka, 'thyfuture', SBH. 110,
28. Especially in li-sú = ana mati, 'until when ''l, employed in an
interrogative sense. li = suatu V R. 27 a 37. Also in é-li-na azagga
kibkibbi ni-búr-búr, 'in yonder holy temple she frees from sickness',
K. 3931 obv. 11.
lndefinite § 166. na-me is the ordinary word for 'anyone' manma. galu
pronoun.
name =' any man' 2. dingir name = ilu mamman, ' any god ' 3. na-me
is also the word for 'anything'. ene sabbani name mun-gidi, 'until
his heart attain something', IV R. 20 obv. 5. ud-na-rne-sú = 'at any
time', II R. 48 a 13. am (see p. 97) in am nu-un-zu = mimma ul idi,
, he does not know anything', IV R. 10 b 29. AIso the simple vowel ti,
is used for 'anything'. u nu':ma-si-tur, 'he did not allow anything
to enter', Gud. F 2, 5. 'Everything', usually translated by mimma
basu, mimma sumsu, etc., is formed with the abstract prefix nig, nig-
na-me > nig-nam', or with the augment an, annam as in annam
namlal = mimma sumsu naplJ,ar i$$ure, V R. 19 b 25.
Relatives, § 167. The relative for persons is regularly galu, mulu, the or-
personal.
dinary word for 'man' (amelu). Eannatum, galu é ... da-a, . who
built the temple' 5. patesi ... galu é-ninna ... in-da-a, 'the patesi
who built Eninnü' '. lugal-mu uru-a-ni-8ú gur-ra, 'my l~d who
turns unto his city' 7. galu gen-bi (sic!) galu dib-dib-bi, 'he who seizes
the limbs of man '8. galu mu-pad-da nu-tuk-a, 'he who has no name'.
galu ... gi-bi, 'he who causes to turn back'·.
§ 168. Sumerian employs the word for 'thing, anything' (mimma), Relatives,
im personal.
nig in the sense of a relative relating to inanimate objects. As in the
case of galu, this word was originally an independent noun modified
by a participle, which later developed into a finite verbo nig ma-e ni-
zu-a-mu, '(that) which 1 kno\\-'. nig-naJn nig gál-la = 'everything
which exists', V R. 19 b 24.
nam the ordinary abstract prefix is reduced to am [v. p. 97J, which
may consequently be employed for ¡he relative neuter, as in am ud-zal-
la-ge = S(( wTi, in a phrase whose import is obscure, S BH. 77, 18.
Perhaps in enem::;¡¡... (fm name nwmmpadda-e-ne, 'thy word
which anyone cannot comprehend', IV R. 9 b 7 '.
ena, enna. connected wi th the \\-ord- en 'up to, unto' adi, appar-
ently deriyed from a noun enni, . fulness " is employed for the indefinite
relative mala' as many as'. dingil' nun-gal-e-ne an-lá-sál'-I'a e-n a
gál-la-ba, 'The Igigi of the expanse of heaven and earth as many as
~here be', K.4612, variant of IV R. 29, no. 1, 47 which has the har-
monized form a-na = mala. gan d.ningirsu-l{(( en-na w'u-a se-bi ni-
pad, 'From the field of Ningirsu as much as was cultivated thegrain
they have taken', SAK. 58 rey. II 7-8. In the later period the form
ana is more common. nig-su 2 a-na al-gál-a, 'The covering as much
as there is', IV R. 12 rey. 21.
1. V R. 50 b, 54.
CHAPTER VIII.
Numerals'.
§ 170. The Sumerian system of writing numerals upon stone, i.e., The orders.-
the primitive lapidary style as found upon the inscriptions mentioned in
§ 72 is as follo,ys. For the unit one the scribes made a club-shaped line
originally placed perpendicularly, as all the primitive pictographs were
placed, but in the evolution of writing the sign became horizontal, later »
larging the sign for 'one' '. In the cuneiform scri pt the original posi-
tion was maintained, hence r
represents the first unit of the sexagesimal
system from the period of Dungi onward. The next higher order is
obtained by multiplying the units 'ten' and 'sixty'=600, represented by
placing the circle = 10 within the large elongated semicircle = 60, as in
AO. 4238 obv.1I 1,01' partly within as in REC. 488, cuneiform This
unity multiplied by the sexagesimal unit 'six', gave the next higher
t.
O
order 3,600, written with the sign for 'ten',
and finally a·
enlarged
3,600 multiplied by 10 = 36,000, is represented
by the large circle (3,600) with the smaller circle (10) placed within,
• which became
IiEC. 490, cuneiform t:1>' This in turn multiplied by six gave the
highest number yet found in classical Sumerian, Le., 216,000, appar-
ently represented by gunifying the sign for 36,0003• It will be noted
that the system is really a combination of the sexagesimal and decimal
systems, the various ascending orders being obtained by the alternating
multipliers6and 10. The progression isI. 10.60.3,600.36,000.216,000'.
1. The sign for 'sixtJ' has not been founcl in the earliest inscriptions, but the
upright position of the unit 'one' was reservecl for 60 [m or 1/5 of a [Ju!' in al! pe-
riods ancl oceurs on the Blau Monuments, eL REC. 497.
2. HJLPRECHT, BE. XX, pl. 17 obv. col. IV 3.
3, REC. 491.
4. For higher orders attainecl by the Babylonian mathematicians, v. HILPRECHT,
l. C.,26.
JJ
NDMERALS 117'
only two lsa, and "\ before the smallest ordinary measure, the lsa. In
CT. X pl. 24 occur examples like D T = one gur and sixty lsa. In this
inscription sheep (!EU) are numbered in the lapidary slyle, butfish ih
thesecondary style. In RTC. no. 16 we find the lapidary sign for
, ane', ,before the measure 1m, bu t the date 'the 19 th year' is wri tten
in the cuneiform style '. Gradually the form "\ regained its origi-
nalposition T and in t~e inscriptions of the Ur and Isin dynasties "\
has practically disappeared except in the expression for 'minus'
T~. In the cy linders of Gudea both form s "\ and T exist si de by
side in the same sense 2.
§ 172. The words for the digi ts and for the higher orders of the Names o[
the numerals.
numerical system are as follows 3.
J. as, written - (ás) remnant of the lapidary system, T (Cts) rem-
1,
value es (es) obtained by confusion of the sign foro thirty' with the se-
condary form for three j:-. In AL'. 130 1. 133 occurs a doubtful
value mu-us. The root is apparently esu > es.
4. lammu, SCHEIL, ibid, 3. The same word appears in the sign
name tab-lamnw-bi igi-gubbu, 'tab placed four times opposite', V R.
19 a 59'. Written T in the late script. limmu is known only froID the
syIlabar V R. 37 a 5 where this value is given for.<~< based upon the an-
cient secondary form ~ 2.
-~~-~.-~ _-------------
..
NUMERALS 119
20. ni8, SCHEIL, ibid.,13, and CT. XI 24, 32. \Ve should have ex-
pected the word to be min-u = 2 X 10. In case the original was min-u8u
(see note 4, page 118) it may be that ni8 is to be derived from this formo
30. U8U,V R. 37 d 50, and CT. XII 24, 3. From es, 'three', and
u, 'ten', e8-u> U8U> '. The value e-eS CT. XI 24, 33 is probably the
resuIt of vowel harmony in which e has prevailed over u; e8u> ese>
e8.
1. By vowel harmony.
2. Cf. T = kes in the sign name oí ~ T = pappu.kesse·ku, and the regular
values oí lo clis, tis.
3. mu-us = 60, SBR. 92, 25.
4. Cf. PEISER, KB. IV 194. These two signs are not employed for 'sixty' in the
.classical periodo The late numerical signs T~ = 100 and <T~ = 1000 are pnre
Semitic phonetic writings, me from me'at, :1~~, and lim from limu.
120 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
Fractions. § 173. In the primitive lapidary style 1/2 appears to have been
written with the same club-shaped sign employed for 1 butin the per-
pendicular posi tion 2. This primi tive method of designating 1/2 exists
only on the prehistoric tablet AO. 2753 and (if we have not to sup-
pose an error of the scribe) in TSA. no· 23 obv. III 4, V2. This
method of indicating 1/2 was replaced by the more natural method of
tracing a horizontal line across the perpendicular club-shaped sign for
1/2 which gave rise to the cuneiform +. The sign seems really to
be identical with the sign + mas,. at least the syllabars iranslate mas
(+) by maslu, meslu, me(;lanu, and the loan-word masu is a syn. of
tu'amu, 'twin'. 1 sha11 assume that at least one of tbe Sumerian words
for 1/2 was mas, perhaps in fact the only word in actual use. Oí
The fractions 1/3, 2/3, 5/(j are based upon the denominaior 6. 1/6
has the form (=(, =< and r
or one sixth of a circle, i.e., sixty
degrees. The word for 1/6 is sus a value common to both the late
signs < and r,
whence the loan-word sussu = 1/6,. but because 1/6 of
a circle is equivalent to 60 degrees, sussu cameto mean 'sixty'::.
sus must have been lhe pronunciation for 1/6 since not only is 2/6 or
1/3 expressed by the dual of the loan-word, but we find the signs
-~.~--~----------~.
NUMERALS 121
for 1/3 and 2/3 followed by the phonetic complement sa. l.. =1(6 is not
found, but using this as a basis 2/6 was indicated by fJ., a sign frequent-
ly followed by sa '. We should expect the pronunciation to have
been min-sus, 'two sixths'. The sign «has the value sussana in
Sumerian, probably a transcript of the Semi tic dual sussan. « is in this
case derived from the ancient IX = 1/6 doubled. 3/6 being identical
in value with 1/2 (mas), the scribes did not invent a sign based upon
the sign X for this fraction. Nevertheless a sign XXX = 1/6 thrice,
must have existed since the late sign «< actually means 1/2 míslu.
4/6 or 2/3 is written .l.f = 1tr in the late script. This sign is also
followed by sa in a few instances'. \Ve should expect the pronuncia-
tion to be lam-sus.
This fraction was also expressed by XXXX = 1/6 four times, a trace
of which remains in <~<sanabí = sínípu, 2/3. According to this value
the Sumerian for 2/3 was sanap, or sinap.
5/6 must have been written .tI originally, of which we have only
the late form lQ.. We should expect the pronunciation ia-sus; the
Semitic loan-word is, however, parap and this is actua11y one of the
values of <~~a sign evidently derived from X written five times.
§ 174. The following table includes a11 the numerical words whose
meanings and pronunciation are cert:1Íll.
1234 5(-; 789 10
ás mm es, lam, lim ia as imín ussu elím u (usu?)
20 30 40 50 60 600 3,600
ni,~ usü mmrn mnnü gis, mus, us, sus ner (?)
216,000 12,960,000
sussar, susar, also sargal sar,qal su-nu-tag.
1/6 1/2 2/~ 5/6
sus mas sanap, sinap (?) parap.
1. NIK. 300 obv. I 4 and rey. I1; B. M. 177,,'2 col. I 4.19. The method al
writing 2/6 by placing the sextant belore the perpendicular unit' one' and 4/6 by
placing the sextant before two perpendicular units arranged one above the other,
REC. 482 l., is purely arbitrary.
2. NIK. 298 obv. n, 2; PINCHES, Amlwf'st, no.14 obv. 1, rey. 2.
Syntax § 175. The cardinal numerals are ordinarily uninflected and tlsnal-
oi cardinals.
ly stand before the object num bered as 10 [fin, 'ten female slaves":
600 lzi-nim-¡!ú), 'six hundred EIamites' 2. Occasionally the cardinal
follows the object numbered, in which case it is treated as an ad-
jective. na-imin,' the seven statues' 3. ud-min ud-és, 'two days, and
three days'4. iti-12-sú, 'for twelve months'5. mu 18 in-aga, 'he
ruled 18 years ' 6.
Syntax § 176. The ordinals are invariably placed after the object numbered
of ordinals.
and inflected with the emphatic ending ám, an, or the stronger emphat-
ic lwm, ~,late form ~ 7, Assyrian ..&. H. ara 9-kam-ás, 'for the
ninth time' 8. min-kam,' a second man', ey!. A 5, 2 and 6, 3, but silim
min-nam, 'a second blessing' 21, 1. és-ám, 'third', ibid. 21,3'. udu
22-kam, 'twenty second day' 10. Both ám and kam occasionally appear
after cardinals; gar-gig ... 6-an, 'six rolls of black bread' 11 • iti-13-kam,
'thirteen months'12. ana arbi 6-kam, 'for six months'13. In ASKT.
55,35 f., más mu-l-kam, 'interest yearly', lwm is employed in a parti-
tive sense '"o
1. NIK. 21 obv. IV 2.
2. AO. 4238 obv. 11.
3. Gud. CyI. A 29, 1-
4. Ibid., 23, 2.
5. B. M. 12231obv. V 22.
6. BE. XX no. 47rev. 1. Notice lhat in the expressions for time the numeral
invariably foIlows the word.
7. Not to be confused with ~~.
8. B. M. 12231 rey. VIII 9.
-
9. Notice in this passage the foIlowing ordinals : silim;lam, 'the fourth bless-
ing', evidently for silim lam-am,' silim-ia-ám, 'the fiflh blessing'; silim as-ám,
'the sixth blessing'; silim-imin, 'lhe se;enth blessing', where. imin-am is con-
tracted lo imin.
10. STRASSMAIER,'vVarka, no. 45, 35 and so passim in dates.
11. SAK. 1 46, col. VI 2.
12. CT. X 22 col. VIII, 17.
13. eode aJ HammuraiJi, VII, 17.
14. Also in cases like ana ki?ri shatt¿-kam, 'for the interest of one year'.
NUMERALS 123
§ 178. The ordinary word for' time', 'occurrence " ará 5, (ará-5-kam, Multiplica-
tive.
'the fifth time " etc.,) is employed to express multiplication, as 2 ará
2 = 4, 2 ará 3 = 6 etc., passim in arithmetical tablets 6.
1. TSA. 34 obv. 12 f.
2. Ibid" 1 obv. VIII 1-3.
3. ASKT. 55, 38.
4. RANKE, BE. VI pt. 1 no. 35, 16. The distributive notion inherent in ta and
tam was evidently known to JENSEN, KB. VI 1, p. 346.
5. Written A-DU.
6. For example IV R. 37 rey. a. HILPRECHT, BE. XX nos, 1. 4. 5. 6. 7.10. etc.
CHAPTER IX.
The Verb1•
The
§ 179. The majority of Sumerian roots expresE! the verbal notion
infinitive.
by means of the form with the internal vowels i, e (§ 142). Neverthe-
less in case of any given root as Vzig, 'to rage', it would be impossible
to distinguish the infinitive ' to rage " or the participle 'raging', from
the no un 'rage', except by syntax or the inflections which distinguish
verbs from nouns. The simple verbal root is in itself neither active nor
passive, present, future nor pasto In fact Sumerian depends entirely
upon external inflection and syntax to render the modal and temporal
nua,nces of the verbo [Compare especially THUREAU-DANGIN, ZA.
XX 383.)
Inf. as nonn. § 180. The infinitive or simple verbal root employed as a noun.
SllSll-(ki)-Sú gin-ni, 'the going to Susa '2. é-a-ni dil-ba mu-na-dúg,
, because of the building of his temple he spoke to him ' 3. d.ningirzu-ge
llInma-(lú) zigga-bi ni-galam, 'Ningirzu smote the uprising of Umma' '.
Often employed with tbe preposition da. zid-du-e su-si-sá-da,
1. The most important treatises on the verb are, LENORxIANT, Etudes Akka-
diennes, 96·143. HAUPT, ASKT. 142·6. BERTIN. L'lncorporation l5erbale en Akka-
dien, RA. 1 105-115. 148·161. LANGDON, La Syntame c/u Verbe Sumérien, Babylo-
niaca, vol. 1 211-:286. F. THUREAU-DANGIN, Sur les préjimes c/u Verbe Sumérien
ZA. XX 380-404. A. POEBEL, Das Verbum im Sumcrischen, ibid., XXI, 216-236.
2. Hilprecht Annil5ersa,.y Volume, p. 140 no. V obv. 9.
3. Gud. Cyl. A 1, 19.
4. SAK. 56 i) IV 16·19.
'ª'"
THE VERB 125
'to direct the just' 'o é-gi-ni-da, 'to establish the temple ". umma-
(ki) e-bi ba-e-da-bi, , Umma- in its trespassing this canal '3. See
especially §§ 97-98.
lo GudoCyl. B 6, 11,
20 Ibid., 13.
3. SAK. 18 col. V 37 f.
4. SBP. 12 re,. 2; 32, 26.
5. Ibido, 38,17.
60 Gud. Cyl. A 11, 30
---
126 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
lazuli the lord, the hero Ningirzu, stood like the sun ' '. N otice here the
possessive prono un locative na placed after the elements which modify
the noun ginar.
gll-za gú-en-na gub-ba-bi é-azag an-na ul-la tu-ra-na-ám, 'the
throne placed in Guenna is like the pure temple of heaven dwelling in
splendour ' 2.
é-KA-gar-S gesten Jsa gal-gal lugal-bi-ra túm-ma3 mu-na-da,
, he has built for him the wine-house supplying wine in great cups for
the king'4. gu-de-a unu-mag-a tud-da d.ga-tum-dufl-fla-kam ~cl.nidaba-
ge é-flis-tufl-pi-ge ig-mu-na-tag, , to Gudea bom of Gatumdug in the great
chamber Nidaba revealed wisdom ".
ily derived by adding the personal pronouns to the verbal root, kasad,
'to conquer', kasdak, 'I conqueror' : here the inflection of the first person
is clearly connected with tbe independent formof the personal prono un
ant1ku, 'I'. The connection between the verbal root and the pronominal
suffix is one of apposition and not of possession. The suffixed con-
jugation would be illustrated best by the phrase 'man - go - he',
'man - going - he " , man - he goes " i. e., 'the man goes '.
Likewise in Sumerian we have a suffixed conjugation ; althoügh in
the evolution oí the language this conjugation appears almost
exclusively in dependent pbrases. yet it must have existed side by side
witb the more important prefixed conjugation from the beginning. zig-
zig-zu, 'tbou ragest'" elearly stand s for the root zig and the inde-
pendent pronoun of the second person singular. Other examples are: -
a nu-nag-a-Tiw, 'water I drink: not"; enem/ila-ni an-sú an ni, dúb-
ba-ni, 'at his ,vord on higb heaven trembles of itself' 3; za-e {ju-de-a-bi,
, they cry to thee ' '.
~
TBE VERB 129
Thus ni, na, hi, ha 1 came to be attached even to the prefixed conju-
gation as signs oí dependent phrases. mu d.inniiwa-ge e-ni-sa-a-ni,
'when Innina named him ". uru(a) ba-dim-me-na-ma, 'in my city
which she created'. na apparently agrees in case vvith the reflexive
subject ha in this passage 3. N otice the use oí méi separated írom its
noun by a phrase.
siga u-suh-ha mu-ni-gar-ra-ni d·babbar im-da-fjul, 'because oí the
brick which he made in the mould Shamash was made glad' '. For ni
the variant ne occurs : é fjar-sag-dim im-ma-ma-ne dugud-dim an sag-
gi im-mi-ni-ib-sig-sig-ne gud-dím siú-im-mi-ib-il-ila-ne gis-gan-ahzu-
dim kúr-kúr-ra sap-ba-ni-ila-ne, 'The temple which he built like a
mountain. ,,-hich he made glorious in the centre oí heaven like a comet,
which he eleYated like Ithe horn of) a steer, which in the lands he made
mpreme like the Jn"t5.0(1nU tree oí the nether-sea' 5. ni appears falsely
for [be temporal subjunctin i § 222) : ud ... babhar-e-ta babbar-su(s)-Sú
[¡ú-e-na-gar-ra-ni 3, 'v,-hen ... he had subdued(men) írom the rising oí
the sun ro the setting' 7. According to strict rales oí grammar ni and
bi, employed as pnre inflections oí relative phrases, must reíer to an
antecedent in the direct case, i. e., to the subject. na and ba should
refer to an antecedent in the obligue case. The only instance known to
me oí na employed with a pre6xed íorm is ud temen-mu ma-si-gi-na,
'when my fonndation shall have been laid', Gud. Cyl. A 11, 18,
wbere na evidently re-eníorces tbe passive prefix ma. The construc-
tion is not clear to me.
In late texts Ihis suffix was assimilated to the preceding vowel, ni, na
assimilated
1. The plurals ene and bine in relative phrases have not been found. to preceding
voweI.
2. SAK. 12 col. V 25.
3. SAK. 214 d) rey. 20. We have to do with a similar construction in nig mas-
{Jig-ge ma-ab-gin-a-ma sag-bi nu-zu, 'that which midnight has brought me, its
meaning 1 know not', where mri is apparently not only the indication of relatian
but ser ves as a sort of dative. The construction here is unusual.
4. Gud. Cyl. A 19, 8.
5. Ibid., 21, 19-22. Other cases in Cyl. A 26, 28.30.
6. Varo a.
7. OBI. no. 87 1 46 - II 2. Far ather cases 01 ni see Gud. Cyl. A 13, 20-21;
25, 12.
GRA~1. SUMo 9
~'
130 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
whcreby the final vowels i and a are lost. a id-da-dím al-du-un nu-
zu, ' Like the water of a ri ver where he goes he knows not' 1• (vVe
expect the subjunctive of indirect discourse here.] a-na ib-pad-di-in na-
bi nu~ub-zu, '\Vhat he has planned this man knows not". ba-an-slg-
gi-in, 'WhOlll he slew (with a weapon)':l. ses-gal sib-ta-na4 su-ba-ab-
te-ga-en, 'when the elder brother shall have taken his claim ".
Suffixed The suffixed conjugation both primary and secondary agrees vvith
mu
the antecedent subject in person and number. There is, however, one
notable exception in case of the suffix mu which correctly denotes the
first person 6, but in late texts appears for the third persono dumu
urudsin-na (?) azag-ga su-nag-mu, 'Son whom in the sacred copper-
bowl she baptized' 7. ib-ba na-am-i'á'u-ni im-ma-bar-m-mu, 'In rage
for her city which is plundered' 8.
§ 184. \Ve may from the foregoing paragraphs reconstruct the fol-
lowing table which represents the suffixed conjugation of the verb sig,
'to fix'.
Sing. Pl.
1 sig-mu stg-mene
2 sig-zu Slg-zune
3 sig-ni (bi) slg-ene
1. CT. IV 8 a 3.
2. lbid., 4 a 22.
3. KING, Studles in Ea"tern HistoriJ, vol. 1I1, p. 52, 1. 3.
4. Oblique case alter the compound verb sa-teg, see § 203.
5. POEBEL. op. laudo no. 24,9. sic!
6. níg ma-f ni-:m-a-mu Ú :W-f) In-(l/1a-e)-z1I, 'what 1 know also thou knowest',
IV R. 7 a 30.
7. SEP. 74 rev. 9. Ibiel., line 13 (/[m-lná-mu, 'he has grown up', is inelepen-
elont and by al! means incorrecto
8. SEP. liO, 14; eL al so 1. 16. In SEP. 322, 4. 6. 8. 10. 12, several examples
oí this eonstruetion oeeur.
--------==----------------
THE VERB 131
Order
and general § 187. Strictly speaking only the forms mu, mi, ni, ne, bi and e
force can indicate the subject and object. Adverbial notions must be express-
of prefixes.
ed by the oblique forms ma, na, ba, or by one of the infixed preposi-
tions ra, M, da, ta. In practice only ni and bi are regularly employed
for the object 3. The order of the prefixes is, subject - adverbial ele-
ment-object. mu-na-ni-gub=he (mu) has placed it (ni) forher (na) , ;
in the same passage with object omitted we have mu-na-dím, 'he has
made (it) for her'. The only attempt to divert the suffixes from their
element im so far as the force of the two are concerned. Compare also
in-na-ni-tu-ra, '(when) he brought it in for him' 8, where in-na appar-
ently serves both as subject and dative object. Compare also in-ne-en-
ba, 'he portioned out to them', POEBEL, op. laudo no. 28,10. The forms
im-mi and in-ni, im-ma and in-na may be both emphatic expressing a
single idea, 01' be so extended as to serve in a double sense. The
reduced forms im, in and by analogy ib (for a supposed form ib-bi) are
really direct forms and can be employed only as subject 01' object. lf
immi be the emphatic of mi, im-ma appears as the emphatic of ma in
such cases as im-ma·bar-ra-mu=sa issallu, 'which is plundered',
where the obligue prefix im-lIla clearly indicates the passive.
§ 188. The obligue preftxes have a subtle force co-extensive with Function
the force of the obligue case of nouns, viz. oí, place, means, dative oí the oblique
prefixes.
object etc.
1. SAK. 44 g) II 13.
2. For the use of this particle see § 216.
3. SAK. 220 el II 7. Examples of ni and bi subject will be found in my Syn-
tame, pp. 245 and 275; also ne var. of ni, p. 273.
4. BA. 1 301 col. II 11.
5. Cy1. B 4, 2.
6. Ibid .• 19, 19: an-ra d'cnlil im-ma-ni-us, 'Enlil he placed by Anu'.
7. A clear case of this double force of im-ma is im-ma-sum-mu, 'he gave to
it', Gud. St. B 7, 23.
8. VA. Th. 6091, 9 in BA. VI pt. 3, p. H), date of the 8th. year of Ammiditana,
see p. 43 where 5800 has in-ni-tu-ra, 1. e., with the dative omitted and ni em-
ployed as object.
c#" -
"_~""~""~,,,,,,,,,,,,""?,.,~;;;e-=-~,,,,,,;"",:;;',:,,,,,,,,,,~;,,,,,,,~,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,--"<,"''''-''''''''''''~;';'''''~-'''''_ ••.•.••.•.
,..,._'~¡'"'"--r·
-
••"~·,·"_',,
- 'Iií~i'~~~~
vYe bave ah'eady seen tlm obligue infix in its use as dative of indirect
object, as in e-ne-BA, 'sho gave to tl1em'1. sub mu-ne-túm, 'be raised
to them a prayer' 2. Tbe locative idea a.ppears in the following; ú-dúg
ság-ga-zu igi-sLÍ úa-ma-gin, 'may thy good spirit utukku go before' 3.
In this form ma apparently repeats the locative notion in igi-sú, tbe
subject being dropped after the precative prefix (¡e barmonised witl1
ma 4. The temporal force appears in gig-a ma-ni-nad, 'in the nigbt I
lay down' '. vYe have in the latter example the subtte association of the
subject with adverbial ideas which brought about the passive and reflexive
force of ba discussed in the following paragraph. The subjeet when
intimately assoeiatec! with an adverbial idea in the sentence is often
expressed by an obligue form thus describing the subjeet as intimately
aeting in a given manner.
é-ma(¡-ni·u ma-na-ni-túr. ' in her mighty temple he has brought it
in' '. Examples of tbe loeative force of the obligue prefixes are eon-
fessedly raro and even those heré cited are capable of being interpreted
as ethical datives, 'for me, for him, for her' ete. Nevertheloss I shall
assume that these particles have, at least inherently, this force.
The passive. § 189. ma and ba may indieate the subject in the follovving con-
structions. a) By phonetic harmony as in ma-ra-gal' for mu-ra-gar,
ha-fa-e for hi-ta-e. b) Or the obligue case bere represents the subject as
acted upon by an instrument, or some externa] force, or as acting for
itself, in its own interest. ma and ba thus came to express the passive
1. TSA. 9 rev. II 5.
2. Gud. Cy1. B. 1, ~1.
3. Gud. Cy1. A 3, 20.
4. Most Sumerologists rejec! (he in(erpretation given here concerning (he loca-
tive force of the obligue particles, and would regard mCl as (he subject which
would be possible only Oilthe assumption tha! the vocalisatioll has no casual signi-
ficance.
5. Cy1. A:" 10where ma serves not only as subject bu! as an obligue tempor-
al case.
6. Gud. St. i'le 2, 5. For similar passages, v. Svntaxe, p. ~6J,
~,';~ -.'~~~'--------~"~---'--
THE VERB 135
and the middle voices 1. These suffixes evidently acquired the force of
passives by association vvith the obliquc instrumental and the force of
the middle voice by association with the oblique dative.
The passive is .reproduced by several Semitic translations which
leave no dou bt concerning this construetion. ga-ma-abbi lilslsabá. =
, may it be spoken', AL'. 136,3 and variant gC¿-ba-ab SBH_ 99, 50.
[Here abbi and bi are forms of the root bi to s peak. ] im-ma-bw'-ra-nw =
sa issalu, 'which has been plundered', SBH. 88,15. ba-an-zi-ir-zi-ir-
ri-da = i!J!Jilsa, 'whieh is torn away". ba-sub = ittancli, 'she is
thrown'3. Examples in classieal texts are abundant. bal- bi ba-bal,
'this dynasty was overthrown '4. ba-gul,' it was destroyed', passim
in date formul:::e, eL SAK. 228-8, with whieh compare the active lugal-e
urbillwn-(lú) mu-gúl-a, '(year when) the king destroyed Urbillum' 5.
ulm ba-gal'-gar kalam(e) ba-gubgub, 'The people are created by it, the
land is established by it " eyl. B 1, 10'. ma passive perhaps in dúg-gar
ság-ga-a galu ma-a-gar", 'man is brought unto pious thoughts', Cy 1. A
20, 38• ueZ temen-11m ma-si(¡-,qi-na, 'when my foundation iDserip-
Middle voice. § 190. The middle voice can be exemplified for ba only (na was
avoided since it would have been confused with the negative na ').
ud-ba pa -te-si-ge kalam- ma-na zig-ga ba-ni-gar, 'then the patesi in
his land took taxes fol' himself', Cyl. A 14, 7. In Cy!. B 4, 2-5 occur JI¡"
b which as yet escapes uso ma in the middle voice may exist in nam-ni
ma-ni-kub-du, ' whose oath he has sworn for himself', SAK. 18 V 33;
compare the active nam mu-na-kud-du, 'an oath he has sworn to him',
ibid. 14 XVI 19,
Difficult § 191. An indirect element may, as we have seen, stand for the
constructions
of obligue
subject in case the subject is intimately connected with an adverbialnotion,
subjects. 01' has been harmonized by an indirect elemento There remain, however,
examples whose constructions offer great difficulty as ma-da-na, '(tothe
patesi) whoshall constrnct (my tem pie)' 2. A pparently ma here represents
the subjeci without any accessory notion whatsoever. Obligue subjects
are particularly freguent in com pound verbs ; á-ba-il-il, 'he exalted it' 3.
9 ú-im-má-si/¡-sig, 'it will enrich' 4. gú-ma-sif¡-sig-ne,' they assem-
ble' 5. In certain cases ma appears to indicate the dative of the first per-
son, as in nig mas-gig-ge ma-ab-gin-a-má, 'that which midnight brought
to me', where the subject seems to be omitted 6. The same construction
1. For na su bject and passive we have but one example, e iclim-sú na·e, 'The
canal was dug to the water-level', SAK. 14 XVI 24.
2. Cyl. A 9, 7.
3. Cyl. A 22, 23, compound of first class, see HaD., n, 78.
4. lbid., 9, 18.
5. lbid., 10, 29.
6. lbid., 1,27.
THE VERB 137
§ 192. The prefix al, possibly a variant of an occurs once in the al, an, ah,
amo
earIy inscriptions, al-zu-zu-a, SAK. 28 k) V 3, but is common in later
texts as al-sum cited by HUBER, Hilprechi Anniversary Volume, 205;
al-bir-ri = issappa1;, BOISSIER, DA. 4, ] 8. Assimilated to ul in nu-ul-ti =
ul asib IV R. 11 u a 39.
If al as subject be inexplicable the prefixes ab, am and an as subject
are no less so. ab subject in ab-du-a 'which had been built'; ab-us-sa
'it is placed", both passives; but active in lag ab-mal-mal=nura ia-
sakkan, 'thou bringest light' 3.
an in más an-iulf, 'it bears interest' 4.
am (invariably written A-AN), in i-si-is ám-ia-lal'. su ám-sar-
sar-ám = ilsarrabu, 'they implore' G. ám-si-iili,' (the land in sorrow)
exists' 7. These forms according to the theory defended in this exposi-
tion are all incorrect and most of them are late and rare.
An especially curious form is e-PI-bal, i. e., e-me-bal, in dub-bi e- me.
me-bal, 'he has rendered unto them their account' 8, where me evidently
represents the dative plural, possibly identical with the definite plural
me, distinguished from tbe indefinite dative plural ne 9.
§ 193. The prefixes seem originally to have had local distinctions. Local
force of ihe
e is employed for a subject which acts at the place where the tablet is elements
redacted. mu denotes a subject near the centre of action. bi and ni e, m, n, b.
denote those subjects which are at some distance.
1. Cyl. A 2,26.
2. Syntame, p. 241.
3. IV R. 14, no. 2 rey. 12.
4. POEBEL, op. laudo no. 21, 1.
5. SBP. 214, 22.
6. BA. VI, pt. 3, p. 47 obv. 3.
7. SBP. 10, 19 (So 1 would now translate).
8. NIK., 175 rey. IV, 1; 261 rey. IlI; 262 rey. 1.
9. In all three tablets cited me refers to a definite number of shephercls.
133 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
1. The theory that a particle has in itsel! the power 01 denoting the elirection
01 an action and the beautilul hypothesis 01 action Ira m the centre (e) and towarL!
the centre (mu), and hom the exterior bacle to the exterior (iJa) and from the centre
bacle to the centre (ni) iB linguistically too mechanical.
2. CL ALLOTTE !lE LA FUYE, fhlprecht AnniL'. Vol. 134.
3. Notice the oblique genitive al time, v. § 13;1.
4. vVritten la-iJur; 1 havo transcribed everywbere as above. As a matter 01
fact wo should read lagas, and not transcribe the signs phonetically.
5. REC. 325.
6. REC. 290.
7. RTC. no. 26. Tho text in which e and IIW are most clearly contrasted is
RTC. 19 analysed by TH.-DANGJN, ZA. XX 396,
,-
THE VERB 139
1. SAK. 56 le).
2. AIso frequently passive, as in RTC. ,í" rey. col. lII, 2.
3. Other examples oE prefixed bi IlOt in this sense but indefinite, in Syntaxe,
245, and ef. bi-ag, DP. 31 VI end,.
4. RTC. 293.
~ ~ -.::- ;;;;;;:::'::: ,i ~~~-:-
originating at the centre and in the second case remaining at the centre,
nevertheless, has an aspect of ' otherness', if we may employ a psycholo-
gical termo In DP. nos. 69. 70. 71 the ordinary phrase a-rnu-T'U, 'he
dedicated', appears as a-bi-ru, probably because the redactor of the
tablet wished to em phasize the remo ten es s of the subject.
A sense of remoteness, perhaps not so vivid, attached itseJf to ni,
clearly distinguished from e in TSA. no. 6. Bere an official' of the
patesi brings (ni-lag) resinous products from the plantations of his
master. The patesi pays (e-na-lal) froll1 the incoll1e (?) of the 1l10nth
Udu-zid-se-a of Ningirsu '. In RTe. no. 31 the fishermen bring fish
mu-tum-a and the secretary (nu-banda) puts (ni-gub) thell1 in the store-
house. Bere the nearness of association of mu, the feeling of action
towards the 'centre', is clearly distinguished from ni which though
acting at the 'centre' yet conveys the notion of ' removing'.
ni and bi conveying
the notion of remoteness natural1y became the
prefixes reserved to express the object. mu, capable only of associating
itself with an action arising outside of, but closely connected with the
point of view of the writer, was universal1y reserved for the subject.
e, denoting a subject at the centre, disappears for the 1l10st part before
Gudea 3. The point to be held firmly in mind concerning these elements
is the psychological feeling for the degree of nearness, association and
remoteness in the mind of the writer. e may be the subject of an action
operating at 01' from the centre. The direction of the action is not
inherent. In the nature of the case the action would more often be
towards the outside, but cf. e-duT'Un, '(the sailors) rest (in the boat) , '.
sag-galu-36000-ta su-ni e-ma-ta-tib-ba-a, '(when) he (the god) had
caused him to abide among 36000 men' '.
With mu, denoting a subject near the centre, the action will be more
1. The saga!'. For 18 (saga!') as a title Y. NIK. 158 rey.; CT. IV 39 e, where
the 1801 Esagila are mentioned.
2. Cl. HTC. 31 rey. col 1,4.
3. See the examples in Syntaxe, 245-7.
4. SAK. 46 h) III 6.
5. SAK. 50 VIII 6.
THE VERB 141
often toward the centre but there is absolutely nothing in the prefix
itself which determines the direction of the action '. We have for
example in a text of the classical period, NIK. 291, en-ig-gál nu-banda
mu-síd, 'Eniggal thesecretary has counted ' 2, bu t no. 170 e-na-sid, 'he
has counted out to them' 3. 1t would seem that the sole basis of distinc-
tion here is the degree of nearness to the ' centre' in which the 1m-banda
acts. Since e subject, acting at the centre, is incapable of being inflected
to show self-interest as ba and ma, the language renders this nuance by
infixing nw; e-ma-lág, 'he has carried away for himself' '. udu-nitag
lugal-sasusgal udu-sig-Sú nigín-mud e-ma-m 5, 'one male sheep of
Lugalsusgal, for wool-bearing sheep, Niginmud has caused to be
transported for himself' 6.
§ 195. Inasllluch as the principIe underlying the prefixed conjuga- Dual object.
tion represents a constant effort to unite the verbal-root with al! possible
elements of the sentence, we should expect to find a double pre6x fOl' the
subject if the sentence contain two subjects, and a double infix for the
object if the sentence contain two objects. The difficulty of indicating
a dual subject was of course not felt since the language indicated the
H2 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
Infixes § 196. The four postfixed particles I'cl, .M, da and ta, the peeuliari-
ra, sú, da, ta.
ties of eaeh of which we have aIread}' discussed (pp. 67-68) were also
1. 1 mean 01 course two objects namcd, not the dual, or the plural of a single
noull.
2. aba = aMa, emphatic ethical subject, for úa.
3. CT. XVI 21 o; 150.
4. SAK. 210 bl, 13.
5. Gud. CyJ. B. 19, 17.
6. el¡/, here perhaps for dü =banu.
7. Cyl. A 21,25.
8. One of the few examples where the verb does not come at the end of the
sentence. Double prefixes for the object (ni-in, ni-ib) are found used incorrectly
t
¡;
for a single object, as in-1Ui-ni-in-tUl" 'he brought it to him', POEBEL, op. laud.,
¡¡ no. 8, 12; 40, G. im-ma-ni in-sik-hi-nc, 'they humiliate (the head witll oppres-
sion) " SBH. 84, 23. In such cases we have to do with a late usage.
,[
r
¡,lf
THE VERB 143
1. This rule first laid down by TH:-DANGIN, ZA. XX 38-!, has few exceptions.
Since ra came to be reserved for the second persono the only means left for
expressing the dative of the first and third persons were the obligue infixes, ma,
na, bao ra is employed for the dative oí the 3rd person in tbe late and barbarous
form ne-in-da-ra-dú-a, 'wllich he adorned for him', VA. Th., 670 obv. 5 where da
repeats the instrumental [jllskin I"lIs-a, 'with shining gold', and da-ra precedes
the objeet.
2. Cyl. A 5, 18.
3. Ibid., 4, 20.
4. SBP. 296, 18.
5. Gud. Cyl. 8, 18.
6. RADAU, Ninib 44, 44.
144 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
§ 199. da, the suffix whose primary force is that of accompani- da.
ment, employed chiefly with persons, appears as the verbal infix in the
same sense. galu-ni ma-al-ga-sud-da mu-dél-gin-na-a, 'her man who
came wi th M algas ud ' 6. uru-mú ú sig-ni zag-ba m u-da-nad-ám, 'in
my city the strong and weak lay side by side' 7. d·ningirsu-da um-lea-
gi-na inim-bi dúg-e-da-kesda, 'vVith Ningirsu Urukagina contracted
this oath' 8. Ili-idinnam and Ili-ummati brothers, Ea-idinnam son of
Ibku-Jstar and Kuritum his wife nam-clumu-ni-sú ba-da-an-rig, 'have
taken for their sons', literally, 'have taken with themselves' 9. This
force of association appears also in ideas of violent reprisal, the notion
being that the subject violently takes away an object with itself. gi-li
bar-tul-bi-ta ba-da-an-kár-ra, 'the marsh land in its falness it has pillag-
1. Cyl. A 9, 13-15.
2_ Cyl. B 22, 17.
3. The text adds dnina.
4. SAK. ,10, VI 3-8. el. also 30 e) 12.
;';.RTe. 17 obv. I-H.
e':. RTC. 19 obv. III.
7. Gud. B 7, 34. [Translation after TH.-DANGIN.]
S. SAK. 52, XII 26-8.
~_ P,)EBEL, op. laud, no. 21, 1-5. The postpositional infixes properly precede
12::.", ,:,'·,jec:t, but cL the incorreet form ba-an-da-rig, ibid., 28 4; 57, 3.
GP....!..i.!. SU}!. 10
146 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
ed' '. The notion of association is more subtle and approaches the
dative of advantage and disadvantage, often expressed by suffixed ra,
in the following constructions ; balag kenag-ni ... ursag nig-ba-e kenag-
ra ... é-ninnu u-mu-na-da-tur-ri, 'his beloved lyre ... for the hero
who loves gifts into Eninnü ... cause to be brought' 2. arad á-gis-
tag-tug-ra lugal-a-ni sag nu-ma-da-dúb, 'the slave iniquitous his lord
smote not on the head' 3.
da passiye. The da of agency 4 (§ 95) when infixed naturally gives the verb a
passive force, a construction not always kept distinct from the instru-
mental passive properly expressed by the oblique forms ba and ma.
sag-engar-da '" igi-gar-bi e-da-aga, 'by the chief farmer ... the
accoun t has been made' '. igi-zid utul-da e-da-síg, 'by Igizid, the shep-
herd, they have been pastured (?)' 6.
1. =
SER. 73, 3 SBP. 260.
2. Cyl. A 6, 24-7, 2.
3. Cyl. A 13, 6-7.
4. See especially Syntame, p. 225.
5. NIK., 255.
6. TSA. 30 rey. m, 3-6.
7. Pronounced ma.
8. RADAU, Miscel. no. 4, 10.
9. 1 have proYisionally retained the pronunciation la for NI = samnu but the
yalue appears to me most doubtfu!'
10. Cy!. A 11, 16.
11. Cy!. A 18, 28.
12. SAK. 154 II, 26-9.
13. Ibid., 30-32.
THE VERB 147
§ 200. ta, infixed, preserves for the most part the original force ta.
'from, out of', (§ 101), but the locative force (§ 102) occurs also_
uru-ta im-ta-e, 'from the city he caused to go away". pilian u-sub-ba-
ta síg ba-to-ií, 'from the mould he lifted the brick' 6. en-ig-gal nu-
banda sag engar-ge-ne é-ki-lam-ka-ta iti ezen d·ne-sü-ka e-ne-ta-gar,
'Eniggal the secretary to the chief of the farmers from the mercantile
house in the month of the feast of Nesu has withdrawn (grain) for
them' 7.
ta locative; gis-ká-na-ta ba-ta-durun, 'within the lintel he caused
to repose' 8. gisdúr-gar galu mu-na-gub-a-ni sa/,¡ar-7'O!Je-im-ta-clurun,
'the throne which anyone may set up for him may lie in the dust'".
ta confused with da passi ve occurs frequently i d.innina-ge 10 ki-an-na- Ja passive'
ág-ga-cla 11 nam-pa-te-si sir-pur-la-(1ú)-ta nam-lugal Jús-(ki) mu- na-ta-
sum, 'by Innina who loves him the patesi-shi p of Lagash and the
royalty of Kis have been given' '. Notice for example in-ta-dü-a= inni-
pus, K. 41 obv. II 3.
The variants te, ti, for ta occur in ü-mu-un-te-gur-gur, 'thou shalt
purify' 2, and d.en-ki-da é an-kir-ra-ka sag-mu-ti-ni-ib-kus-8á, 'by the
aid of Ea he planned the temple of Ankir' 3.
Double § 201. Occasionally a form has two of these adverbial infixes; an~ta
infixes.
ge- gál ga-mu-ra ta-gin, 'may plenty come to thee (ra) from (ta) hea-
ven' 4. babbar ki-sar-ra ma-I'a-ta-e-a dingir-zu (l.nin-gis-zid-da babbar-
clím lú-sa-ra ma-ra-da-ra-ta-e, 'The sun which arose for thee from the
world - thy god Ningiszidda, as the sun from the world, goes up for
thee'. The combination ra-ta in the first verb is again doubled in the
second verb (,vi th the ta dissimilated to da) since the second verb
attempts to repeat the form of the preceding dependent verb and also
the same idea.
Suf[ixes. § 202. The infixes da, ta, sú, ra,for reasons which are not evident,
may be placed after the verb; they still preserve their original force in
this position. ge-til-la-Sú,' that he may live', OBI. 113, 4. se-ib urú
zí-ib-ba-(ki) ba-gul-la-ta, 'The brick walls of Barsippa are destroyed',
SBH. 55 obv. 14. gum-ba- gur-ra-ta clúg-ga-na, ., she who said 'let me
be sent back"', RTe. 2900bv. 9. nu-mu-un-clib-ba-ra, 'he comes not (to
thee)', SBP. 96,3. nu lnír-ru-da=sa la uttaldwra, IV R. IBa 5.
ta passive in l-ci-Sú an-ki ur-bi lál-a-ta, 'where heaven and earth
are joined', V R. 50 a 7.
1. SAK. 22 b) V 26-VI 5.
2. IV R. 27 b 52; literal1y, 'remove (impurity)'. The figurative sense in izi
im-ma-ta-lal, 'with fire ehase away (impurity)'. Cyl. A 13, 13, ete. (Syntaxe 255).
lal = matu, 'be laeking', lit. 'make laeking'.
3. Cy1. A 22, 12-3. Rere ti repeats da.
4. Cyl. A 11, 8.
5. For literature on the eompound verb see Syntaxe, 237 f., and Bab., II 66-99.
THE VERB 149
1'he exterior object has not been reproduced in the prefixes. For the
obligue case with su-bal compare also di-kud-a-na su-nu-bal-e, 'no one
1. The word lar' horn' si(g), lorms a compound with sá, • to direct', si-sá,
'to direct in a straight ¡ine'.
2. Sm. 49 reY. col. II 2-4.
3. Gud. B 8, 17-8. Ibid., 38 and eL 43. Notice aIso in SBH. 63, 3, that the ob-
ject 01 su-nu-bal-e ended in a.
150 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
Second class. § 205. In the development of the language there was naturally a
constant tendency to neglect the original force of the interior object and
to regard the exterior object as directo This is especially trae of the
numerous compounds formed with the word for hand su, which with its
variant sa'O often forms causatives or servecl to lend a particularly active
force to the verbo A compound having developed this power of acting
directly upon tbe exterior object, will necessarily bave two direct objects
and in a complete prefixed conjugation both should be repeated. A
correctly prefixed compound verb will make the construction evident at
once. In the flrsi class the exterior object wiII be repeated by an ob-
ligue infix ; in the second class by a direct infix.
For example, we have seen that the verb igi-gar in th\'. inscriptions
of Gudea governs the obligue case of the exterior object. When we
meet the same verb in the inscriptions of the period of Isin it is construed
with the casus rectus; lugal-e igi-ne-ne-in-gar-ri-es-ma, 'they beheld
the king' '. Here the first ne represents the subject. ne-in = ni-ni, re-
produces the exterior and interior objects. A glance at the parallel
form igi-mu-na-ni-gar cited under § 204 will make evident the change
which time has brought about in the constructioIl of the verbo The
evolution of the verb sal-dúg, 'to bestow care upon', 'to care for', can
be traced in the same manner. Thus we have in the period of Gudea an-
kár ... sal-u-ma-ni-dúg, 'care for the an/mr', where the subject falls
away after tbe imperative prefix u. es-bar-kin-mal sal-ba-ni-dúg, 'she
cares for the oracles'. In the latter construction the subject is appar-
ently omitted entirely. But in a hymn of the Isin period we have sal-
zid-ma-ra-ni-in-dúg, 'he cares for thee faithfulIy' 2, where we have the
double object clearly indicated together witb tbe superfluous dative of
the second person ra. The change of construction is indicated by two
variants, d.nudimmud-da sal-dúg-ga-zu-dé, 'when thou carest for
Nudimmud', SBH. 690bv. 2 and d·nudimmud-e sal-dúg-ga-zu-dé, CT.
XV 17,203• Other examples in which the construction is evident are:
me-mu bar-zu si-ga-ra-ni-ib-sá-e, 'may my command direct thy soul
aright'~. sá-bi pu1J,rum nibru-(ki) tub-bi ne-ne-in-dúg, 'Tbe council of
Nippur shall settle the affair' 5.
ud d·ás-du-bar iti-sag-ga-ni igi-ma-ni-in-d'tl-a, 'when tbe god of
the new moon revealed to me his favorable sign' '. The dODble infix ni-
in for the interior and exterior objects is clear; if ma be taken for the
subject the oblique form may be explained as the middle reflexive.
In case a verb of this class has a double exterior object then the
prefixes should correctly indicate three objects as in ama tar ·bi su-ma-
mi-ni-ib-gur-ri, 'mother and son it rends asunder' '.
é-sa-gab-a-bi ... kalam-ma igi-mi-ni-ib-gál, 'The temple Sagab
beheld the country'3. The double infix ni·ib does not agree with the
exterior object kalam-ma, which may be due to vowel harmony (for
kalam-e) '.
Passivc § 206. A verb of the first class , if construed in the passive, should
of eompound
verbs. retain the oblique exterior object and the interior object should be-
come the subject. The idea would be 'an object acted upon for or
against another'. No cases of the passive of a verb of this class have
been found, and in fact it is unlikely that the passive of such verbs ever
existed, since it was impossible in these cases to represent the exterior
object as acted upon and wholly needless to represent the interior object
in that relation.
In passives of compounds of the second class the external object be-
comes the subject and the force of the interior object is unrepresented in
the conjugation. en kiba-dúr, 'The high priest \Vas installed', (passim
in dates). kalar¡~'e (¡en-gál-la su-l/e '-a-da-pes-e, 'May the land be
§ 207. In my Syntaxe (229) I defended the existence of a verb The verb me.
'to be' lesse), viz. V1ñe whose essential element m appears in the em-
phatic particle amo This word appears ~s a finite verb; PI-LUL-da
ud-bi-ta e-me-an (var. aj, 'at tbat time there was slavery', SAK. 50 VII
20-8. lu-gal-bi a su-mu im-me a g'tr-mu im-me, 'This man is the son of
my hand, son of my foot is he " CT. IV 4 a 21. zu-su ¿g¿-ne-ne i-nam-
ma, 'whose gaze is toward thee " IV R. 19 a 53. inamma for i-na-me-
a:J. gi-di-da-ni ni e-ám-rne, 'Alone he himself is', SBP. 320, 14.
The imperative with emphatic árn; u-me-árn, 'let it be', SBP.
282, 25. The precative with emphatic ám; sig-zid é-ninnu ga-nam-
me-ám, 'The sacred brick of Eninnu truly it is' (ganarnme for gan-me),
Cyl. A 6,8. Compare also Cyl. A 5, 17.25.
In some cases tbe element cannot be regarded as a verb since we
have such forms as z[-me 'thou art'~, mu-me '1 am", forms which
would be me-zu, me-nm, if me were a real verbo We have rather to do
here with a widely spread assertive element, a decayed form of the
real verbo 1'0 all intents and purposes it still has the force of the verb
'to be' in numerous instances; más nu-me-a, 'which is without in-
terest' 6. a-bi id-g'tr-bi nu-me-a ne-dúr, '( when) its water was not in the
bed of the canal he laid them' 7.
With the optative negative na, the form na-me became namme as
in ki-pad-da nam-me, 'a place known it is not' 8.
1. Cyl. A 11, 9.
2. Cy1. B 19, 14-5.
3. Strike BRÜNNOW'S,no. 398ft
4. Cyl. A 3, 6.
5. lbid , 1. 11.
6. VS. VII 106, 2. V R. 40 a 59, in a relative pbrase, sa la .~ibtum. CL nu-
me-a = ba.lú, II R. 51 no. 2 obv. 31.
7. Br. M. 12942 obv. 5.
8. CT. XIX 17 e 36.
.~_..--.-._",,,,- •..~ - '"'""' -::-:-","-~~~.""".'¡¡;"""","".'~.'~.:- -=---~_._-.-,-.--;:-::---~~.- .•~~
am) im, am. § 208. ám may be attached directly to a no un which forms its com-
plement. alan-ba d·bur-cl·sin kenag uri-(ki)-ma mu-bi-im, "Of this
statue 'Bur-Sin beloved of Ur' is the name" '. ki-sü-bi-im,' it is a la-
mentation' 2. alan-e ... dagesi-ám, 'The statue is diorite'3. i-dé-mu-Sú
a-ba-ám bar-mu-sú a-ba-ám, 'before me who is? behind me who is'?".
d·ba-ú nin-a-ni nin uru-azag-gi ni sif¡-ám, , Sau his lady, is the lady who
herself founded the holy city', Gud. E 3, 16-19.
Gerundive § 209. Tbe verb me when attached to participles forms tbe widely
eonjugation.
used participial conjugation. In this construction the form is ordinar-
ily attached directly to the verbal root by the vowel a and drops the final
e since the accent is lost to the verbal root. Thus we have dú,q-im-me
'he speaks", but more regularly dúg-ám6• Since the verbal root is po-
tentiaIly either active or passive, the participial conjugation may have
either yoice ad libitum, as gü-ni kür-ra-ám,' his cry is changed' 7.
é-ta e-a-ám, it is brought forth from the temple". gis é dul-me-gul
unug-(ki)-ta túm-ám, 'the wood has been brought from the house dul-
me-gul of Erech". dúg-ga-zu zid-dam sa,q-bi-sú e-a-ám, 'thy word
is true, it arises supremely'1O. One ~a of liquor, one /sa of bread, a
half ~w of meal-club-club, a half ~w of wheat bread-gar-ra sá-dúg-ba
gál-la-ám, 'are instituted for the regular offering' ". a-silim gar-ra-
ám, 'she prepares healing water' 12.
§ 211. The assertive force of ám, varo an, caused it to develop into ám emphatic.
§ 212. By construing the verb me, ám, an, with the postfix da Su- Comparative
dam.
merian expressed the idea of comparison i
za-e-da nu-me-a, 'like unto
thee there is none' 7. Li terally 'beside thee none is'. é-nad-da 7J1U-
dü-ne dukkur-sar-da mes azag abzu-a il-la-ám, 'The énadda which he
built was like the bowl8-kursar, which the sacred hero bears in the
nether sea' 9. dub-lá-bi ... la-{¡a-ma abzu-da su-,qa-ám, 'the dublá was
established like Lahama of the nether se<t" o. zid-da bi-da-ba {jub-ba-bi
ídidigna ídburanun-bi-da {¡en-gál túm-túm-ám, 'The zidda placed in the
b'ida was like the Tigris and Euphrates which bring abundance'. Fin-
ally the postfix da was thrown to the end of the phrase and joined to
1. Gud. C 1,18.
2. SAK. 54 hl xn 41·4.
3. Cy!. A 26, 29.
4. RADAU, Nínib, 50,54.
5. SBP. 198,15.
6. TSA. 10 rey. n, 5-7.
7. RADAU, Miscel., no. 4, 11. nu-mi!-a is he re independent, although it has the
dependent inf1ection a.
8. The text has duk before U-la, i. e., at the beginning of the ne¡¡t line.
9. Cy!. A 25, 18.
10. Cy!. A 24, 26-7.
156 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
the verb ám, whence arose the word dam, 'to be like'. bur-azag .
bunin-matJ-banda-a nu BANSUR-gi dam, 'the pure stone bowl was .
like the basin matJ-banda' '. sim-dak é-a su-ga-bi é sutug azag-a nu-
BANS UR-gi dam, 'The stone ointment (jar'?) placed in the temple
was ... like the pure house of anointment>'. kun-an-na ... sir kúr-Sú
igi-sud ila-dam, 'The reservoir of lead ... was like the light which lifts
a. far gaze toward the lands' 3. é-a gis im-ga-ga-ne usum-abzu ur-ba
e-ne dam, 'In the temple the wood-(work) which he constructed was
like the dragon of the nether sea which arises .. .". Here dam follows
the dependent verb e-neo The full construction da ... ám more often
appears with the oblique case, simply, da being omitted. gis-dal ...
an-sig-ga su-lim il-la-ám, 'The gis-dal was like the radiant sky which
bears splendour' 5. é-gi-gur-bi mus-kur-ra úr-ba nad-ám, 'The house
gigurru is like a mountain serpent which lies ... ' 6.
1. Cy1. B 17,7-8.
2. Cy1. A 29,0-6.
3. Ibid., 28, 21-2.
4. Cy1. A 21, 26·7.
5. Cy 1. B 16, 9·10.
6. Cy1. A 22,2.
7. Cy1. B 19,1. CL also ud-dam ken-am-us, 'it is founded like the day', SBH.
7,1. dam appears once explained by ki[ma?] in the syllabar CT. XI 42, Bu. 89-
4-26, 165 rev. 10. 12.
= ... "l •••••
§ 214. Occasional!y the verbal prefixes are postfixed to indicate the Ordinary
imperative
imperative. sum-ma-ab ne-in-bé-es, " , give it', they said" 3. á-zid-da- with suffixes
mu-súgin-na-ab árJúb-bu-mu-sú dárJ-ab, 'At my rightgo, at my Iefthelp' '.
er-da tug-ma-da, 'by the wailing he appeased'". tig-zu gur-an-si-ib,
'turn thy neck unto him' 6. su-gid-ba-an-na-ab,' take hoId of him' 7.
For the ordinary imperative with postfixes see the preceding para-
graph. The imperative when fully inflected is identical with the
indicative with the difference that the verbal root comes first and the
particles follow in the usual order as gar-mu-un-ra-ab, 'return him
unto (his god)' '. The imperative may also be expressed by the ordinary
suffixed conjugation (§ 184). gub-ba-zu,' place " IV R. 21 b 17.
Imper. with u. § 216. The hortative imperative is indicated by the vowel u' placed
before the prefixes 01' suffixed directly to the root, without prefixes 01'
other suffixes. su-na u-me-ni-st'g, , give him over in to his hand) 3. su-nir
kenag-ni u-mu-na-dím mu-zu u-mi-sar, 'His beloved emblem make for
him; thy name write (upon it)' 4. sib sub-sub-bi ú-ba-ni-ib-te-en-te-en,
'The sorrowful shepherd pacify'". ansu dun-úr ú-si-lal, 'hitch the
mule unto it' 6. For ú suffixed, cL nigin-ú, 'repent' 7. tug-ú,' repose',
IV R. 21* b 32.
u optative. § 217. Prefixed u also lends the force of the optative of wish 01' in-
tention and is often identical in meaning with the precative gen (§ 219).
sasus-gal-ni ú-ni-sus su-mag g'tr-mag-ni an-ta /Jen-mal-mal nam-galu-
kalag uru-na su-ú-na-zig, 'may his great net overwhelm them, may he
put his great hand and foot (upon them) from on high, the men ofhis
city may he enrage against him". ganam síl-bi-da sí! ama-bi-da u-
mu-un-na-an-tar, , Ewe from her lamb, lamb from her mother truly thou
dividest' 9. a-a-zud·en-ki-ge ú-si-in-SAL, 'Tby father Ea truly will send
1. IV R. 17a 55.
2. Written ~TTT~,< and <T~IEll Only the last form (u) in the early
periodo
3. IV R. 19 b 18.
4. Cyl. A 6,22-3.
5. SBP. 286, 8. The double infix ni-ib refers to a single object, a false construc-
tion due to analogy simply. See above p. 152 n. 3.
6. Cyl. A 6, 18.
7. CT. XV 13, 1.
8. SAK. 40 VI 22-7.
9. SBP. 330, 8-9.
THE VERB 159
§ 219. The future emphatic, and optative oí wish and intention, gen, ge ete.
1. SBH. 55 rev. 6.
2. ne for elassieal nado
3. IV R. 13 b 38.
4. SAK. 50 XL
5. Ibid., 54117.
6. The eonstruction demands dn¿ng¿rsu ·ha-ha lugal-ma-ra.
7. Gud. B 8,31-4.
8. SAK. 54 1 2.
9. ASKT. 129, 31.
10. ANDRAE,Anu-Tempel, p. 92.
11. This eOIlstruetion was first explained by THUREAU-DAl:lGIN,
SAK. 52 note g).
160 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
gen
§ 220 The precative force of ¡jen easily adapted itself to conditional conditional.
and purpose constructions. For the conditional, see K. 41 rev. 14, na-
an-na-iur-iur dé-en-im-mi-dúg-a la-bi mu-un-kur-e, " If 1 say '1 will not
1. Ibid., 14.
2. Cy!. A 2, 14.
3. Ibid., 9, 9.
4. SBP. 290, 5.
5. CT. IV 4 A 24.
6. Bab., nI pl. XVI 7.
7. CT. XVI 36, 8.
8. IV R. 14 no. 2 rev. 1. (Here ni-ib is employed for a single object.)
9. V R. 25 e 32.
10. CT. XVI 26, 23.
11. OBI. 87 III 34.
12. IV R. 24 no. 3, 24.
GRAM. SUMo 11
162 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
enter into it', its beauty consumes me". For a dependent clause oí
purpose see CT. XIII 36, 19, dingir-ri-e-ne ki-dúr sag-dug-ga dé-in-
dúr-l'u-ne-es-a-ma nam-lú-gal-lu ba-dü, 'That the gods might abide in
a dwel1ing which rejoices the heart, he created mankind'. uku bir-
bir-ra a-ba-ab-dú-dú 1 gul-li-es ki-in-gi uri-(ki)-ge dÍ7n-me-ir gün-gün-
e-ne i-dé mu-un-si-in-bar-ám, 'That I might gather the scattered people
gladly the great gods oí Sumer and Akkad looked upon me' 2.
--
THE VERB 163
he had built for him Eninnu his beloved temple, he relaxed his mind',
Gud. B 7, 26-8.
f The subjunctive is likewise employed in causal phrases; mu asag
•• PA-lugal sá-nu-ub-dúg-ga-as 2 gtn kú-babbar ... in-na-an-búr, 'Be-
cause the field does not equal in value the right to the royal PA'-office,
he has given as redemption two shekels of silver', POEBEL,no. 37, ]2.
To illustrate the difference between the simple adjectival phrase and
the subjunctive phrase let us compare the following sentences : tukundi
lú-sag-gá-e galu túg-mal-e-ne ba-dig,' Suppose that a slave, whom a
man has hired, die' '. Here we have the simple suffixed secondary
conjugation tug-mal-e-ne indicated by ne in a purely descriptive phrase.
mu Ammiditana lugal-e lamas-lamas mas-sug-ga-ge nam-til-la-
ni-sú su-á(m) 3-má-mú-ám guskin rus-a nCí-lj;al-la-bi-da-ge su-á(m) 2
1. V R. 25a 13-16.
=:. árn certainly represents the oblique case here.
3. ás, he re with a persono
4. VATh. 670 in EA VI pt. 3, p. 47.
5. The same construction in VATh. 1200, date formula of Samsuditana (v. POE-
:BEL. p. 106), ni-lag-gi-es-a etc.
164 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
discourse. a-na ib-ag-a nu-un-zu, 'He knows not what he has done' '.
ba-bi lugal-dúr-dug-e nu-u-na-an-sum-ma-a... nam-erim-bi in-kud,
'Lugal-durdug took oath that he had not given this gift' 2. ud-kúr-(;ú
lu lu-ra gil nu-ma-ma-ne-a in-pad-de-es, 'In the future man against
man will not complain - they swore' 3.
The conditional subjunctive is rare since Sumerian conceives of a
condition as already realised, yet the construction does occur as in
dé-en-im-mi-dúg-a, 'if I say', K. 41 rey. 14 (cited in § 220). ud nu-
sú-sam-sam-a-a, 'If ever he does not purchase' 4. galu é-ninnu-ta im-
ta-ab-e-e-a, 'If ever any one remove5 it from Eninnu', Gud. B. 8, 6.
1. IV R. 22 a 54.
2. RTC. 295.
3. POEBEL, op. laudo no. 37, 17. rOn this subjunetive see F. THUREAU·DANGIN,
in Flarilegium Melchía/' de Vagüé, p. 597; ef. ZA. XXIV 385].
4. SAK. 52 note i).
5. CT. XII 6 a 5.
6. First pointed out by UNGNAD, ZA. XVII 362.
7. SAK. 52 XI 25.
THE VERB 165
the great net of Enlil ... overwhelm him' 1. ud-da dúg-dúg-na nig-
erim ba-mal-mal giskak su-su-na-súgaz, 'If he against his oaths do
wickedly let one thrust a wedge into his teeth' 2. In legalliterature
this construction is regularIy introduced by tukundi 3: tukundi dam-e
dam-ma gul ba-an-da '-gig-a-ni dam-mu nu me-en ba-an-na-an-dúg íd-
da-sú ba-an-sum-mu, "If a wife to her husband, with whom she hate-
fuUy conducts herself, say 'my husband thou art not', inta the river
one shaU throw her" 5 •
In omen texts this construction is introduced by tíl (H) or tal (T),
the ordinary root for gamaru 'be complete'. tí! bantu ana silJirtisu
martu sa!J,rat sipurussu etc., 'Provided that the liver is entirely sur-
rounded by the gall-bladder, then the oracle is etc.' 6. tal galu dúg-
gar-a an-ni iSten-su ipulSu kasad f¡ibüti, 'Provided thata man in a
dream-( the god) answers, him once "yes", there will be attaining of
desire' 7. By convention omens taken from the liver ordinarily begin
with H but omens taken from the stars and heavenly bodies begin
with r. In any case the Semitic translation would be summa.
Tenses. § 224. The present and future are indicated by the vowels e, (with i
the exception noted in the preceding paragraph). Independent forms
without a vowel ending are naturally supposed to be in the past tense,
either, pluperfect, present perfect, or imperfecto ne-in-dug=utib and
ne-in-dug-gi=utáb. The past of the plural is indicated by ending es,
the present and future plural by the ending e-ne, neo ne-in-dug-gi-es=
utibbu, ne-in- dug- gi- ne= utabbu' '. ni-agá-e, 'he will measure'·.
gar ni-kur-e = akalam usakal, 'he shall cause him to be fed' 3. uru-Sú
nigin-e, '1 will go to the city' 4. ni-da,' he has built' 5. ni-da-da,' he
had built' '.
I give here several ~xamples for the plural since the tense significa-
tions of es and ene have not been gene rally recognized. iJul-la ne-in-
gar-ri-es (lJidáta iskunu), 'joy they instituted', IV R. 18 a 19. su-clü-
a-ni su-ne-in-ti-es (J;;assuilJ;;ú), 'his hand they took', 11 R. 8 e 48. su-
dü-a-ne-ne su-ba-ab-te-ga-ne (J;;assunu ilaJ;;J;;ú),'their hands they take',
11 R. 8 e 52. an-na an-ni-bi-dé im-ma-an-sir-i-es, 'Unto high heaven
they have journeyed (isdudu)', CT. XVI 43,68. kalag-ra mu-un-gí-gi-
ne ki-el mu-un-dub-dub-bu-ne! 'The man they strike, the maid they
beat', = icllu isabbifu ardatwn inappa,~u, IV R. 16 b 10 f. a-sag PA-
lugal-clím-nam lü-lü-ú-ra in-si-in-gar-ri-es, 'The field for the right to
the royal PA's oflice, man with man they have exchanged', POEBEL,
37, 10 f. 10 gin é-da-a ... ki-bi-gar-ra-bi-Sú mu-na-an-sum-mu-ne,
'Ten sixtieths sal' of plot with house they will give in exchange', ibid.,
11, 8. ud-laír-sú lú-lú-ra gr'c-nu-ma-mú-ne-a ... in-pad-dé-es, 'They
have sworn that they will not complain one against the other for ever',
ibid., 37, 17. nam-ság-ga mu-tar-ri-és-a su na-mu-cla-ni-bal-e-ne (see
§ 225).
In late texts the curious future plural e-mes occurs, being a combin-
1. ASKl'. 53,69-72.
2. el'. VIII 42 e 11, etc.
3. K. 6044 III 20.
4. Cyl. A 3,18.
5. lbid., 30, 1.
6. SAK. 54 t) 1 9.
THE VERB 167
ation of the future singular e and the late plural ending mes. in-pad-
e-mes (damú), 'they will swear', II R. 33 no· 2, 5. Compare su-ba-an-
ti-(g)-mes, 'they have received', and ni-lal-e-mes, 'they wil1 pay', in the
same text, TH.-DANGIN, Lett. et contrats, no. 8211. 9.15.
The rule for the plural observed in grammatical texts appears to
have been often violated in practice. Thus we have in-si-sam-e-ne,
'they have bought' '. i-im-nag-nag-ne nu-mu-un-ne-si-sig-es,' Though
they drank yet it satiated them not' 2. mu-na-sü-e-ne,' they have ap-
pointed him' 3.
§ 225. The regular conjugation, as we have seen, has no means of The plural.
indicating either the person or the number of the subject, by means of
the prefixes. To indicate the person we should have expected the per-
sonal pronouns to have been suffixed, but such a method would have
made the verbal form identical with the dependent conjugation (§ 184).
The regular conjugation remained, therefore, absolutely destitute of
indication of persono
To indicate the plural the nominal inflection ene would naturally
be employed. But in case of the plural of verbs another inflection es
arose correctly employed only for past tenses (§ 224), whereas ene (ne after
vowels) ordinarily appears only in the present and future. This distinction
appears in the classical inscriptions ; nam-ság-ga' mu-tar-ri-és-a su na-
mu-da-ni-bal-e-ne, 'The destiny which they have decreed may they not
change". dingir-gal-gal si7'-bur-la-(ki)-a-ge-ne gú-ma-si-si-ne, 'The
great gods of Lagash will assemble there". im-da-su-ub-ba-as, 'they
hastened' 7. su-ba-ti-és,' they have received' 8. sib udu-slg-1w-ge-ne
azag bi-gar-ri-és, 'The shepherds of the wool-bearing sheep ...
Negative nu. § 226. The negative of the indicative is nu (em ployed also incor-
rectly with the subjunctiveofindirectdiscourse); temporal, conditional and
adjectival clauses when conveying an attitude of certainty on the part
of the writer 01' speaker are negated by nn. As in the case of other
prefixed modal particles U, l¡en, /le, the subject may be omitted after the
negative. di-kud-a-na ¿u-nu-baZ-e, 'one do es not change his decision' 10.
§ 227. na the oblique form of nu is originally employed only with Negative na,
nam.
reference to the future. \Ve have already seen that the negative of the
precative and optative of wish is indicated by na with the total omission
of gen. In fact na is translated into Semitic by the particle of defence
ai" 'may it not be !' igi-na-si-bar-ri,' may he not look upon (it)".
gasan-bi-ta nam-ma-ra-e, 'Unto tbe queen let non e ascend', SBP.
284,16.
The negative form nam 5 has ordinarily the same force as nao Clas-
sical usage demands the negative na in indirect discourse. Enlil said
to Ningirsu, uru-me-a nig-dú szg-nam-e, 'In my city seemliness exists
not' 6. na-an-na-tur-tur dé-en-im-mi-dúg-a, 'If I say that I will not
enter into it'7. s¿r-sag-e na-utud, "the first lament is - 'it creates
not' "8. After a verb of fearing na has a positive sense; ud-ba imi-ba-
teg ba e-ta M-e, 'Then 1 dreaded that 1 should go forth to go up yon-
del" '. Examples occur in which na appears with the indicative ; espec-
ially difficult are the two passages ma- gúr-ra-na g'tr nam-mi-gub, Cyl.
A 2, 4 ; 4, 3, which should mean, 'in her boat may she not place her
foot' ; the entire passage will be found in the chrestomathy at the end of
this volume.
1. Cyl. A 4, 21-
2. Gud. B 8, 26.
3. Sm. 11 obv. II = Creation VII 18.
4. Gud. B 9, 18.
5. The origin of the consonant In in this form is obscure. For suggestions see
Synta:JJe 272 n. 7.
6. Cyl. Al, 4. The discourse of Enlil ll. 4-9 has six negative verbs all with
nam.
7. SBP. 6,27.
8. Ibid., 332, 9.
9. Ibid., 4,n.
170 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
ba-ra.
§ 228. From the noun bar, 'side', 'outside', Sumerian derived the
adverb ba-ra, 'beside', 'on the outside' " and the preposition 'beside' 2.
From the meaning 'without', 'in lack of', the negative optative particle
ba-ra arose; g'tr-ne-ne g'tr-a-ni'-ia
ba-ra-an-ieg-ga-e-ne, 'Their feet to
ki-sur-ra ... ba-ra-mu-bal-e, 'The
his feet let them not bring nigh' '.
boundary let him not cross over'~. The fundamental sense of depriva-
iion appears in, dam ur-galu-ge ba-ra-an-zig-ne, 'The wife from the
bosom of man they remove " CT. XVI 15 a 36.
bara must not be confused with the verbal prefixes
[The negative
ba-ra composed of ba and infix ra, as bar-ia-bi-sú ga-ba-ra-an-gub-ba,
'May he stand aside' '. J
1. ba-m nigin-c (ina abatí issanibburu), 'on the outside they are restrained',
CT. XVII 35, 45.
2. ba-ra-na = ullanussú, 'without him', K 2605 obv. 7. bar udu-lág-ka azag-
bi gar-ri-és, 'In Iack of a white sheep they brought silver'. SAK. ~7h) III 19.
3. Sic! We expect nao
4. ASKT. 90, 70.
5. SAK. 16 XX, 17-9.
6. ASKT. 98, 42.
CHAPTER X
Conjunctions' .
§ 229. The original method of indicating the idea of the co-ordina- bi, bao
tion of two neuter nouns consists in attaching the definite neuter article
bi, ba to the second noun, by which means the language indicates in an
agglutinative manner the notion of the unity of two concepts in one
compound expression. idigna buranún-bi, 'the Tigris and Euphrates' 2.
This suffix has the power of consolidating several preceding nouns into
a single construction. gisgalub gal-gal gisesi gisabba-bi, 'great auluppu-
wood, usü-wood and abba-wood' 3. udu sil-bi ú-bi a-dím ne-dúr, 'The
sheep and lambs repose also', SBP. 318, 16. úr s'lg-bi izi ú-ne-tag, 'the
back and face with fire touch' A. Traces of the oblique case ba are
rare, this form being replaced even in classical texts by the direct case
bi which was used indifferently; the force of the case endings was
then lost. Likewise the original rule of employing bi, ba for neuter
objects and ni, na (see the folIowing paragraph) as the conjunction of
persons, is disregarded even in classical texts so that we find examples
like the following; gün-an-sú 49 galu se-ba tür mag-ba, 'As the grand
total 49 men, apportioned with grain, small and great' 5. dingir galu-
ba-ge 6 nam-mu-un-da-an-búr-ra, 'God and man are not delivered' 7.
kalag ki-el-bi lal-e- ne, 'Male and maid they bind' '. an-ki-bi-ta,' in
heaven and earth', (passim).
1. IV 19 a 13.
2. Gud. St. B 7, 32.
3. Gud. CyI. B 17. 20. Notice that the verb is not plural since the conjunctipn
unites the nouns into a single concepto
4. Ibid, 17, 2l.
5. SAK. 86 1) II l.
6. Gud. eyI. A 17,19.
7. V R. 50 a 21.
8. Gud. Cyl. A 26, 13-4.
9. Date of Samsuditana.
10. NIK. 194 obv. 15.
OONJUNOTIONS 173
themselves from the nouns from which they were derived that they are
capable of subordinating a phrase with the oblique inflection or
with a detached suffix discussed in the following chapter. Subordi-
nated phrases are marked by the suffixed conjugation, by the suffixes
1. § 131.
2. SBP. 330 rev. 3·4.
3. IV R. 19 b 1I.
4. VAT. 607 in BA. VI pt. 3 p. 47.
5. For egi,. § 50.
6. The text has gal.li-es ság-Ság. V R. 62 a, 60-3.
7. {le in this passage may be independent of the conjunction bi·da marking
the subject, § 140.
8. IV R. 29 a 19.
174 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
ni, na, bi, ba or by the oblique inflection a. (§§ 183, 223). ki gIr-gín-
na-mu ga-an-si-il, '\Vheresoever 1 go may 1 prosper' '. ud d·enlil ...
nam-lugal kalam-ma e-na·sum-ma-a, '\iVhen Enlil gave him the sove-
reignty of the land' '.
en, enna. § 236. Sumerian evidently possessed a noun ene, enne meaning
'attainment', 'fulness', whence are derived the indefinite relative pro-
noun ena, ana (p. 113) and the adverbial conjunction, 'until', (adi) 'as
often as', 'inasmuch as', enna, en. The same root appears in the
compound preposition en ... M, 'up to', 'unto'. en ará ilim-kaJn-ás
ha-{;ul, 'for the ninth time it was destroyed' 6. enna ... M may govern
an infinitive, a construction which replaces an adverbial clause. en-n a
é-ta til-la-ás úr e-a ab-mal-mal ur-ri ki-in ah-aga-e, 'As long as one
lives in the house, he shall build the roof of the house, (and) shall con-
struct the foundation on the earth', II R. 15 a 9-11. en-M a-ga-bi-sLÍ,
'until forever', SBP. 332,26. The postfix sLÍ is then dropped and en
employed alone as, en sar-ra nam-nú-in-sil, 'unto the earth they flee in
§ 237. By compounding the preposition en with the word for 'time', en-ad·da.
ud-da, the compound sub-ordinating particle en-ud-da, 'as long as',
arose, as yet found only in the phrase, en-e ud-da al-til-la narn-mag-zu
ge-ib-bi, 'As long as he lives may he speak of thy greatness' '.
§ 238. By repeating enna as a suffix the correlative 'either ... or' enna..... enna.
was obtained; tu-ra narn-d"[g lil-lá-en-na ki-el-lil-lá-en-na á-s"[g nam-
tar-gul ge-a, 'Be it sickness, death, either the lillü male or the lillü
female, disease, the evil' narntaru". lil-ud-tar-en-na 1f;al-lil-la-en-na
ki-el-lá-en-na, 'either the demon lil-ud-tar, or the 1f;al-lillü or the maid
(of the wind '), B.M. 93084 rev. 8 f. The form en-na-as which is of
course original, being compounded of en-na and .M, occurs in en-na ba-
ra-an-ta-dal-en-na-ás en-na ba-ra-an-ta-zig-en-na-ás, , As long as thou
either fliest not away or thou art not removed' 6.
1. HROZNY, Ninib 10 rey. 7. Both K. 8531 and Rm. 126 read ~~ = itarra,
but Sm. 1891, 4 (Bayloniaca, vol. IV) explains f]al'-f]w' by ittarrira. It may be
that ~ is an error for ~ kul'.
2. Il R. 15 a 33-5. [manalJta,' expense' is from the root analJu, as the Sumer-
ian á-kas-sá shews. /ws-sá =
naba, 'to repose " is an error to be removed from
the lexicons.]
3. IV R. 20 obv. 5.
4. IV B.. 20 no. 2 rey. 7; 28 no. 1 rey. 20; 17 b 4.
5. CT. XVI 4,155. A variant has lil-lá-e-ne ki-el-e-ne, CT. XVII 481. 163.
6. Ibid. 11 b 56 f. The same construction in 34,222 with the first ennas omito
ted.
CHAPTER XI
Adverbs.
Various § 241. Other adverbs are: a-dÍtn, 'so, thus', (ki-am, ki). a-dím
simple
adverbs. mu-un-iíl-li-en-ne, 'thus they accomplish' 4. egir-hi,' afterward', 'at
Iast', Gud. ey!. B 24, 17. egír-hi' behind'; egir-hi galu-ra us-sa,
'from behind they stand against the man'. a-ha,' and then' ; é-a-ni nig
ud-ul-lí-a-ia ha-da a-ha ha-sun, 'her temple which was built since
ancient days and then had been destroyed', SAK. 214 d) 15-6. á-ha
gis-ne-gar, 'and then he made sacrifices (?)' '.
Interrogative § 242. The interrogative ad verb for 'where'? and 'when'? is me,
adverb.
evidently identicaI with me the interrogative adjective me (p. 111) 6.
1. IV R. 17 a 38; bul' =
asru, is connected with the root bul, 'to tremble with
fear.'
2. V R. 62 a 39.
3. Ibid. 43.
4. SER, 31, 21.
5. Gud. CyI. A 17,26.
6. Notice that the interrogative adjective is translated by j;au and the adverb
by j;anu 'where ?'
ADVERI3S 177
The simple form me-e only in syllabars. me-a za-e me-en, 'where art
,hoa'? me-a-e-ne, 'where are they". Strengthened by ta the form
[l€i.:omes me-a-ta ; me-a-ta met-e gen, 'where am 1 truly'? The variant
ma-(l-({ occurs in m(l-a-a di-di-in, 'whither shall 1 go?" uku-zu ma-a-
11 ni-lá!J-es, 'Thy people, whither have they taken them?' 3 Strength-
eIlied by bi the form becomes me-a-bi,. imin-bi me-a-bi ü-tu-ud-da-a-
¡r:i'¡e-~, ; The seven, where have they been born' 4? Also ma-a-bi occurs
jin m(l-a-a-bi ud-me-na-dim, 'Where as in the days of long ago '1' ,
Strengthened by the element en-na, en, 'up to', 'unto', arose the
form me-en-na, me-en, 'how long?', 'until vvhen '1' (adi mati). me-en-
"l,Q ga/san-ma i-de-zu nigin-na-ge, 'How long, Oh my lady, is thy face
turned away?' me-na túg-mal !Ju-mu-ra-ab-bi,
6 '" vVhen repose?'
may he speak unto thee" 7.
This form so far lost the force of the element en that the element Sú
ts attaehed; me-na-sú, 'how long?' 8
1. These two constructions are slightly different. In the former the indepenclent
i:'rrn of the pronoun is employecl with the verb me, 'to be'. In the second case
me-a is treatecl as a noun with possessive suftlx.
2. SEP. 78.5.
3. SER. 110, 35.
4. IV R. 15 b 19.
5. SEP. 78, 5.
6. IV R. 29** rev. 7.
7. Ibid. 18 b 13.
8. SER. 45, ~7.
12
A SELECTION OF TEXTS
1
The Dream of Gudea 1 •
COL. 1
Ul) UJl an-ki-a nam tal'-ra-da' (2) Sil" (1) When in determining fate in heaven
bUI'-la-ki-e me-gal-la sag-an-sú mi-
and earth (2) he exalted Lagash
lli-ib-ila' (3) dingil'cn_lil_e en dingil'
with great decrees, (3) Enlil upon
nin-gir-su-sú igi-zid-mu-si-bcu·. (4)
the lord Ningirsu 100 ked faithfulIy.
Ur11-me-a nig-dú slg-nam-e (5) sag (4) "In my city propriety exists noto
tig-bl: nam-gí (6) sag 4 clingil'en_lil_ (5) The waters return not to their
id tig-bi nam-gí(7) sag-tig-bi ¡¡am- bank, (6) the waters of Enlil return
{jí not to their bank, (7) the waters re-
tmn not to their bank,
~81a-ge en nam-mulní-il-il (9)so;] dingil' (8) the high flood gleams not fulI of
en-lil-la-ge ídidigna-ám a·du!J-ga strength, (9) the waters of Enlillike
nam-al'a. (10) é-e lugal-bi gll-ba-de the Tigris flow not with fresh wa.
in) é-ninnü an-ki-a sig-e mu-ag-!Jc" ter. (10) The temple its king shalI
proclaim, (11) Eninnü in heaven and
earth he shalI cause to arise in splen-
dour."
1. Cylinder A I-VII, 7.
2. da circumstantial § 98.
3. ;>a9-il, 'to exalt', compound yero with direct object § 204. Compare Cyl. B
16_ 3, é-e me-gal-la sag-mi-ni-ib-il, 'the temple according to great decrees he erect-
""l".
4_ sag, 'waters, flood', from the root seg, 'to rain'. The 'waters of Enlil'
refe!!' to fue canal which supplied Lagash from the Tigris, in modern Arabic the
Sl'wtHm-Sil. and referred to in the date of the 33rd year of Hammurabi as the
""c1;;r-Jj'i <lora-a d·en-lil-lá, 'bringing the floods of Enlil', POEBEL, no. 10, and see his
note, page 6=3. His translation is perfectly correcto
5. For the indication of the future v. § 224.
180 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
(12) pa-te-si galu gis-pi-túg'-dagal-kam' (12) The patesi whoisa manofvast under·
gis-pi-túg ni-mal-mal. (13) nig-gal- standing, exereised understanding.
gal.la su-mi-ni-mú-mú3• (14) gud- (13) Great things he burnt as offering.
clú más-dú-du" si-im-sá-sá-e' (14) Seemly oxen and kids he eaused
to be brought direetly.
(15) síg nam-tal'-ra 6 sag-mu-si·ih-il. (16) (15) He exalted the briek of destiny. (16)
é azag du-dé tig-bi mu-si-ib-zig7 (17) To build the holy temple he elevated
lugal-ni-ir ud-dé mas-giga-ka (18) it toward him (i. e., Ningirsu). (17)
yu-de-a en din!JiI'nin-gil'-su_l'a iyi Unto his lord during the day and at
mu-ni-dug-ám (19) c-a-ni dü-ba mu- midnight (18) Gudea unto the lord
na-duy (20) é-ninnü me-hi !Jal-gal- Ningirsu gazed. (19) He eommand-
la-ám (21) i!Ji-mu-na-ni-gar. ed him eoneerning the building of
his temple, (20) upon Eninnu whose
deerees are great (21) he lookeq.
(22) g¡¿-dc-a sa!J-!Ja-ni sud-du-am (23) (22) Gudea whose heart is profound (23)
dU!J-e mi-ni-kus-Sá (24) ya-na ya- sighed these words, (24) "Verily,
na-ah-du!J !Ja-na !Ja-na-ab-dú!J (25) verily 1 will speak, verily, verily 1
dúg-ba ga-mu-da-gin. (26) sib-m~ will speak, (25) wi th this eommand 8
nam-nun-ni sag-ma-ab-sl!J (27) ni!J 1 will go. (26)A shepherd am 1, unto
mas gi!J-!Jc IJw-ah-túm-a-má9 (28) me hath one ¡<iven majesty. (27)
sag-bi nu-zu. (29) da!Jal-mu'O ma- That whieh midnight hath brought
mu-mu ga-na-túm. unto me - (28) its meaning 1 under-
stand noto (29) Unto my mother
my dream verily 1 will reporto
3. Cf. mu = ~==@J
= (tamu, 'to burn', and the variant
, offering '. Notiee the dative objeet of the eompound verb su-mú-mú,
~~W= r
Babyl.,
il,ribu,
1I 72.
4. <==T.t- ~T
also 18, 7 in mas-dú-du and Gyl. B 6, 2 in me-dú-du, eL § 153,
(augment du.)
5. See § .221, (for independent ending, e).
6. § 78.
7. Gf. SBP. 92,11 tig-ziy-ga-ám, (when he lifts his head'. CL also Gyl. B. 11, 17.
8. Referring to lines 19-20.
9. Notiee the choice of the postflx to indica te the dative of the flrst person; the
subjunctive after a verb of thinking is indicated by a, see § 221.
10. Sic! where we expect dagal-m {l- ra.
un
COL. II
(1) ensi azag-zu me-te-na-mu (2) dingirni_ (1) My prophetess instrueted in what is
na SAL+ KV dingirsirara-(ki)1_ta_ proper, (2) my Nina, the sister who
mu (3) sag-bi ga-ma-pad-dé. (4) md- is goddess in Sirara, (3) verily its
gúr'-ra-na gLr nam'-mi-gub 15) meaning will announee unto !Le".
ul'U-ni nina-(ki)-sú id nina-(ki) gin- (4) In her hoat she embarked noto
a má mu-ni-rig. (6) id bU gul-la-e (5) In her eity Nina, upon the river
kúr tUl' ni-si-il-e (7) ba-gá é id bil- flowing at Nina, she eaused her boat
Id a-e im-ti-(g)-a ta (g) nig-gis ne- to remain. (6) The river bright and
tag a-müs ni-de-(b) (9) lugal ba-gd- glad, morning and evening rejoieed.
ra mu-na-gin sub mu-na-túm (10) ur- (7) In the Baga, house 01 the bright
sag ug-zig-ga gab-su-gar nu-túk river, where water is taken, (8) a sa-
(11) dingirnin-gir-zuabzu-a [ta] l (12) erifiee he made, pure water he pour-
nibru-(ki)-a nir-gál-[e] (13) ur-sag ed out. (9) Unto the lord 01 Baga
ma-a dúg su-zid ga-mu-ra-ab-gar. he went, a prayer he brought unto
(14) dingirnin.gir_zu é-zu ga-mu. him. (10)" Hero, raging panther,
ra-dü. (15) me su-ga-mu-ra-ab-dú. whom none can oppose, (11) Oh Nin-
(16) SAL + KV-zu dumu erida-(ki)- girsu, who (arises) from the nether
gi tud-da (17) nir-gál' me-te-na nin sea, (12) in Nippur thou art glorious.
ensi dingir_ri_ne_ge (18) dingirnina (13) Oh hero, what eommand shall 1
SAL + KV dingir sirara-(ki)-ta mu perform lar thee laithlully? (14)
(19) gLr-bi ga-ma-mal-mal Ningirsu, thy house 1 will build lor
thee. (15) The deerees fittingly 1
will perform lor thee. (16) Thy sis-
ter, the ehild whom Eridu created,
(17) wise in what is fitting, lady
praphetess 01 the gads, (18) my
Nina (thy) sister, gaddess in Sirar::t,
(19) may she em bar·k. "
(20) [Jú-de-a-ni gis-ba-tuk-am (21) lagal- (20) Gudea was heard. (21) His prayer
a-ni zür-zür-rd-zu- ni gú-de-a-as" (22) lram Gudea, (22) his king, the lord
COL. III
(1) kalam-ma til-la (2) sír-rá-zu 3 uru- (1) glvmg life to the land (of Sumer),
na (3) nin clagal sir-bur-la-(ki) ki- (2) enlightener of her city (3), lady,
gar-ra-me. (4) igi-uku-Sú ú-¡gi·bar- mother who founded Lagash art
m-zu ní a gen-gál-la-ám (5) sul-ziel thou. (4) lf thou lookest upon the
galu igi-mu-bar·ra·zu nam·til mu- people there is abundance in plenty.
na-suel. (6) elagal nu-tuk-me dag:d- (5) The pious hero whom thou
mu zí-me (7) a nu-tuk-me a-mu zí- lookest upon - life is lengthened
me (8) a-rnu sag-ga su-ba-ni'gúg unto him. (6) A mother 1 have
una-a' ni-tuci-zu4 (9) c1ingirga_tum_ not, my mother thou art; (7) a father
dug-mu azag-zu c!ug-gaám (10) gig- 1 have not, my mother thou arto
a ma-ni·nael (11) gisgir ..gal'1I11l me (8) My father made evil (his) heart
za{j·mu nw-us. (12) gibil bar-a {ja{- (against me); in the gl'eat chamber
la dü-a-mc (13) "ig-sa{j ma·si-ni-gál, thou hast nurtured me. (9) Oh my
.(14) an-dúl dagal-mc gis·gi{j-"u,Sú Gatumdug, thou al't wise in good-
(15) ní ga-ma-si-ib-tc{j (16) su-mago ness. (10) lf in the night 1 recline
za sCl-ga á-zid·da-bi myself, (11) my great sword thou art;
at my sic1ethoustandest. (12) "Vith a
shiningtorch ... thou. (13)The breath
al lile thou createst for me. 114) The
protection 01 a mother art thou.
Thy shac10w (15) 1 reverence. (16)
"Vith thy mighty hand whose faith-
lul power is supreme,
(17) nin-nw elingirga_tam_dug má-l'a ga- (17) Oh my lady, Gatumdug me thou
--L ma-u-sub (18) uru-sú ni·gín·e iskim-
wilt make humble. (18) Unto the
1. § 198.
2. For ki-nad, 'chamber al repose', v. RADAU, Miscel., no. 2, 31-
3. Literal1y, 'knower 01 light'.
4. According to Th.-Dangin both signs are uncertain.
A SELECT10N OF TEXTS 183
mu ge-sag (19) kill'-a-ta 1 il-la nina- city 1 will go. May my omen be
(hiJ-sú (20) tí-dúg-sag-gazu igi-Sú' favorable. (19) Unto Nina who rises
ga-ma-gín (21) alad·Ság-ga·zu grl'-a above the world (20) may thy good
ga-mu-da-gín (22) ga-na ga-na·ab- genius go belore me. (21) May thy
dúg (23) ga-na ga-na-ab.dúg (24) good angel go at (my) he el. (22)
dúg-ba ga-rnu-da'gín (25) dagal-mu Verily, vetily 1 will speak; (23)
rna-mu-mu ga-na-túm (26) ensi azag- verily, verily 1 will speak. (24)
::tume-te-na-mu (27) dingirnina SAL With these words l willgo. (25)
+ KU dingil' sirara-(ki)-ta-mu (28) Unto my mother my dream 1 will
sag-bi ga-ma-pad-dé. (29) gil-de-a- bring. (26) My phrophetess, wise
ni gis-ba-tuk-am. in what is fitting, (27) my Nina, the
sister, goddess in Sirara, (~8) its
meaning verily wil! reveal." (29)
Gudea was heard.
COL. IV
(1) nin-a-n~ zUI'·zül'-ra-::tu-ni (2) gil-de- (1) Bis lady, (2)holy Gatumdug received
a-as azag dingirgu-titm-dug-gi su- from Gudea his prayer.
ba-si,ti-(g).
(3) ma-gúr-ra-na grr nam-rni-gub (4) (~) In her boat she embarked noto (4)
uru-ni nina-(ki)-sú kar nin-(ki)-na- At her city i'\ina, unto the quay 01
ge ma ne-us. (5) pa·te-si·ge kisal (the cityJ i\ina, she left the boat
dingirsirara-ta.ha sag an-su mi-ni- fixerl. (5) The patesi in the eourt of
il (6) nig-gis ne-lag a-mus ni-de-(b) the goddess 01 Sirara lilted (his) head
(7) dingir/~ina mu-na-gín sub mu- heavenward. (6)A sacrificehe made,
na - túm (8) dingirnina nin en' pure water he poured out. (7)
nin me an-kal an-hal-la' (9) nin Unto i'\ina he went, a prayer he
dingiren-lil-dím nam lar-tar-ri (10) brought. (8)" Oh i'\inalady of priest-
dingil'nina dúg-ga-zu zid-dam (11) ly rites, lady of precious decrees.
sag-bi-súe-a-am (12) ensi dingil'·rc- (9) Oh lady like Enlil deciding fates,
ne me (13). nin kill'-kur-ra me ama (10) Oh Nina, thy word is faithful;
dúg-mu ud-da ma-mu-da (14) sag (11) above all it excelso (12) Pro-
ma-mu-da-ha galu as-ám an-dím phetess of the gods art thou, (13)
ri-ba-ni mistress of the lands art thou. Oh
mother let me relate now the
dream. (14) The meaning of the
dream (1 kllow not). There was a
man - like heaven (was) his form,
(15) ki-dím ri-ba-ni (16) a-e/é sag-ga-ni- (15) like earih was his form; (16)
Sú dingir_ra_am (17) á-ni-sú dingir as to the crown of his heael a goel
imir-e/ugud-(musen)-e/am (18) sig- was he; (17)- at his siele was the
ba-ni-a-súa-ma-ru-kam (19) zid-da storm birel; (18) at his feet was the
gub-na ug ní-nacl-nad (20) é-a-ni burricane; (19) al his right anel at
dü-da ma-an-dúg (21) sag-ga-ni nu his left a panther lay, (20) Be com-
mu-zu. (22) ba bbar ki-sar-ra ma-ta- maneleel me to builel his temple.
e (23) sa~ as-ám a-ba mc.a-nu a-ba (21) Bis meaning 1 unelerstand noto
me-a-ni (24) sag-ga e ki lJinda mu-ag (22) The sun arose from the worlel.
(25) gi dub-baazad-déca' su-im-mi- (23) Thero was awoman, who was
dug (26) dub mu~2 dug-ga im-mi-gá~ it not, who was it? (Z4) .. _ sho
made. (25) The sacreel stylus she
helel in her hand. (26) She possess-
ed the tablet 0:1the gooel stars.
COL. V
gis-gar-bi im'mal-mal (5) igi-mu-su in his hand. (4) For the temple a
e/ussu azag ni-gub (6) gisu-sub azag plan he made. (5) Before me an
si-ib-sá (7) síg nam-tar-ra gisú-sub_ holy heael-basket he placeel; (6) the
ba ma-an-ga~ (8) a-am zid-da ¡gi- holy moulel he arranged. (7) The
mu gub-ba (9) ti-BU (mu,sen) galu-a brick of fate in the moulel he maele.
tld-mi-ni-i!J-zal-za~-c (10) dúr á-zid- (8) By the sacreel ... placed before
da ~uga~-ma-ge ki-ma-gür-gür'-e me (9) the ... birel brought morning
light to men. (10) An ass croucheel
at the right of my lord.
(11) pa-te-si-ra dagal-ni dingirnina mu· (11) The patesi his mother Nina answer-
na-ni-i!J-gí-gí (12) si!J-nw ma-mu-zu oel. (12) "My shepherel thy elream
malo ga-mu-ra-búr-búr (13) galu an- 1 will interpret for thee. (13) As for
dím ri-ba Ifi-e/ím ri-ba-sú (14) sag- the man in form like heaven, in
ga-sú dingir á-ni-sú (15) dingirimir_ form like the earth, (14) as to his
dugud (nHden), sig-ba-a-ni-sIÍ a-ma- head a god, at his siele (15) the storm
ru" (16) zie/-e/a gllb-na ug ni-nad- birel, at his feot the hurricano, (16)
1. § 50.
2" MUL = AN writton four times, cí. 5, 23; 9, 10.
3. eL "- with valuo glll'(?)= I;wclcZcluanel HAR=i,idclatu, SBB. 84, 23.
4. Sic! we expect me-e, status rectus.
5. The (ext aelds sd I
A SELECTION OF TEXTS 185
COL. VI
(1) é-a dü-ba mul azag-ba (2) gú-ma-ra- (1) By the bright star she (2) announced
a-de (3) min-!tam-ma ur-sag-ám á- unto thee the building 01 the temple.
mu-gúr (4) li-um zagin su-ne-dug-a (3) In the second place there is the
(5) dingirnin_dub_kam é-a gis-gar- strong man ... (4) who held in his
ba 2 irn-mi-s'tg-s'{g-gi (6) igi-zu-su hand a plate of lapis lazuli; 15) it
dussu azag gllb-ba á-sub azag si-sa- is the god Nindub. He fixes for
a (7) síg nam-tar-ret á-sub-ba gál- thee the plan of the temple. (6) The
la (8) sig-zid é-ninnü ga-nam-me- sacred bead-basket which wasplaced
ám (9) a-am zid-da igi-zu gub-ba belore thee, the sacred mould which
(10) ti-BU-(musen) gulu-a ud-mi- was arranged, (7) the brick of late
ni-ib-zal-a-sú (11) é dü-dé igi-zu á· which was in the mould, (8) verily
dug-ga nu-si-tur-tur. the holy brick of Eninnu it is. (9)
As for the holy... placed before
thee (10) in which the bird ... brings
the light of dawn to men, (11) (it
means) pleasant things shall not pre-
vent thee from building the temple.
(12) dÚ,.3 á-zi-da lugal-mg-[jc ki-ma-ra- (12) As for the ass which crouched at the
gür-[jIÍI'-a-sú í13)zi-mc é-ninnü [SúJ ... side of thy lord, (13) it is thee ; - in
dím ki-im-si-gür-e (14) na-ya-ri na- Eninnu - Jike ... thou crouehest.
rig-mu gen-KU (15) gir-zu-(hi) é-sag (14) May mason provide my purifi-
!ti sir-bur-la·(ki)-sú g'tr-z1l ki-ni-ne- cation. (15) In Girsu in the sanc-
uso (16) é-nig-ga-za dap' ú-mi-gar tuary 01 the land 01 Lagash thou
gis ú-ma-ta-gar (17) lugal-za gisgi_ shalt set thy loot. (16) In thy trea-
nar ú-ma-sá (18) anSUda(n).úr' ú- sure house change the tablets (01
si-lal (ID) gisginar-bi azad-dé zagin- aeeounts), remove therelrom wood.
na sa-u-ma-ni-tag (20) ti mar-anl-a (17) For thy king prepare a ehariot.
ud·dtm ni-é (21) dingirkar_á3 nam- (18) The ass yoke thereto. (19) The
ur-sag-ka sal-ú-ma-ni-dúg saered ehariot with lapis lazuli adorno
(20) The quiver like daylight shall
shine. (21) The divine sword 01
heroism adorno
(22) su-nir kenag-ni ú-mu-na-dim (23) (22) His saered emblem make, (23) thy
mu-zu ú-mi-sar (24) balag kel1ag- name write thereon. (24) His be-
ni usumgal kalam-ma (25) gis gu- loved lyre, the usumgal 01 the land,
silim mu-tak niy-ad yi-gi-ni (26) ar- (25) instrument whieh has a sweet
sag nig-ba-e kenag-ra sound, whieh gives eounsel, (26)
unto the hero who loves gifts,
COL. VII
(1) luyal-zu en dingirnin-gir-zu (2) é-nin- (1) thy king the lord Ningirsu, (2) in
nü dil1girimir-dugud(masen) bar- Eninnu 01 the glorious storm bird
bar-ra ú-mu-na-da-tur-ri (3) tar- cause to be brought in. (3) Thy
dúu-ga-zu mag·dúy-ga-ám su-ba-a- little words as great words he has
si-ib-ti-(,';) (4) en-na say an-dim suel- reeeived. (4) lnasmueh as he whose
du-ni (5) dingirnin-gir-zu elwnu heart is prolound as heaven, (5)
dingiren_lil_ld enim za-ra ma-r(l- Ningirsll the son 01 Enlil appeases
ZID-gá-e (6) gis-gar é-(l-na ma-ra- thee with (his) word, (6) and reveals
pad-pad-elé (7) ur-sag-e me-ni gal- unto thee the plan 01 his temple,
gal·la·am su-ma-ra-ni-ib-mú-mú (7) the hero whose deerees are great
has blessed thee. "
II
Incantation service to the Sun God in the 'House of
Washing' for a king in affiiction j •
OBVERSE, COL. 1
•
188 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
21. dingir'babbar mas-su(g), mag sa- 21. Shamash mighty leading goat, judge
kucl an-ki-da me-en of heaven and earth art thon.
23. nig sag-ta-ni mal-mal-1m s[l-[dé-en-j 23. That which is in his heart may he
di-dúg speak.
25. [sCg-jSCg-ga nigin nam-lu-gal-lu-gc SU 25. The sonl of life of all peoples verily
a-ma-[I'a-ab- jgtgC turns unto thee.
27. [galuj-nig-erim e-gil" ne-ib [dib- 27. He, whom the wicked stealthily (?)
dib-a?] seized upon?
29. [nig ]-zid n;g-si-sa bar-ta ne-ib-aga- 29. From whom jnstice and righteons-
[aJ3 ness they have put aside,
31. galu lú-sag-aga-a galu lú sa-a-túg- 31. Who (is) disgraced and humiliated,
dúg-ga
33. galu nig-nu-un-zu-a-ra" sag-ba an- 33. \Vhom, when he knew nothing of
di-ih-dúg-a it, they have cursed,
35. galu igi-nu-un-dug-a-I'a" gab-an-da- 35. Whom, when he looked not, they
ri(g)-a possessed,
37. galu nam-tal'-ra' su-ne-in-dib-ba 37. Whom the demon of fate has seized,
39. galu á-SCg-a' su-ne-in-dib-ba 39. Whom the demon of disease has
seized,
41. galu utug-gul-[jal-e mug-na an-si- 41. Against whom the evil Utukku hurl-
in-sí-[ja ed himself,
43. galu a .lal-gul-gál-e kí-nad-a-na si- 43. Whom in his bed the evil Alü
in-dul-la covered,
45. galu gidim-gul-[jal-e [¡i[¡a ba-an-da- 45. Whom at night the evil ghost over-
ri(g)-a whelmed,
47. [¡alu gal-la [¡aloe sa[j-gis ha-ni·in- 47. vVhom the evil vallu assaulted,
si[¡6
49. [¡alu din[jír-gal-[ját-e a-sa-[¡¿I'-bi in- 49. Whose limbs Ihe evil god affrayed,
da-I'i(g)-a
51. gala maskim-gal-gál-e nwnsub ne- 51. Whose hair the evil cowering demon
in-zi[¡-zi[¡ 7 made stand on end,
53. [¡ala d¿m-me su-ga- za 8 ha- an·da- 53. Whom the Lahal'tu-demon possessed
[jal'-I'a with a seizing hand,
1. sug, 'leading, chief'; same root as sag; cl. más-sag, Bab. III 77, 1. 9.
2. e[¡ir = al'katu; the Semi tic version has al'- UD, also K. 4654 obv. 4, perhaps
an error for al'-kat -:::-x.
3_ Semitic te-bi-NUN, so al so K. 4922 obv. 1.
4_ Vide § 82,
5. Oblique case is wrongly employed here for the subject. a is probably due
to vowel harmony in both cases. K. 5135 obv. 34 has nam-tal'-ti.
6. Varo K. 3138 obv. 3, I'a,
7.§55b),
8. § 55 a) .
•
A SELECTION OF TEXTS 189
COL. II
1. [mo,-]ed·en.ki-ge galu ¿fin-gí·a me·en 1. I am the messenger 01 Ea.
3. tit-la lu-gal.lu pap-gal.la '_ge ma-e 3. For the lile 01 the agonising man
mu-un-si-in·gín-[ ni] me he has sent.
5. [nig] en-ki··ge mu-un-si-in·gin·na su 5. That which Ea has sent me I will
a-ma-ra-ni-ib-[ gil repent unto thee.
7. lugal·e dumu dingir-ra·na sá-da·a· 7. As 101' the king, son 01 his god, his
ni tar-ru·da' dúg.o,s-bar-ra-a-ni judgment render, his decision
bar-ra-a-ab make.
9. tu-ra nu-dug·ga bar-bi zag-sig-ba- 9. From sickness and illness his body
ni-ib' separate.
11. a azag a el-la 4 a sun-sun-na 4 mug- 11. Pure water, clean water, shining
na dé·a water upon him pour.
13. mug alan nig-sag-il-la-a-ni a tú· 13. Upon the statue 01 his image let
tú-da-a-na wa ter be sprinkled.
15. a su·an-na an ta sur-ra-a' 15. The water 01 his body Irom above
pour out.
17. utug-gul a.la(l)-gul gidim-gul gal· 17. The evil Utuklw, the evil Ala, the
la(IJ-gul dingir·gul maskim·gul evil ghost, the evil god, the evil
cowering demon,
18. dingiJ' dim·me dingir dim·me-adin- 18. The Labal'tu, the Laba.~u, the seiz-
gil' elim-me.gíd ing deluol1)
19. galu lil-lá ki·ellil·lá ki·el ud-da-Imr· 19. The man 01 the winds, the maid 01
ra the winds, the maid 01 dusk,
20. nam-tar.gul-gál á-Mg nig-gig tu-J'U 20. The evil curse, disease, malady,
nu-'dug-ga sickness, illness,
21. su lugal·e dumu dingiJ'·ra·na a-elim 21. From the body 01 the king, son of
ge-im-ma-an-sur-sUl·.ri6 bar-bi his god, lilee water mayest thou 7
ga-ba-an-zi.zig 6 pour them out, Irom his liver" seize
them away.
!2. d·babbar dúg·ga gu-la nig nu kúr· 22. May Shamash in whose great word
ru-[da-ni] nothing is altered,
:!4. ud ne-e nam-tag-ga-bi ge-en-dug' 24. 'this day 100se his sin.
=O. ka nig-gul-dím-ma bar-sú ge-im- 26. The mouth whieh works evi1, may
ta-gub it stay away.
'l7. dingir lugal-la-ge nam-mag-zu gen- 27. May the god of the king speak of
ib-ba 2 thy greatness.
::S. lugal-bi ka-sil-zu ge-en-si-il-la (sic!) 28. May this king chant thy praise.
~, ú ma·e galu-tú-tu arad-zu ka-sil-zu 29. And 3 I the priest of ineantation, thy
ga-an-si-il-la servant, will ehant thy praise.
31. én a-srg a-dím-íd-da t. ba-an-zig 31. lneantation: The asakku-disease like
the flood of the river one has hurled
forth.
33. bar-gis-ra ú-sim-dím edin-na ba·ra- 33. Affiietion like herbs in the p1ain it
ne-in-r tUI'?] has Ibrought in ?).
35. a-ab-ba ki nig-r dagal-la-sú] 35. In the sea, the wide place,
37. á-srg-[ga?] túg-dím ba-an-dul l
tu- 37. The asakf1u has covered its spawn
ud-da-biJ 1ike a garment,
39. [ .•. ab ?]-zu un-zu-ta ~ [ J 39. [ the fish the ofIspring of ... J
41. nun ... g tI' -I'a- bi 6 a-gu-la-ás ba-an- 41. Its fish unto the great waters it
gín eaused to return.
43. saga-bi izi mu-un-bil ga ba-ni-in- 43. In it the fire rages, the fish it strikes
lám with lightning.
45. an-sl~ 8a-pal'-na an-sú ba-ni-in-pal' 45. In heaven his net he has thrown
wide on high.
47. musen an-na-ge ug-dím im-mi·in- 47. The birds of heaven 1ike a storm it
ra-ag has blown away.
49. dal' sag-ga-na7 si(g)-ba7 ni-in-dib 49. The antelope it has seized by its head
¡-¡nd its horno
51. si(r(m siIJJi;a bar-ra kUI'-ra <,u-SES- 51. The he-goat and the wild mountain
SUHUR ne-in-dib·ba. goat - their fleeces it has seized.
53. am-sun edin-na-ge tig·bi8 f1i-ne-in- 53. The wild-ox of the plain - his neck
gam it has caused to bow Clown 9.
1. [lupJtul', cL V R. 50 b 22.
2. CT. XVI 8,292.
3. Semi tic loan-word U.
4. A Semi tic eonstruction for c1assical a-íd-da-dim.
n. The Semi tic version has [ ... J nu-un zi-i-te sa l·· .J.
6. Translated by sUI'-ta-ni·su.
7. Notice the inconsistency of referring to dál' (= turalw) by na and ba; only
ba is correct (§ 160).
8. So K. 4810 obv. 9. V R. 50 b 50 tig-be. eL § 205. (Compound eL 2nd class).
9. Semitic usalmis. CL § 139.
192 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
1. Text ma!
2. an is a simple phonefic element here.
3. Here we are to supply, ,( He went to his father Ea ancl rolated what the
Asakku had done. Ea replies".
4. Supply, "Thou also knowest etc."
5. This line shews that in line 57 ( this man' refers to the king.
6. CL IV R. 13 b 54, ancl ASKT. 75, 1.
7. CL ASKT. 45, 4 ancl above 1. 2l.
8. CL ibid. 1. 5.
·~·:..:.:;;;;:=;",.."o_=,-'-"_".- __ --
-...----'-.---'-~-
A SELECTION OF TEXTS 193
The Semitic section continues a few
lines on the obverse and ends on
col. 1 of the reverse, line 11 in the
text of VR. 51. The king is men-
tioned rey. 6. 1 know of no dupli-
cates by which the section can be
restored.
REVERSE, COL. 1
l::. lugal-e sag gin-bi azag-ga 12. Oh king, whose faithfulness of heart
is ... pure ... ,
H. ~ágiserin-nasag-gar-sag-taim[-ta-e] 14. The ointment of cedar which in the
imi-úi' mountain sprang forth of itself,
16. bilO gurin-na sig·ga 3 me· ten nam- 16. The fulness of the shining grape,
[en-na-ge] adornment of lordship,
18. lugal-la lugal mu-il-la nam-lugal-la 18. Lord 01 the kings who bear king-
ship,
.ID. é-a tu-a-sú tu-ra·zu·dé 20. When thou enterest into the house
of washing,
:::. d'en-ki gu-mu-e.da-gul-la (sic !). 22. May the god Ea rejoice with thee.
~;.jL. ,¡l·dam'-gal·nun-na nin-gal zu-ab-ge 24. May Damkina queen 01 the nether
mus-me-bi ge-ri-ib-lag-ga sea in her radiance make thee pare.
~. d·a.i!ar-lú-dug sid-gal dingir-nun- 26. May Marduk great marshal of the
gal-e-ne sag- zu ge-ri-ib-il-la earth-spirits (/gigi) 11ft thy head.
!S.. .f:rin-gal-azag d.en-ki-ge a·du-sú in- 28. The great pure message which Ea
gar-ra created in wisdom,
!SI. J,üg-{).ga-aga-da-bi ki-bi-a mi-ni-in- 29. Has turned away their deeds of sor-
~ar-ri-es 5 cery from this place.
U..ding;r anona an-ki.ge-e-ne e-ne-ir 31. The 10ftY gods of heaven and earth
mu-un-na-l(.i,g-gi-es has tened unto him.
o.;'. t.;¡ca-fjal-gal-la an-ki-bi-da-ge e-ne- 33. In the great sanctuaries of heaven
ie" mu-un-na-lag-gi-es 6 and earth they hastened unto him.
L Semitie, iris erini sa ina kirib sadt a$u ina ramani-su; el. K. 5248 rey. 4.
!..~~T = lalrl, 'luxuriance', K. 5248 rey. 5, to be added to the lists
:i::~~5.
S. a.-/ 5ig =
banu, 'be bright'; the Semitic has translated stg by banu, 'to create',
j, :.L..<€ ¿xplanation, V. Bab. 1I 192.
4. Tbe texts of both versions nin (?). Also Semitic version nin·ki-na. Pro-
::.aJ:.':'y m error of an ancient copy, nin for dam.
~I. Apparently plural of the neuter object nig-aga-aga-da.
,;.. For es indication of the past tense V. § 225.
13
194
SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
COL. II
D.., ei'-::l ,",-a é-da·[zu-de] 21. When from the house of washing
thou goest up,
!:!. d0l-rwn-na dingir-gal-gal-e-ne nam· 22. May the Anunakki, great gods, life
,.,;'-·Ia sag-dug-ga sag-e-es ga-ra-ab. and health grant thee as a gift.
':'-"::1-* s(q ,? J~es
A ""',,,"i,n-ib ur-sag-gal d·en.lil-lá-ge ki- 24. May Ninib, great hero of Enlil, in
,,·"¿·f:a á-tag-zu ge.a the place of baltle be thy help.
S. ri·"~in-ib sukkal é-kur-ra-ge zi(g)- 26. May Ninib, the messenger of Ekur
!a,¡:-¡ál nam-ti-la gu-mu-ra.ab-il- grant thee the breath of life.
i:4
:5 ,i-,;: Ii-a é-da-zu-dé 28. When from the house of washing
thou goest up,
:!!! ¿-,.;:.: ..i:-sag-gaalad-sag-ga su-gi-gi- 30. May the good Utukku, the good
c::L:t '~<;-ra-ab-*sig-es' Sedu grant thee peace.
31. gidim-gul a-lá(l)-gul utuk-sag-ga 31. (May?) the evil ghost, the evil Ala
alad sag-ga (be?) the good Uwhku, the good
Sédu.
32. d'a-nun-na dingil'-gal-gal-e-ne 32. May the Anunakki, the great gods,
33. d'babbar dúg-sag-ga-zu gu-mu-ra- 33. And Shamash speak for thee thy
ab·bi-ne favorable reply.
35. siptu bit rimki ina ?éri riksa. 35. Incantation for the house of washing
prepared in the plain.
III
C.B.M. 2193 + 2238 + 11401.
(RADAU, Miscel, no. 2).
1. The dedication 01 the statue of the king probably has connection with the
feast for his departed souI, see line 14.
;¿. For compound verbs with the eIement kl-(n), v. p. 149.
3. el. RTe. 61 rev. VII 8; 58 rev. III 11; 108 rev. saga is connected with the
root zag (~T), 'to burn', often shortened to sa.
4. RADAU, gü-de (also possible, but difficult).
5. Literally 'zamar ¿kribi', song of adoration; see V sir I.
6. Read;su (?)-um (?)-mu-un etc.
So ltADAU.
NI.;:;¡,"""" '.' .
,;,':1 r;. láliácnun-kas
,...,
bar(?), D. To cause thee 1,0be appeased, honey,
butter, and sparkling (?) liquor,
, '
If-as- 10. To cause thee 1,0 repose, honey (?),'
butter and dark (?) liquor,
'á! [~á-nu]n [ ... ] 11. Black bread, honey, butter and ...
mu-[ un-na·ra- l.~. Sparkling wine ,.. 1 pour out 1,0
thee.
jF/!'-:wl-laj mu[-un,na-ra- 13. Honey, sparkling liquor, 1 pour out
1,0 thee.
~;,,;::,,'~; ".yi!-lu[ki(?)-a- ]nag a-nag- 14. To cause the god oí man 1,0 partake
~:m ,""'" ' .:mll(?)-r]a-lag
oí the meal íor the soul oí the
dead, 1 bring them 1,0thee.
a~~:7;-::,,':-!'a ki"(n)-mucra-na'-el-e 15, Thee, oh virgin, 1 sanctily, thee
~",-"-] ~,·¿-na-an-gál with song 1 praise .
• ,.:_,.,;, cw-ki-ta3 u-clug-gi-im-mi; li). My lady in heaven anrlearth 1
behold.
,¡:;],,;'j"iCJu"ni-ra igi-ni-sú ni-cl¿b-bi 17. Unto holy 1nnini - hito her pre-
sence 1 come.
18. The lady 01 protection, Innini who
is majestic,
ii:r'-'1'.;_H"'"'-lge]' me-ur [ni]-i-i. l\). Maid 01 heaven (?)1 extol,
'11"":::1 J;c'i-d.¿I-!ri cI.[? mag]-ám 20. The lady oí protection, the goddess
[ ] who is great.
ii::í-fC~': :,;.u;-9-kam-(ma-]ám (sic!) 21. A prayer : ninth section.
!_''''.::;.: .. '.<,ri,sú(?) ma-KU(?)-gal(?) 22. The gr2at temple, house 01 god [?),
,. ",>,-I'a-c!u ... 1 have made lor thee,
:,i·(cl lu-sub-gú-(n) 8ag-gig 23. The great temple 01 the rivergod-
;:,:;':;.11'I1''l: ni-te 7 sub-ba dess, the L(¡'c~UB.GÚ, whom the
dark - headed people of Sumer
worship with fear,
24. The divine lady 01 the great temple
in the sanctuary 1 ha ve placed.
B,.;,¡¡,,?]; .:i,;ngir-ám sáb-bi-a nw-un- 25. [AIso] the king who is a god therein
'~,,';;¡:~"1'1-ti-( g)
1 have caused to dwell,
1..5e Vtub 1.
i..5i,c: \Ve expect ni or ano
:SJ'Rw.w alter line 71.
i Li::le 71 has clug-gi-es but the varo omits es; es is lo me impossible for we
D::;¡re~'"mi" poarlÍcipial conjugation .
•' f~.,lJ', dingir [innini], which is also possible.
- ¡¡.: Rill.!.U.
198
SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
33. dúr·gal'.e sag·gul.la ki·nad dug- 33. A throne whioh makes glad the
dug-gi-ne
eouch with joy of heart.
34. nin-mu ur.azag-gi a-mi-ni-ib.tú.tú 34. Of my lady (her) pedestal 1 have
laved with water.
35. ur·lugal-Sú a ím-ma-an-lf-in-lf-ín 35. Upon the pedestal of the king water
1 have sprinkled.
36. ur d·/dín-d.Dagan_sú sag-il-la mu. 36. Upon the pedestal of Idin-Dagan a
un-gub
statue 1 ha ve plaeed.
37. azag d·inniní.ge tú imi-ba.ab-teg 37. The holy Innini, the baptised, doth
fill wi th fear.
3S. já-sim erín-na mu-un·na sug-e 38. Her with incense of eedar 1 lave.
39. lugal ur-azag-sú sag-il-la mu-un- 39. Of the king, upon a golden pedestal
gub.
(his) statue 1 have plaoed.
40. ur d·innini-ka-Sú sag-il-la mu-un- 40. Upon the pedestal of Innini a statue
gub 1 have plaeed.
41. ur d'/dinJI'Dagan_Sú sag-il.la mu.
41. Upon the pedestal of Idin-Dagan a
un-gab statue 1 have placed.
42. dagal d·usumgal.an-na ki-nad mu- 42. The mother, divine usumí/al of
na-an·gar
heaven, in her ehamber 1 have
restored.
43. nin-azag·ga-mu azag d.[ínnini-Jmu 43. My holy lady, my holy Innini,
--_._.~.=, ._---
A SELECTION OF- TEXTS 199
REVERSE
, !~,...;c;;,,--2:~c'8-ga-:sú] ki-nad mu-un- 44. The pure one upon a golden statue
1!~Jlí;~::,:'", -~ :.'l ,P 1 have placed.
i.';:~,~":md-,"-r,i .sáb-[bi-a] gul1 mu-un- 45. On her couch with gladness 1 have
~ '!li:.: -,_ ~~-=,,_~_,~l.:'i.
\ ~) 2 made her repose.
.¡¡j: fT¡,","'._d·D-:'gan-ra (?) ... ge-me-en 46. epon (?) Idin-Dagan ... may she
(look ?).
'IIiIf-,"!:;¡;~."eg-ga-.sú su-ila 1 gar-gar-ra- 47. For the giving of tire offerings, for
d'CL making prayers of the lifting of the
hand,
1If"¡¡¡,- c,'¿ i'j-ga-sú na-[ne?] .. ; izi·a-sú 48. For giving offering of incense, for ...
,.i-inr::¡ni ldg-ga-Sú gar Idg'Cldg]- /i9. For bringing Jshtar - cakes, for
bringing food offerings,
n
,i'j1']I;-n,ág-a-ni im-ma-an-da-tllr-ne 50. lnto her great palace we cause him 3
to en ter also.
jl<i~¡-"irc1g-dam kenag-gá ... 51. The beloved spouse '"
~:lf d·innini-ge ... 52. Holy lnnini '" beside him ".
[reposed ?]
:mg-us-us&-e-ne-sú ám-e 53. Upon their thrones established side'
by side 1 caused them to ascend.
::'_';;'_1" d'babbar-dím zag mu-un-SU- 54. The king like the sun god 1 made to
1".1 '-ag-e rival in glory (?).
nam-gen . " eli 55. Abundance and plenty ... [he gives]
nig·dug-ga mu-un-[na]-ni-gál 56. Food of all good kinds he assnres.
(1)
"-!Jf}-2i9-ga-sú igi.ni-sú' si-nl·sd 57. Upon the dark-headed people his
eye he directs.
?~~,.-,~ú;-srrgal-lu [. " sirl-ra 58. \Vith the (musical) instrument,
'wailing voice of the storm', ...
melodious.
~., gu-clug-ga·[bi mu-ra-]ab- 59. With the instrument al-gar whose
sound is sweet 1 will speak unto
thee.
~,_ fpd-la-ka-ni ... pael-pael-dé 60, ... 1 proclaim
1. So RADAU.
~. The value sa ordinarily given for this sign is doubtful.
3. 1. e., Idin-Dagan .
.Ji. eL the date of Nur-Immer, Strassmaier, \Varka no. 1 gisgu_Ja zag-bi-us,
,~,,=JE'él. by KING for SAK, p. 236.
~!. Vide § 91.
f. :"i:Í-;)al', a musical instrument, also Gud. Cyl. B 10,11.
200 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
61. lugal-e kur-kur·da su-silim [ab-] 61. 1 have commanded ... to give the
di·di1
king to eat.
62. d'dagal usumgal anona kur.kur-da 62. 1 have commanded to give the divine
[ab ?J-di·di mother, the usumgal of heaven, to
eat.
63. gisgu-za gi·(g)-durun.na bar ga·ba- 63. The throne in the mysterious cham.
ni-ib '" ber truly 1 adorn ...
64. bár nam-lugal-la-ka sag-gú.(n) 64. The chapel of royalty 1 have [mag-
mu ... nified].
65. nin-mu [azaga an- ]ki-sú zag-sal 65. My lady, the holy, in [heaven?] and
ma-ra.ni-ib-dág earth thee 1 praise.
66. nu·lJin-gig [... ] da [ ... ] da me-en 66. To [rejoice?] the virgin, 1 ...
67. nu-lJin-gig[ -l'a] ki [mu-l'a-an-el.e 67. Thee oh virgin 1 sanctify, thee with
sZr-ra mu-ra-]an·gál 80ng 1 praise.
68. clug-li sag-gig-sá (?) '" di 68. Riches unto (?) the dark - headed
people ' .. command (?).
69. d'innini ". dumu d'sin-na-ge 6~. Innini daughter of Sin,
70. nin-mu [usumgal] anona zag-sal 70. My lady, [the usumgal] of heaven,
ba'-[dug.gi ?] 1 praise.
71. nin-mu [an- ]hi·ta ii-dug-gi:J im-me 71. My lady in heaven and earthI behold.
72. azag d·innini.ra igi·ni-Sú ni-dib.bi 7:!. Unto holy Innini - into her pre-
sence 1 come.
73. nin an-diil-lá d·innini mag.dm n. The lady of protection, Innini is
granel.
74. halag-ga-[ám] kalag gál-ám 74. She is mighty, she is mighty.
75. ár-mal-[ám] ... gal·ám 75. Revered is she, ... she is great.
76. nam-sul [gdl-ám (?) •.• ] ga-ám 76. She possesses majesty,. '. she is.
77. sir nam-ur(?)-sag-ga d'nin-si-an- 77. A song of the might of Ninsianna.
na-ge
-".,
---'~---~- c..'-"-===~''"-----
A SELECTED VOCABULARY
OF THE PRINCIPAL ROOTS IN SUMERIAN1
1. A. Hand, usually written 12,but also a. Strength (emu~u) á. From the meaning
hand, developed the idea oracle, (tertuj, á·meS =
idéUi, signs, passim in
prayers. Employed with the verb agga to acto á-agga =
oracle, como
mand, (teslitu). ki-á·ág-gá-má, place of my oracle, Cyl. A. 10,24. ki-á·
agga·ba, 26, 9. As verb á-agga, send, command, mu'uru. á gal gu-mu-
da-an-agga, he sent me in majesty, CT. XXI 48, 6. galuá_agga, sender,
one who commands, mu'irru. á-mu-un-da-an·agga, he sent him, CT. XV
15, 15. 12 has also the sense of wisdom, in á-gál, 'one who has divina-
tion', mundalku. 12, hom, I;arnu. 12ba-U-il, he exalted the summit (of
the temple), Cyl. A. 22, 23.
1. A. Water. Invariably written a, see p. 20.
l.. A, Father. Originally ad, hence a-a to compensate for the loss of el. a nu-tug-
me, a father 1 have not, Cyl. A, 3,7. a kenag-ni, his beloved father,
OBI. 87, III 16.
-l. A, Ten, esru, varo of U.
1. AB, Ocean, tamtu. su-ga ab-ba, fisherman of the sea, RTC. 36 obv. 2, 5.
1. .Ul, OId man, Síbu. ab·ba of a city, passim. ab-ba =
abu in a list with pUrSumu,
Rm. 604, obv. 5. ab·ba-bi, the elder, a dignitary, CT. V 17, I 25, III 18.
nam-abba, old age.
3. .ill, Recess, nest, aptu. See ub.
l. ÁB, Cow, littu.
1. AGGA, AGA, Do, work, epesu. Original agi, eL ge = epesu. Reduced to ag,
which is the ordinary writing. Often in eompounds to make a verb active.
gil = tJala~u, but gil-li-ag-ga = tJullu~u, to destroy. ~~Trr~T
=aru, lead, but ~~Trr~T-mu.ni-in-ag'!Ji.es, they lead him. aguse;
nu-ag, not used, CT. III 36 a 73. igi-dul-ag = kalamu, see. AIso as first
elerrient in eompound verbs; ág-sar-sar, to mix, cf. sal' = ¡nix. ág-lal
tr
= bind, cf. lal=bind. ág-ge-in-gul=lu u1.mllil, IV R. 10 b 33, ág-dé-
i!p in-sig = lu udamm*, ibid. Hence what is made, 'anything'; ág maf¡
"
=mimma ma'adu, VR. 11 b49; CT. XVII 37,11.
i"·
rl 2. AGGA, AG!, Send, only as abbr. of á-agga, see a 1. 8ee ZA. XX 429. Also
tertu, oracle, by force ol association with á = oracle.
'1
3. AOA, Love, ramu, abbr. of ken-aggad.
AKA,
young of cattle. Allowed 3 /fa of grain per day, TU. no. 5, col. 1; no. 5.
IlI, 11, etc. See Clay BE. XIV 22. amar stands to áb cow, as si l
lamb, to baran ewe, Gud. F, 3,17-4, 2.
AMMAR, Live-stock, basu. For ag-gál.
1. AN, High, from Ven.- Adj., sa/fa, ,~era. Denom. verb, behigh. Noun heauen.
ana, samu.
2. Interrogative adj., an, ana, see p. 111, and Index.
AN,
3. ARI, Ruins. ár-ri = namutu, see ara 3. Verb 1Jarabu, demolish. See Vrig.
4. ARI, Begetting. gis-a-ri =
$irrita, concubine, 93085, obv. 8. See eri. a-ri-a
= ribata. Denom. verb, ri!Jú. a-ri-a, semen, SBH. 14811 16.
1. AS, Wil!. as =$ibUtu. Vd =
to counse!. Cf. ÚS tému. ás, in ás-bar =
parasa, decide. III will, curse. ái' = arrata. as-bal, u tter a curse, arara.
galaas-bal =
alTa, curser. ás =
ada, oath. Denom. verb, ás =
ezizu,
to curse. See the root es.
2. AS, Qne. ás = edu. as = iSten. Complete, gitmala. As verb, mu-na-as-e,
it is at one, Cy!. A 12,23.
ASDI, Will, desire .. as-di =
b.asa!Ju, § 153. See aSte.
ASBAR, Counsel, ás-bar, vowel harmony for es-bar.
1.
2.
ASTE,
ASTE,
Receptacle lor water. a-sita
Will, desire. á-sita aste =
aste =
=
takaltu. = aSte ast11.
bailabu, from as 1 and di § 153, with
® =
sonant d assimilated to surd s. Cf. as-ti(n) =
[wsCi[W. FuI! form ás-teg
= situlw, investigation. Cf. ás-te-ba-ka, Sm. 556, 19. ás-te!] = kussu,
throne, i. e., place of seeking counsel.
ASUA, gia-su-a lor giasug, =
amu, house-boat.
ASUGI, Shower, frost. See Vse!!.
AZA, ASA, An unguent, az= asil, sb 2, 12. CT. XIX 42 b 12. simaz, a paste
used in medicine, often Amarna Letters.
AZAD, Shower. a-za-acl = .surubbil, for a-sa!} § 55 b).
1. AZAG, Pestilence. á-slg, seizing hand; by harmony·azag. Loan-word, asakku.
Ordinarily one of the demons of disease. More often refers to a demon of
darkness. á-slg ... im-dí/'-ru-a, the assakku disease ... like a cloud [may
pass away), GT. IV 4, b 3J =
Bab. !I 18. The á-slg-gig-ga, asakku of
darkness, mentioned with the etimmu, ghost, CT. IV 3 a 21. azag-AN is
used only in this sense. 'é azag-AN asa/' la amarí, house of darkness
(asakku), place where one sees not, Tig. 1 VIII 67, cf. IV R. 39 b 21 and
KB VIl, 433. AIso name of a disease of goats; 17 úz rig-I'íg-ga á-s[!.!,
17 she goats seized by the asakku disease, RA. !II 125,12. General term
for calamity, disgrace. anzilla ilCini asak/w tdkul, an offence against the
gods, a calamity thou hast done (eaten), Jastrow, Etana Fragment, rev. 9,
in AJSL. 1910. [á·stg = azág).
2. AZAG, Bright clean. Der. of sig 5 with augment a. Almost universal!y 'pure
clean, holy ". men azog, the sacred crown, Gyl. A 19, 14. uru-azag-ga,
the holy city, SAK. 64 b) 4. su azag-ga-ne-ne a sal-zicl mu-ni-ni-dúg-ga,
their clean hands purge thee faithflll!y with water, 1V R. 25 a 34. Denom.
verb, to purify. U/'u mu-azag, the city he consecrated, Gud. B 3, 12.
BA, To apportion. ba =
zazu, (fasu. Perhaps from v'D'éir: ba = nasCiru, to
diminish. Noun ba =
mislu half. ba zuzu, portion. =
1. BAD, Be distant, _removed. bad = nisu, I'étw, bésu. bad-du, varo bael-ela = isi,
GT. XVI 15 b 25. ki-bael, the far away place, nisatu. ki-bael-du-ge, the
far removed, SBP. 332, 1 ff.
1. IV. R. 22 no. 2, 10. BARTH, ZA.23, 90 assumes two roots pitu, open, pita
reveal, bu! the Sumerian etymology is against thiso
206 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
53. bara-::Hga-bi, the 10ftY chapel, CT. XXI 25, II 3. bar-ai5ag, the holy
chapel, Cyl. B 17, 1.
3. BAR, a) Divide, decide. bar =
parasu. See, discern. bar =
barú, natalu,
palaku, mark a boundary. zazu, allot. sapa!Ju scatter. bar =
suparuru,
spread (a net). su-bar =
ussuru, dissolve, remove. AIso pittl, ka bar-ra
= pu pitu, pu ussuru, curse loosened. su-bar zi-zi-dé, to accomplish
faithfully the loosing, 1V R. 17 a 38. Cf. root bur to loose.
Der. bar = sutf;cu, a rent. Cf. bur = sutuf;cu.
b) Councillor. bár= malku. Counsel. bár =meristu. bar=piristu.
Hence bar = kabattu, seat of wisdom, ¡¡ver. bar-mu ba-e-ga-ám, my
soul cries out, CT. X V 22, 1. bar-ra tur-tar-da, to bring in wisdom,
Cyl. B 9,11.
c) Dividing line, palluku (?) tam, 93038rey. 30. \Vay, padanu, para.
In compound verb, igi-bar, to see, with sú, Bab. II 75. See Vliir 1-
4. BAR, Shine. bar = namaru, bararu. With verb aga. gisnad uzagin bar-
aya-na, the bed which was made brilliant with lazuli. Cyl. B 9, 8. CL 17. 1-
5. BAR, Prayer, suppü, birkatam, see Vbir.
6. BAR, Body, pagra, zumru. Parts of the body, púdu, back. Cf. $iprum sa
i$$uri. K. 4383 obv. 19.
7. BAR, Hostile, a!Ju, la mdgiru. ba-ri =
a!Ju. Savage. lik-bar, savage dog,
hyena. bar =
mirinu, mad dogo bar =
$alapu, be cruel. dingir bar-
bar-ra ní-gál-la-ám, the divine tiger causing fear, Cyl. A 25, 3. Perhaps
here bisu, shameful.
8. Side, a!Ju. bar-bi, its side. Cyl. A. 27,13. alwíu, side. sa!Jatu,outside,
BAR,
kamu, kamátu, outer court. itiatu, neighborhood. Qne at the side, como
panion, tappü. bar =
talimu, cL bur 4. Here negative bara, § 228.
9. ÉAR, Far away, behind. a!Jrü, u!Jlwru, rif;catu. Hence bar =
$atu, eternity.
As verb nisu, be distant. nussu. Perhaps same root as 8.
10. BAR, Bridge, ballur/u. ZA. X 196,4 =
CT. XII 17 b 30. CL BM. 12942, obv. 8.
11. BAR, in names of vessels. dukbar sütu. =
1. BI, Speak. bi-i =
f;caba, 93058 rev; nabU, ibid. Noun líissatu, thought. The
root is abi> ab, SAL 2488.
2. BI, Blaze, napa!Ju, for bil.
BIL, Burn, purify, f;calu, galCl, sarapu. bi-il, glowing, CT. XV 17,13 f.
1. BrR, Divide, severo btr =
saratu. Scatter. bir =
sapalJu. gilsa-bi bir-bir·ri,
its treasures are scattered, CT. XV 22,18. bir=hala$u. appasu iktanali$,
his nostrils are severed, Bois. Ch. 22,9. bir= purify, huppuru.
2. BIR, Prayer. bir=$ú!Ju, cf. bar 5.
3. BIR, Shine, bararu. Der. bir =
birratu, intlamation.
4. BIR(?), Double yoJ.::eof O:l[en, bir, see Bab. IV 9.
A SELECTED VOCABULARY '207
1. DUR, Prince. dú,. = ,.ubú. Varo tul. dú,. ..mag=sa,.ru, king. Der. nam-dú,.-
l'a=rubutu.
2. DUR, Band. du,. = l'iksu, markasu (also dÚr). Hence totality riksu, kullatu.
du,. = turru, bulwark, hence root is tu,.. dÚI'-mag = du,.ma1J1Ju, great
bando The stage tower of Nippur is cal!ed dur-an-Id, band of heaven and
earth. dul' é-a, enclosed plot with house, Poebel. 11, 9. A god is
dUI'-dur-u,.= rikis kalama, who holds al! things together, V R. 43 e 30.
Der. ki-dúr =/rullatu, § 1;'2.
3. DUR, Foal of an ass, dúr =
muru, SAL 3389. Read ANSU-U (4996), dura=
agalu, varo dusa, 340;'.
4. DUR, Marsh, Only in gi-du,. =
appal'u, reedy marsh. See dul 2.
DURUN, DUR,Dwel!, abide. dú,. =
raba$u. Original!y turun. im-da-turun,
he caused them to dwel! there, Cyl. A 16, 26. gis ká-na-ta ba-ta-turun, he
placed it in the gable (?) of the door, Cyl. A21, 15. Noun dúr= zaratu, tent.
DUSU, Foal of an ass, for duru 3.
(where) the multitude exists, Cyl. A 14, 11. Often added lo a verb to
make it causatlve. sig, be low, sig-gar, to humiliate. To nouns to form
active verbs. al, canal, al-gar, to excavate. The meaning 'seeure posses-
sion of', in su ga-za ba-an-da-gar-ra, (whol with a smiting hand seized
him, V R. 51 a 53.
3. GAR, Return. gar = tUl'ru. kug-bi garri-es, the money they restored, Urukag.
Cone C 4, 1. The parallel passage 8, g has ga-ga. See mar.
4. GAR, Food. gar = aklu. See kUl", to eat.
5. GAR, Light, núru, from gir, 2.
GAZ, Crush, grind. gaz = basalu sa se'im, grind grain; ba'asu, grind. !Jepú,
ma¿¡a¡;u, break. dáku, slay. gaz = tabasal, thou shalt grind, CT. XXIII
41 II 4, ete. l;;:a¡;a¡;u,MaJ,:lu I 28, ete. Der. gisgaz, weapon of earnage,
Cyl. B 8, 3. erittu, hand-mill. gaz-se, hand-mill for grain, K 4148 rey. 13.
The root may be gas, gis.
1. GI, Turn. gi, gi = táru, sa!Jal"u. Answer, apalu. Turn baek, ne'u. Vgin.
2. GI, Be faithful, kánu, see gin 1.
3. GI, GE, Be new, gi = edesu. ge (~T) = essu, new. ingar-gi, a new
wall, Sehei!, TX.-El. I pl. 14 no. 5 II 3, eL )bid. no. 3 11 3 ingar-ge. The
root may eontain a lost eonsonant. g[= essu. g[-bi, newly, Cyl. A 19,
22. g[-bi-eil, newly, Poebel, p. 30.
4. GI, Reed, l;;:anú.
GIB, Sick, for gig. Only in <~~..tf4 -ib, in mús-gi-ib = li';taritu.
GIBIL, Toreh. gi-bil-lá = gibillü, diparu, toreh. gi-bil = l;;:anú suruptu, flam-
ing reed, henee gibil from gi reed and bil blaze. Yet eL gis-bil, flaming
wood = l;;:ilútu torch, henee both derivations possible. gibíl, gibil =
l;;:ilútu. Denom. verbo gi-bil = napa!Ju, to flame. Der. d'gibil, the tire
god, written BIL-Gl (!).
1. GID, Be long. gid, gid = al'aku. Measure, sadadu. mu-gid, he measured,
Nik. 31 rey. 11. Adj. long, arku. Noun gittu, a long tablet. gid =
siddu, long side, flank. Deriv. {jud, kud.
2. GID, Seize, bind. gid, gid,- ¡;abaíu, a!Jazu. Cf. d·dtm-me-{jid = a!J¿wzu. V kid.
3. GID, Root, digo gid = sa!Jú, l;;:al'a¡;u. Vkid.
4. GID, Cut off. See gud 2. lú-gid, lugud, a deformed person, ispu. Perhaps in
EBUR-gid = !Jarbu, harvested land.
5. GIDIM, Ghost, edimmu, V. § 62. From gig darkness, and dim ereate.
GIG, Be dark, indisposed, siek, worthless. gig = erebu, pass into darkness.
9i9 = mal'a¡;u, be in diffieulty, siek. Nouns: gig =sickness, maruStu, para-
Iysis,l;;:i¡;.~u. gi9 = músu night. Reduplieated giggi9 > 9i9i9, darkness.
9{9> kib = kiMu, kipatu, refuse of bran. akkib = ikkibu, worthless
thing.
216 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
~~--~---_ .. ~---_._--------~~.-
A SELECTED VOCABULARY 217
i.~c: ..
lablets, written a4f~. The root may be identioal with gir 2.
To cut (?). Root assumed for [lur, to han'est, liur, cut off. Noun; Ifir,
5corpion, and gil', razor, sword, pat'·u, gisgirru eto.
~-~ Baptize. glr-glr-ri =
tibü. a-y!!' =
sulü, piel (?) of salú. a.gu··y!/'-ri =
salü.
1 fruit. gi·/'in= enbu. girin= kirinnü,
~::=:.=~.Berries, fruit, GT. XII 25 a 26;
K. 7751, 5. See gurin.
!. '=En~. \Vaste, desert, harmu, K. 4370 obv. 14.
-:..~:.s.B-eget. gís == ribú. Noun; gís == iellu, maleo gis = isara, zikru. See rnes,
mus. Der. gas in gasan, lofty hero, heroine, salf;ú, belu, belttL gasam =
gas-eme, 'man of speech', enlf;u, bassu, wise. AIso in gasrnu= Zarbanit.
In gis-bar" father·in-law, and salgis-bar = ?iritu, mother-in-Iaw. Often
as adj. determ. maleo gud-gis, male ox, DP. 83 II eto. gis zicl-mal engar,
hired men of the farmer, GT. X 42 B 4.
:. :::':5. \V·ood i$u.
1. ;;:~. ."'ixty,see Index.
4.. ,:~, Heaven, II R. 50, 22; :'>9,47. Gf. mas = ibIJu and mis 5.
;. 'O::', Lnderstanding. gis-tuh, have understanding, semü, hear. gis-ba-tuh-ám,
he was heard, Gyl. A 3, 29.
:Esrr~. \Vine. has liquor and tin life, liquor of life.
L. Gathering place, manzazu. In GT. XV 30 rev. 10 gisgal is the under-
,:5', .•.•
"orld.
:-e. Total, see gun 1.
_. :re. Burden, see gan 2.
,:r-e. =
Land. [lÚ mátu. See kin 2.
~ ,c. '-oice. gu=¿úbltu, speech. Denom. verb, speak, If;abú. Ingtl'gál, protest,
palf;aru. Der. gil-de, 'utter speech', cry out, sasü, nagéigu.
:0;;-. Ox. gü for [jud.
i ':".Herb, plant. [jU =ga, If;ü. Often yú.
, ::"3. Stand. gub=nazazu. Remainimmovable. na-an-gub-bi·en=aiikhalü,
IDay they not remain, GT. XVI 3, 126. ba-gub-ba =nikláma, they remain
restrained, ibid., 11 VI 1. Active, za¿i:aputo fix, kunnu establish. gub =
t1I~alf;lf;ap,thou shalt ereot, Zim. RT. 26 III 25. In ki·gub, bury, place in
the earih. ki nu-gub, he was not buried, Gud. B 5,2; GT. XVI 10 V 5.
_.~~~-=-~ ~- t..-% .. _,~....,.--=o_
----~------~--_._--._----_._~.-_._-.~._~_
..
A SELECTED VOCABULARY 219
Bright.t-T ([¡u-ud) = ibbu, etc, Cí. late Semi tic etYll1010gy ==F= (!Jud)=
GUD,
namaru. See gad.
1. GUL, Gladness. [¡ul=bidútu, rísatu. Adj. glad, badil. Adv. gladly, {¡ul-lí.
= =
es !;adis. Denoll1. verb, {¡al badú, be joyful.
2. GUL, a) To do violence. ge-im-ma-an-gtíl, ll1ay he annihilate, GT. XVI 3,80.
gúl-dúg-ga-mn, (he who) has annihilated, K. 41 I 1/2. imi-{¡úl, a destruc'
--,-~._.~----
'"e: ,,¡nd, Sto Vaut. obv. X 11. Ordinarily translated by sulputu, abatu .
•..O¡.;.gúl-a-za, thy desolatecl city, Radau, Miscel, no. 3, 27. Noun; [¡úl=
,:,1¡.atu, desolation.
~.¡ .-\et wickedly. [¡úl =
lamtinu, rcullumu. Noun; evil, limuttu. The
r,:,OI may be connected. with gil, destroy.
IMI-TEG, Rave fear, from imi fear and teg have. Also imi-tuk. pala!;u. To
reverence, na'adu. imi-mu-da-ab-teg-teg, it was made fearful, Cyl. B
14, 24. ma-e imi-bi ma-teg, 1 feared, SBP. 4, 6. imi-mu-un-teg, he
terrified me, CT. XV 25, 6. imi.mu-te-gá-da-mes =
la adiruti, they who
fear not, CT. XVI 21 a, 140. arad imi-tuk, the revering servant, Gud. E
2, 1; F 2, 10; and often. Val'. imi-du. imi-mu-un-du, he terrified me,
SBP.4,6. Der. imi-teg, fear,pulu!;tu, birittu. Val'. me-da, CT. XV 25,
7, cf. SBP. 4, 7.
1. IN, Straw. in-nu=tibnu. se en-na, se in-nu, CT. X 20 II 1; 21 VI 15. en
appears in the ancient sign for eburu, Hilpr. Anniv. 199.
2. How long? val'. of en, see Index. in ga-na-dúr, how long will he tarry?,
IN,
SBH. 120, 1.
INIM, Word, amatu. See nim 2.
1. IR, Seize. ir=la{fu, tabalu, aLlazu. Cf. ur 1. Connected with rig(?)
2. IR, Go. ir= alaku. ud enem anna ma-ra i-ir-a-bi, when the word of Anu
came to me, CT. XV 24, 16. a-a-bi ir-ra-bi, whither are they gone?,
Radau, Miscel. 3, 9.
3. IR, Beget. ir =
eresu, plant, husband the earth. gisgal ir-ir, abode of creation,
CT. XV 10,13. See eril.
=
4. IR, Pierce, string beads. ir sara¡m. See ur 16; K. 4597, 3.
5. IR, Demonstrative pronoun, this, that, § 163.
ISI, ISIS, Wailing. =
isis, i-si-is $i!;atu, nizatu. Denom. verb, iSi = baJ;u, to
wail. From er·er = es-es = isis > isi.
ISIB, Incantation. =
isib siptu. Oracle, tertu. Decree, par$u. Priest of in-
cantation, isibbu, aSibu, l'amku. Also salisib, priestess. Passim in con-
tracts, where the SAL-ME of various gods appear as holders of property,
contestants at law, heirs, etc. isib is from the root sib, to invoke divinity,
=
and connected with sub nadu. [This etymology first given by HAUPT.]
KA, Mouth. Possibly connected with gil, speech.
1. KAD, Bind, wrap. Denom. verb t/kUt of 2. kád, kad = J;a$aru.
2. KAD, Pond, excavation. kád = timru. See kid 1.
KAL, Attendant, servant. kal = kallu, V R. 3, 116; 65 b 32. Passim in busi-
ness documents.
1. KALAG, Strong, mighty. kala-ga = dannu, gasru, idlu. Violent, cruel, astu,
agsu, izzu. Noun; might, emuJ;u. Denom. verb, dananu, be mighty.
2. KALAG, Valuable, dear. ge-en-kal-la-gi =
lisaJ;iru-ka, may they make thee
precious, v. SAL 4403. kalag-a-ni, one dear unto him, IV R. 14 a 9. ba·
an-kalagi-es = utaJ;J;iru,1 V R. 15 a 58. na kalag, precious stone, IV R.
12 obv.25.
A SELECTED VOCABULARY 223
••.. F:-=~iL abode. kan> gan= il;lu, field. kan-l;al, desolated abode, nidutu,
::.,'¿ . neld whose house is demolished. See kin, to inhabit.
_""=. l.a:ld, native land, Sumer. From kan abode and ug people. kan-ug =
.(';:"C:,?, kalam=matu. ka-nag, ka-na·ag, CT. XV 10,1; 13, 5; 18,14.
~_ Plol with ruined house, see kan and Poebel, op. laud., p.12.
__ Shine, glow, see ¡¡ir 2. kar-kar
~".? •. =
nabatu, napa1Ju. ud-dím kar-
e::r·,i·(/é, to cause to shine like day, CT. XV 28, 5. In compound igi-ka/'
= san!, behold, ¿uxru, to select, choose.
&loiL :;L<", Route. kar=padanu. Denom. verb, l;ár =narl'ubu IV1 of al'abu,
-¡,J ron away. ba-da-kar, he ran away, Ent. Cone 3, 16. Hence kár=
¡,;¡.;amu, irribu, arbu, munna/'bu, fugitive. From gil' 1.
~, :;;:.,R, Seize away. ká/' =el;emu, ¿wblilu. To plunder, masa'u. eteru,
lake. hence receive, also pay, often in commerce of late periodo Not
dassical. (kár =
eteru, to spare, is due to confusion with eteru, to
;¿ize, v. Bab. nI 262]. ur-ri-bi tug-mu mu-un-kár, the foe stripped me
[·f my garments, SBP. 4,9. ba-an-da-kar-/'a, he took away, SBH. 73, 3.
;¡a/u-kár, thief, 1Jabbilu. kár=kabasu, violently remove, often in omens,
SAL 5718. The preferable reading for this root is l;ar.
4l Turn. kar-k"tr=mutirru,
:I:.• .?-. :;;:AR, avenger, IV R. 40 I 9. sag-gi-kar= ba-
ba/ libbi, repentance, favour, OBI, 68 I 27; VS. 1 36 II 10. l;ar is here
connected with gur 1. Perhaps here l;ár =
kal'u, moat-wall.
5. ~. S'Word, razor. l;ar =
l;arru; kak l;a/' =
sikkat l;arri, hilt of a dagger.
Der. á-kar,hand dagger. l;ar-ra-ás mi-ni-in·dü-e =
abbuttum isakkan-su,
one sha11 make a mark upon him, i. e., treat him with a razor1, V R.
25 e 27. Cf. Poebel, 57, 22. The root is gil', to cut. á-kar mé unut =
tabazi, instrument of battle, ZA. VIII 204, 10.
l. ,.,ü, Route. kas =
1Jar/'anu. Denom. verb, kás lasamu, = run. Iras = te1Ju,
approach.
~ :;L<5, Liquor. kas = sikaru. Often kas. Here kas = sinatu.
1. abbutu, mark on a slave, seems clearly to have been a fashion of cutting
tair as resorts from V R; 47 b 32. muttutu ammarit abbuttum, as to the
-¡;:."
~::-=head, I was sheared of the mark. The Aramaic lV~~ to make bald and martak,
1 :¡,.:nbe come bald. Harper Lett. IV 348, 9, make this interpretation imperative·
S¿,e :\L~RTIN,JA. 1910.
~
KESDA, Bind. (w.~al'u, rahasu, kasa. Restrain. dúg-dúg-ni ge-kesda, may his
commands be restrained, Gud. B 1, 20. kesda-aga-a-mu, 1 restrain, CT.
XV 11, 24. é-kéS-da = r¿kis bUi, part of a house, IV R. 21 b 20. 9iSke"Sda
= rihsu, :1 cult object, V R. 21 a 29. The gisheSda of the gods, CT.
VI 9, 10. Reservoir, m i/)I:¡. nal'i, v. Bab.III 168. Hell, irkallu = keS-da,
place of restraint, V R. 16, 80; CT. XVII 3, 95. Deriv. ka-hesda, bind,
~~a~a,.u, yoke, $umiidu. gud UI'U ka-kes-du, oxen yoked for ploughing,
Gud. L 2, 6. Hence to choose, arrange. galu má-gul'-bi lw-mu-na·kescla,
he appointed sailors, Gud. D 3, 10. enim-bi ka-e-da-kesda, he arranged
the affair with him, Urukag. Cone B 12, 28. dumu ul'i-ma ..... ka-ba-
ab-hesda, he enrolled the men of Gr, OBI. 125 obv. 16. dúg-si-sa-e ha-
hes-da-aga-da, to arrange righteousness, Cyl. B 8, 25. Rent, ~i$"u,
A8KT. 69, 18.
1. KID, 8earch, digo hid = {jaI'Ci$u, dig, reckon. Notice gid for kid =
salpl, to
root. The derivatives had pond, kud investigation, indicate an original
meaning as given.
2. KID, Bind, seize, weave . ..::..rrr ktd=~a$Cil'u. 8ee gid=$abtitu. Der. gad,
linen garment. Noun hiel, l,it = kau, reed mato hid = hau sa 1;y,ané.
gihid.mag, gihid-má-mag = biil'U, reed mato
KIL, KEL, Maiden, ardatu.
l. LAG, Be clean, wash. lag = misu. su-su mu-lag, 1 washed (my) hands, Gud.
B 7, 29. The lord who like the Euphrates lag-ga-ni, washes, Cyl. B 10, 20.
lag=namtiru, be pure. lag = nabtitu, burn brightly, hence gislag, torch.
Adj. pure. azag lág, azag-lag, silver. gesten lag, white wine. Perhaps
in mus-lCtg = muslab!Ju, a kind of priest.
2. LAG, Go. lag = altiku. See lag 2.
1. LAL, =
Be lacking, matu. 9 lal 1 8. u-lal, wanting strength, feeble, Gud.
B 2, 2. izi im-ma-ta·lal, with fire one shall take away, Cyl. A 13, 13.
2. LAL, Suspend, hang, weigh. sa'par a-ab-ba·ge lal-a, a net suspended upon the
sea, IV R. 26 a 22. lamas ság·ga·ni anota im·ta-lal, the good demon on
high he suspended, Radau, Miscel. no. 4, 2. lal =
sa/ftilu, weigh. ni-
lal-e, he shall weigh out, (pay), passim.
3. LAL, Bind; attach. lal = ?amtidu, alalu. lál =
e?elu.
4. LAL, Honey. lal =dispu.
1. LAM, Bear fruit. esebu. lam-lam = ussubu.
2. LAM, Glamour. In me-lám = melammu. Strike with lightning. ga ba·ni-in-
lam, the fish it strikes with lightning, V R. 50 b 40.
3. LAM, Four. See lndex.
1. LI, Rejoice, rásu, nagu. See ili. See also ul1.
2. LI, Demonstrative pronoun, that yonder, § 164.
LIB, Come. lib = etelfu. For dib.
LIBIR, Master. For ligir. gallü, nagiru. ASKT. 118, rey. 1, li-bi-ir, a title
of Nergal.
LIBIS, Bowels, inwards. From lu, man, and pes> bis bowels. /ibis = libbu,
distinguished from sag = libbu heart. Always of humans. libis :lal-ma-
al, she whose inner parts are pure, CT. XV 24, 11.
LIG, To knead. Only in lig a kind of clay. imi-lig = astu, isikku, susikku.
LIGIR, Potentate, prince. REC. 91. For earlier nimgir = nagil'u. See nimgir.
1. LIL, a) Blow. lil= zálfu. Noun; lil = sáru, zalfilfu, wind. lil in mu-lu-líl,
lord of the wind, (Enlil), IV R. 27 a 56. en-lil, lord of the wind.
b) Play upon a wind instrumento As verb only with augment dug, duo
li-du = zamtiru. Der. u-li-li, lamentation. salú_li_li, female musician,
zammertu. li-du-a-ni, her song, BA. V 620, 17. li-du.dúg kesdu-mu, my
collection of songs, Gud. B 8, 21. li·li-es = lilizu, a wind instrument for
the feast. é-lil·lá = bit za1;i1;i, house of the wind.
2. LIL, To bind. Only in ab·lil·la si·dé, at the window they rush, Sm. 49 obv. 1.
ab aperture, lil, enclose, 'enclosed opening', aptu, window, eL ab-lal=
aptu, and lal 3. ub·lil =ibratu, secret chamber.
1. LV, Man. lu varo of lu (E:~) in d'asar-lu-dug = Marduk, Huber, Hilpr.
-- -.- ..
, -.::- .~., Stepnen, • A Sumerian
_~ ~" the nriní'in",1 ''"'~+- ' grammar and chrestom;:¡th" '
3. MAS, Small cattle. mas, más = bulu. Ordinarily young of the goat, kid, lalu,
$abítu. úz más-bi, she-goat and kid, IV R. 30 no. 2 obv. 6. más dú-du,
a sleek kid, Cyl. A 18,7; 1, 14. mas·seg, fat kid, Cyl. A 8, 8. Yet the
proper ter m for male kid is mas-dü. mas, más apparently denotes pro-
perly the young female of the goat, U/'i$u, distinct from the older female
+
unilJu, ~ U I)..AR. mas-zid, the sacred she-goat, Gud. F 4, 6; IV R. 28"
no. 4 rey. 3. mas-gab, the opened she-goat, DP. 83 1. The mas bears
bar-túg, but the ud u, bears sig, wool, Nik. 59 obv. VII; rey. IV. Der.
masbulclubbü, scape-goat, ZA. VI 242, 22 j IV 21 b 29.
4. MAS, Vision. mas, más = bu'u. más gig-ga, vision of the night, dream, CT.
IV 40 B 21; Nbn. 8 VI 12. Oracle. sig más-e ne-pacl, the brick announced
the oracle, Cyl. A 13, 17. más-bar-bar-ra su-mu-gid-dé, he observed
pure oracles, 12, 16.
5. MAS, Interest. mas, más =
$ibtum. más gi-na dag-ge-dam, let the lawful
interest increase, CT. VI 44 B 1. más an-tuk, he took interest, Poebel, 22,1.
6. lVL'S, Bright. mas =
eUu, ibbu. mas eUu. See gis 4, mus 3. =
MEL, Fire. KI-BIL (me-il) = bimtitu. Perhaps connected with mun.
MIN, Two. See lndex. min-na-bi, doubled. min-kam-ma, second. gisapin-
gud min-lal, oxen for irrigating machines, hitched in pair, K. 2014, 4,
V. Del. HW. 674 b.
---~~-- ~--
____ o
-
•• __
_ .. -_.
"~
- ~ __ .~_~ .----,-.-._-" ._"_.
-'':'--2- - A Sumerian grammar and chrestomathy'
,ars
mulieris pudenda. Rere mud uppu .?= CL tarítum = marat uppi.
ler.
72.:VIUD, To fear, writhe in sorrow. mud = galatu, paradu. Noun; mud = fear,
pain, gilittn. See sumug.
~T. :VIUD, Be dark. mnd = da'ünw, adüru. Noun; mud = dámu, blood.
led 1. "'JUDRV, Comb, used for preparing wool. A wool carder is called muclm =
'ed aslakku, written en-túg-a, (bél $ubati).
2. :vIVDRU, Staff. mu-du-rn =
[w((u, SBR. 69 rey. 12. Nusku umnn mu-du-rn,
fuI lord of the wand, Br. 8799.
,1. 1. :VlOG, Organ of begetting. múg =
arü, bi$$nru. Also mug bi$$urn. =
2. :VIUG, MVK, A rough garment. mng = mul¿:l¿:u. Rere perhaps nul¿:aru, mirf}u,
murf}u, CT. XII 12 b.
'n- 1. :VIUG, Begetter. mug=ülidu, father, alittu, mother. Gula mug ha lama, mo-
4, ther of the land, CT. XXV 8, 6. mug· zu, thy father, CT. XV 15, 22. a·a
mug-ma-sú, to the father, my begetter, CT. XXI 31, 10.
= 2. :VIUG, Top, crown of the head. mug, múg = muf}f}u, see especially CT. XXIII
23,1. Often as preposition. mug-ba, upon him, CT. XV 15,25. mug=
eli, passim.
1. :VIUL, Perish. mu-lu= kalu. Vijill.
72.:VIUL, Star. mul, múl = l¿:al¿:l¿:abu.As verb, to gleam. nam·mul, it gleams
f, not, Cyl. A 1, 8.
1. That which burns, stings. KI-NE (munu) =1J.im(itu, flame. ~~TTT~
:VIUN,
(munu) =
scorpion. mnn =
salt, acid. mu- ni-kam, burnt offering (?),
DP. no. 56. Der. mundu = surruptu, burnt offering. mun-dn, mun-du-
y kam, RTC. 46 rey. I; TSA. 1 obv. I 1; 51 obv. I; DP. 54 I, II.
2 }lUN, Name. mu-(n), mu-un,=sumu.
1. }JUR, Boiled, roasted, treated by fire. se-mur, roasted grain. ga-mur, boiled
milk.
--.~-:-------- -~-~-~--_._,-,_._._._~.---'-'---_._' =.
A ~ELECTED VOCABULARY 231
----------- --
A SELECTED VOCABULARY 235
~:al¿fallu. sa-a= lJalú. umun sa-a, lord of burning heat, (Samas), SBP.
158 rev. 1. The root is zag to burn.
2. SA, 1'0 make. sa, sa, sCi=epesu.
SA,SA, Proclaim, prophesy. sa=nabú. ge-mi.sa-za, mayest thou announce,
CyI. B 2, 6. gú-bal gú-ki-ta alosa = se;,elttll saplitu inattu, what is reveal-
..ra, ed above and beneath, CT. XVIII 49 b 19; II R 62 a 14, 1"01'inattll, II R.
és-e 30 d 5 has pitú. Here sá= mil/w, advice. sa-gar, one who gives advice,
173 maliku. sá to counsel, e/ababu.
:ku, ~. SA. Net, sa = sétu, riksu.
SAB, 8hepherd. Gf. sib 1. 80 read gg = re'u. 8ee Bab. III 171.
SAB,Heart. sab, sáb, sa-ba = libbu, lJablu. For sag 2.
I in 1. SAG,Head, front. sag = résu, panú, sag·bi, its front, often in descriptions of
land. Cf. sa-ku-bi, its front side, GT. II 5, 8. Ridge, hilI. Hence sag
his = bamatu, plldu, back of a man's body. sag often in early contracts for
ed, 'person' referring to slaves, 1 sag ardu,2 sag ardu, one, two slaves, etc.
Adj. high, first, elú, asaridu, sag, zag. su-mag-za sa-ga á-;úe/-e/a-bi,
~ct- with thy mighty hand whose faithful might is supreme, CyI. A 3, 16.
vsig, be high.
" SAG,Gift. sag=sirilJtu. Vsi:}, to give,
3. SAG,Rush forward. sag= aru, V R. 39 e ;j6. Cf. sak-ki=áasu, II R. 38 9 9.
Connected with zig 1.
1, SAG,Be sound, pure. ság=(abu. Active, to purify. dummu{w, bunnu. Adj.
sag, pure, good, darnlJu. Also sug =dummulJa in Nin-da-Nin-llmma-sa.q,
Lady who purifies the mother, GT. XXV 8, 4; val'. 3,47 has sag.
;:. SAG,Heart, centre. sag= libba, ~:iJ'bu.7Jwr'ü. Also iJ'ru intestines.
3. SAG,Low. sag=saplll, Vsig, be low,
4. SAG,Flood. sag =mClú. Vseg to rain. sag dingir'-J'i-nc gú-bi-gí-acám, the
flood of t~e gods returned to its bank, CyI. A 25, 21. 8ee p. 179 n. 4.
SAG,1'0 burn, 8ee zag and p. 196 n. 3,
1. SAL, Woman. sal=zinniStu. VW1.
;:, SAL, Whip. sál in gissal=gisalht, whip, goad. From sil to cut, 'the cutting
wood',
Semitic contracts the noun lorm sám is employed lor the verb also, CT.
VIII 49 A 8 and passim. A middle lorm sám+A is employed lor the
verb in Reisner, TU, and Bab. III pl. V obv. 6. Here construed with ra.
galu-usar-bw'ra-rCl in sám, he purchased ol Galuusarbarra.
1. SAR, Writing. sar-l'Ct-bi e-bal, the writing (ol accounts) he has done. Nik.
230 rev. n. Denom. verb, sar=satczru, to write. dub-sar, writer ol ta-
blets, scribe.
2. SAR, Verdure. sar-sar = n
ar1;ru, grass, H,. 44 a 7. [fissar, garden. sar-ra-a,
garden, CT. IX 38 col. III 18. Denom. verb; grow, only ol vegetation,
SUNÚ. sa-ar, sa¡'-ag-e=surrú, CT. XIX 21, 21 f. PossibIy connected
with sal' 3.
3. SAR, SARSplendour. Vsir, to shine. sál' = namusisatu,radiance. sár-sár=
naspantu, thunderbolt. d·sá,.-sár, Ninib 01 the thunderbolt, Del. HW.
509 a. Denom. verb, sá,.·sá,.= bara1.w, to lighten.
4. SAR, Pre-eminent. Connected with nir 2. sá,. =
rabú, great. sczr=sarru,
king, dingir-sár-sár =
ilczni I'Ctbúti.
" 5. SAR, Mix. sár-sár= bullulu. ág ·sár-sár= bullulu and l'Ct1;ra1;ru, mix into a
fine paste, then used lor to adorn, SBH. 110.26. See sur 5.
6. SAR, SAR, Hasten. sar=bamatu, lasamu, Vw 4.
*7. SAR, a) Totality. sál'=kissatu, kullatu. ki-sár, the whole earth, an-sár, all
ol heaven. galu sár, all men, CyI B 11,3. Hence sár a very large num-
ber, 36000, Greek cro:po,. Loan-word saru, the world, Adj. sár, com-
plete, gitmalu.
b) Possibly he re the verb Sál', be abundant, natJasu. Noun; sár =
nutJSu.
kibur-gal-gal-ia ni-sár-sál'-ra, where the great bowls are filled with
abundance (uddassú), SBP. 216,8.
1. SI" Be bright, red. M= sámu, Vsig 5.
2. SI, Be firm, true. si=kánu, dialectic lor <id. D U (si) = kánu, S. 11 obv. lío
1. SIB, Shepherd. siba, sib= re'u. See sab. Possibly connected with sib 5.
lt 2. SlB, Be sound, clean. sib =eiiu. pasisu. For sig =
dama1;ru. See sig 5.
*3. SEB, Shower, rain. se-ba=surrubba, CT. XVI 12,1. For SEG.
*4. Curse, Originally cast, hurl, v. sub. namsib, incantation.
SlB, isib, priest ol
incantation, isibbu.
5. SIB, Low, sapiu. For sig 3. si-ba-ni·a-sú, at his leet, beneath him, Cy!. A 4,
18. Verb, sib= má~u. ib-sl-ba ab-dúg, whose speech laileth, ma.~i 1;ribi-su,
ASKT. 122, 14.
~
.. -._- -------_.~ --:-:o"'---~.:------_. ------.----
A SELECTED VOCABULARY 237
ltO a
2. SIG, =
Give. sir) s"lg, naclanu, sara/Ju. zal-slg-ga, to give light. cl'babbar zal-
slg-ga, Samas the light giving, Sto Vaut. rey. 1, 4.
3. SIG, a) Be low, weak, sin k into inactivity. sig, sir), =sapalu, enesu. a é-a mu-lu-
bi al-sig, how long shal! the guardian of the house lapse in misery?, SBP.
r, al!
66,16. siy=su!Jarruru, fal! into misery, CT. XXVI 43 VIII 5. sig, si¡j
lum-
= má$u, fail. ib-sig si-mu, my spirit fails, (ma$i napiSti), BA. V 640, 13.
30m-
See sib 5'. sig', stg=adaru, be dark, in gloom, asasu, be distressed.
ám-sig-gi-en= Sítcluraku, 1 am cast in gloom, SBP. 45,11, see notes 16 and
:fJsu.
20. Further under this root st[j=naratu, rá/)1i, give way to fear, tremble,
with
hasú, be motionless with dread. sig=/Japu, to cave in.
b) Active, to humiliate, bring low. stg, sig =ma!Ja$u, safJa!Ju; sapu, tread
upon. Slg = basalu, thresh, sapanu, hurl, naclú, throw. In sig-gar:
5.
kalama sig-ne-gar, the land he reduced to obedience, Cy!. B ~, 14. sag
sig-ba-Si-gar, he bowed the head, Cy!. A 7, 12.
Nouns : 8fg, misery, sabarratu, etc. sig, hunger, weakness, súlu, um-
$atu. Perhaps here sig, old woman, sebtu, purumtu.
lt of
Adj. low. sig = saplu; smal!, sig = ~atnu $ib.ru. a-ab-ba sig-ga-sú,
unto the lower sea, Gud. B 5, 26. sig-ta nim-M, from the lands below to
t\ 4,
the lands above, Cy!. B 24, 2. ú sig-ni, strong and weak, Gud. B 7, 34.
-su,
slg-ú-bi, weak and strong, AO. 4329 rev.! (Nouoelles Fouilles de Telloh).
sir), stg, si-ig =sa~ummu, listless, miserable, verb su~amumu, lapse into
ave
hat 1. How explain si(g), ib.sig =
ma$i : u-ma-.~i, V R. 25 e 65 I.
2. By confusion of the values sig and clirig possessed by the same sign, we
often find cli-ri, dir read for sig adaru. =
238 SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
misery. sil-a si-ga-ge, street of silence, CT. XVI 49, 302, Sem. sulJi
sal!umme, the silent street.
4. SIG, Plunge forward, rush. Certainly connected with .::ig 1. Which is original?
Sig, sig, sig =
nalJabu; zal!u, blow. sig =
ni~,ilpú. sig-ga-zu-de, when
thou goest forth, (of the moon), SBP. 296, 6 ff. imir sig-sig-ga-dím, like a
speeding cloud, CT. XVII 20, 54. si-l!i=nil1ilpú. sig, fil;, slg=urrú,
rush. galu ude um-me-si-sif¡-sig, who sends the storm ?, CT. XV ~80, 16.
- Noun; Slg, sig=saru, wind, zal;il1u,storm. sir}; horn, (wrnu. Perhaps
here sig to turno uru nimgir-ra nu-mu-un-na-ab-slg-ga-!'i=alu sa nagi!'i
la usaIJlJiru-su, the city to which the prince turns not, SBP. 96, /. Same
sense with sig, line 3. S[{j = salJaru , Rm. 341 obv. 6 f.
5. SIG, Be bright, shine forth. sirj= namaru, napa,!;u. The temple like the sun
an-sag-gi im-sir}, lights up the centre of heaven, Cy], B 1, 7. The temple
which ukkin-ni sir}-a, lights all things, CyL A 30, 9. galu ud-dím sig-
gi-a, he who shines as the day, Cy], A 9, 21. sir an-sag·gi sig-ga-ám,
light which lights the centre of heaven, Cy], A 25, 4. The two colours red
and yellow are distinguished in Semitic, sa,nw, red, arl!u, yellow, but in
Sumerian the word sig is employed for both, a distinction in signs being
preserved only. sig, sig= sa,mu, red, sig =
aral1u, be verdant, green·
yellow, arl!u. sig=$ara,pu, silver white. (Jsed oí Jupiter lll· R. 52 b 8
which in OUT climate is gold-yellow. garsag sig-ga.dím, like a verdant
mountain, Cy], A 30,10. Here sig apparently =green. From slg, verdant,
is derived nisig, verdant, ar(fU. samu red, and banú, be bright, are also
writtetl ~llA.T and <~T4l Here sig =
ubbulu, to dry. se sig=
ubbulu sa se'im, to dry grain, SAL 5507 and II R. 16 e 38.- NOlln; sig,
light, núru, saruru. síg, baked brick.
6. SIG, Seize. si¡j =aIJazu, Slg, sig=tamaIJu. For zig.
7. SIG, Woo], stg =sipatu, wool, sartu, fieece, lubuStu, woollen garment. si¡j,
sig=sibú, a mourner's garment.
8. SIG, Be full, to til]' sig, sig=maiú, $erlU. Here sirj, to pour upon) heap up,
sapaku, II R. 38 a 21, also Slg. Cypress and arzallu-wood izi-a ne-sirj-sig,
he heaped on the fire) Cyl. A 13, 26. du-du mu·si-ig, he filled the low
places, Cyl. A 8, 4. íd-de a-zal-li sig-da, to fill the canal s with pllre water,
Cyl. B 14, 25. kisal e·ninnÜ-ge gul-la sig-da, to fill the courts of Eninnu
with joy, 15, 19. Grain e ursugalam-ma-ti(?) ni-sig, he has stored in the
house of U., BM. 1774816. Cí. ba-sig, (grain) has been stored) RTC.70.
Wool which remains stored after various payments is ba-an'sig, BM.
12915 II 21; IV 23.
9. SIG) Fil:. sig, sifj =na;¡azu. gissár-úr_bi urU-gal-dim... im-da-sig, the
----.....~-~-
A SELECTED VOOABULARY 23g
weapon sar-ur like a great spear he placed (in Lagash), Cy!. A 22, 20.
sunir ... im-ma-cla·s(rj-gi, the symbol was fixed, 26, 5, ura é·da sig-sig-
?, ga-bi, the spear which was fixed in the temple, 27, 18. ingar-el-bi ge-ne-
n sid (val'. si), may she establish its sacred walls, CT. 1 46, 11. The root is
a sig, which disappeared, but the noun sug foundation has been preserved.
t. See sug 7. ki-se-gu, a favorable place, Cy!. B 19, 13; BA. V 641, 18.
¡. 10. SIG, Oversee, rule. s'íg =palp'iclu, sig = dababu, to plan. Noun sig = méristu,
S wisdom. eL zig 1.
1. SIG, Be pure, gracious. sig =clamal;w, bararu. seg, se-Da (~) = magaru. See
zig 9_ To purify, sig = nummuru, ubbubu. Adj. pure, good. sig =clam-
~u, seg = migru, obedient. kur nu-se-ga, the disobedient land, CT. XV
11, 17. en se-ga, gracious lord, OBl. 18, 8. kas-sig, pure wine, RA. III
135. AIso síg = apaIJu, damaIJu, have merey, be favorable, in n. pra.
Síg-E-a, i. e. Ihil~-Ea, 'Ea has been merciful '. Samas-Sig, Samas-damilj;,
'Samas is favorable'. See S,\1. 9131. 34 and Bab. IV 52. ses-se-ga, AlJi-
magir" Here seg = sema, give ear unto, hear. d·en·lil-lá nu se-ga, not
obedient unto Enlil, CT. XVII 7, 1l. Hence to permito dü-a-dé nu-un-
se·ga, she permitted not to build, CT. XXI 31, 14 f. To accept a prayer.
sag-su-gid-bi se-ga mu-un-da·an·teg, his prayer may he give ear unto,
IV R. 18, no. 2 rey. lI. - Noun; obedience. seg la ba-ür obedience was
not observed, Gud. B 7, 30. See subu, pure. A verb seg = palj;adu, over-
see, MDOG. no. 4 p. 13.
2. SEG, To rain, to water. seg = zananu. ki-bal-á(m) seg-ga men, (she) who rains
(fire) upon the hostil e land am 1, SBH. 104, 29. a seg-gi, rain water,
CT. IV A 29. - i\'oun; seg=rain, shower. zunnu, surbu, nalsu. ség,
shower, surubbü. Der. azad for asag, shower. See sag 3, and sag 4.
3. SEG, Misery. siJg= salj;ummatu, Vsig 3. CL sag 3.
SIKA, SI¡{A, Word for water vessels, ba,~bu, isbil$u. Vseg 2. Written ~~T-
SI!', Blow away. siIJ= urru, Vsig 4. Perhaps here silj;IJa, ram, atudu.
1. SIL, Sever, cut, decide. sil=salatu, muttü. sil=bipu,!;uppu, CT. XlI 16 a
22 f. si-il =
salatu, BA. V 632, 18; natu split, IV R. 26 a 39, sU = IJala-
pu, cut away. tug-bar-ra si-il-lá, oute!' divided robe. Noun, sil, sil,
street, suIJü, sulti. si-la, act of supervision. Sheep and goats si-la ur-
ti'sul-sEg-e, under the supervision of Ur-Sulsige, Myhrman, 19, 37. lf my
reading selu for eburu, harvest, be correct, Bab. n 284, then it may be
placed here.
2. SIL, Lamb. síl=pulJadu, pulJattu.
3. SIL, Rejoice, adore, be happy. ga-an-si-il, 1 will be happy, (luslim), CT. XVI
7, 277. ni-si-U-e, it rejoices, Cy!. A 2, 5. si-il=dalalu, ka··sil=clalalu,
adore. /w-zal, worshipful, mutallu. Noun; sa, sU, gladness, riSa tu, CT.
XII b 6.
SIL, Vase (?) receptacIe I?¡, sil =
silum sa i??uri, nilní, a silu for fish and birds,
CT. XII 15 a 9 f, restored from V R. 37 b 8; here 4 (sil) =silum sa tahal·
tim and seri, a silum, a leather bottle, and a silum for flesh. The si·il =
silum, of the gardener, CT. XII 2 rey. b 19. In II R. 62 c d 60-64 si.lu =
n sa [ J. 1S-P A ~ =
Sil·lu-sa~. IS-PA- TU ~ .sa ~. =H
rUL-BA ~= TT ,saB¡¡. sil= 11 su takalUm1• In favourof a mean·
iug, receptacle, is the reading bul' =
silum, V R. 37 b 7-9 and the ele-
ment TUL in II R. 62 e 63.
*1. SIM, Ointment, paste. sim=ri!'ilj:u. Cy1. A 27,9.24.
2. SIlvI, SE\!, Bow1. sim-su mu-dím-dím, he constructed (the stone) into a bowl,
ey1. A 23, 6. sim na é-u su- ga-ói, the stone bowl placed in the temple,
~9, 5. A si·im of gold, RTC. 221 obv. 1 4. 223 obv. 1 3. A si-im-cluof
copper, TU. 124 VII 6. The urudusi_im_da of Ningirsu, 279. Employed
as a musical instrument with a-lá, Cy!. A 18, 19; 28,18; B. 15, 20.
3. SIM, To sieve. "im (NAM) =
sabalu. <;ictnu-sim, unsieved meal, IV R. 56 1
23; 58132.
4. SIN, SIN, SEN, Gleam, be clean. sín = ebebu. a·yúb·ba uru sín-sín-nu-e-ne,
meal waters purHying the city, CT. XVII 40, 77. sin-(as) tupassas, =
thou shalt make shine with ointments, CT. XXIII 43, 7. - Nounj Sin =
sennu, copper vessel, su/]tu, copper. Possibly here the narhe of the moon
sin.
1. SIR, ser, Sing. For nir. sir =
zumaru, ?ara1;u. se-ir =
samaru, Sb 350.
gissir =
malílu flute. ma-s{r =
zamaru, songo a-se-ir, lamentation.
sir-ra ud·dé gig-gig-ga = ?ir/]i úmi musamri?, cry of the woe making
spirit, SBP. 16, n. 1.
2. SIR, Shine. sil', sir =
namaru) napa/]u. sil', s[r= núl'u light. sir =nuru.
se-ir, brightness, saruru. sil' =
dipuru, torch, AO. 4489 rey. 9.
3. SIR, a) Reduce to extremities. sír=zaraba. zi·ir=asasu, be in misery. ud-
de sir·sir-ri =
umu múnisu, the spirit which reduces to weakness, SBP.
16 n. 1. mu-lu mu-un-sir-sir-I'Í =
nisi unnas (val'. uza/'rab), SBP. 44
rev. 1. slr-ra =
zarbis, in affiiction. - Noull; affiiction, arurtu. su-ma se-
ir-ra ma-a,l.lu-ba, he who has put woe in mine hand, IV R. 21 * b note 5.
CL §e·ir nu-ma-al-la-bi, SBR. lUl, 60. See sur 1.
1. Collated by me.
A SELECTED VOCABULARY 241
~l'.XVI
:c!aleZ!u, b) Bind. sÍ/-=lj;a.5aru. lj;i$ri sír, i. e. lj;i$ri (w$ur, tie a knot, CT. XXIII
¡tu, él'. 18, 46. Perhaps here esi¡' pitch, 'binding liquid' (?). AIso sír = iddu,
pitch.
1 birds, 4. 5lR, Run away. sir= seru, CT. XIX 21, 17. 8ír to rush, blow. imir·sír =
takal_ edepu sa sári, KA-sír-sí¡- =
uddupu, Sm. 6 obv. 13.
si-il = ;,. 5JR, Be verdant. See sal'. sír =
ar(w, grass, II R. 44 a 8. si,' erisu, to =
=
~_.
ii·¿u=
:tl
16
.J. SUG, Hurl down, súg =
sapanu, sag súg =
meranus, with dejected heart.
Vsig 3.
4. SUG, High, foremost. súg = sa1;rú, elitu. mas-súg, leading goat, massu.
Vsig.
[l
d 5. SUG, Rush, hasten. súg=ni1;rilpú, sadaIJu. im·si-súg-gi-es, they hastened,
SBP. 314, 31.
6. SUG, Be fuI!. súg= malú, ¡¡enU, VSig.
- SUG, To fix, stand. mu·na-da-su-gi-es, he installed them, Cy!. B 11,14. ni·ib-
su-gi.es-ám, they stood forth, presented themselves before the judge,
RTe. 295 rey. 3.
S. SUG, lncrease, ruddú. lal-Usu-ga, the interest is lacking, CT. Ill18 A 2. lal-U
Bu-ga-ni, B 19. One shekel 72 se of silver the su-ga of Alla, i. e., interest
to be paid by Alla, CT. X 36 11 1. ib·da-.~u-gl:, interest will be paid.
Perhaps this meaning 'interest, tax' in cases like BM. 19064 obv. 18, a bull
the su-ga of a farmer.
!:l. SUG, Brightness. lnferred 101' sud 3 and su 1.
10. SUG, Hole, cavity (?¡. Only in sagar-súg-súg = temiri, epri, underground
oven, CT. XIX 20,16.
1. "leG, To pluck away. BUg = nasalJu, bullú, annihilate.
;;.. ::"['8, Foundation. sag, súg == ussu.
"leGUS; Foundation. isdu. See sufws.
5leL, a) Street. su·lu , =
= ~•..
sú¿w, suZ¡¡. - b) Decision, oversight, pi1;rittu.
Deriv. of Vsil, to divide, distinguish.
SleL, Mighty. idlu. Der. nam-sul-la, might, Radau, Miscel. 5, 1.
"CúVG, Pain. su body, mug distress, gilittu. sulu sa $urri, a disease of the
heart.
1. ,,1::-;, SUN, Shine, be clean. Active to purify. i-dé 8ú-nu, bright eyes, CT. XV
18 rev. 1. ken su-na bi-nad, in a clean place he sleeps, CT. XV 23 /J 18.
ha· a su-ne =pasisat pí·su, Ishe who is) the anointer 01 his mouth, (puri-
fiel' of hisspeech), ASKT. 129,17. sún= namui!isu, radiance. sun=
samu, red. Here also sun =
sunnu, copper vessel. See sin.
_ ,,<:::-;. Devastate, overwhelm. "un =
na1;diru. A temple /Ja-du a-ba /Jasún,
was built and afterward destroyed, CT. I 45, 16. Become a ruin, old,
Bún =
labiru. ki-bal ni-sun =
tuspal, (val'. ta1;r1;rul'j,the hostile land
,hou dost overwhelm, BA. V 633, 24. gun sun·na, bull that overwhelms,
~BP. 112, 1; SBR. 46, 1. sun=rímu, wild ox. Full form am-sun=
-inw. Rence sun =
¿wblu, battle. A title 01 Adad is sun nu kus-sá, he
"'Íl:. wearies not in battle, CT. XXV 24, 16. Rere ki-bi ba-an-su·ni·sú
-$5
244 SUMERIAN • GRAMMAR
'----_.
A SELEOTED VOOABULARY 245
246
SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
2. TAR, Burn. ta!' = kaúaúu, Bab. II 205 no. 340'. !;ral'al'a, !;rata!'u.
3. TAR, \Veak, little. tal' = dalla. For tal'. Written also tallu, SAL 335.
1. TI, Take, la(tu. For tig 1. Often in su-úa-ti, he received. eL su-úa-an-te-ga_
en, Poebel, 24, 9.
2. TI, Rest, nálw, asaba. For tig 2.
1. TIG, TEG, a) Touch, take, approach. Cf. tag 1, tab 1. tcg = li(fÚ. Ordinaril:
su-teg. Also in tig-aga =
li(tú, v. SAL 2049. maba!'u, accept, recei,e_
CL dialectic tcm in si!'-sag tc-ma-a, the first lament receive, SBH. 31, 15.
teg=!'asu, acquire. See tuk. From the notion 'touch', the verb came 10
mean reach unto, approach, construed with sú. galu tU-l'a-sú tc-gá-da-
mu, when 1 draw nigh unto the sick man, CT. XVI 5, 180. teg tebu, io =
approach. In the compound ni teg, to have fear, to fear. gis-gi[f-zu-.~ú ni
ga-ma-si-iú-teg, for thy shadow I have reverence, Cyl. A 3, 15. \Vith
persons theproper consiruction is l'a. mil' galu·!'a tcga-ta, the girdle
which is made to be put upon aman, II R. 19 b 7.
A SELECTED VOCABULARY 247
tu-u = .~ubatu,
Rm. 2588 rey. 25. For tug.
:¡,; = ramaku, rasamu. Wash. The serpent which .... a a-tú-
,~sj~sitself in water, Cyl. B 16,14. Noun; tú-u= rimku, washing.
~:!C'Oash, pour out.
: "J.~.,e. tú = ta, siptll.
1. TUB, To repose. ná[w. Peaee nibtu. For túg" VtLg. tüb=pasab.u. t¡,~ =
ná[w. sag-zu dé-en-na-trlb-e, may thy heart repose. llsum ság- bi r"7':-
ma-ab-trlb-bi, a good dragon he eaused to rest there, CyI. A 25, 28. T:¿
sailors mú e·trlb-ba·a, who stay on ships, Vrukag. Cone A IV 4. á g.".¡.~-
na gen-trlb, may she cause to eease his violenee, Gud. B 9, 9. trlb, peaé-,".
in trlb-dúg, to eommand eessation of trouble ete. sá-úi .... trlb·bi ne·'.E-
in-dúg, they settled the lawsuit, Poebel, 10, 15.
2. TUE, Quake with fear. tüb = rábu. an imi tilb-ba-ni, the heavens tremble e:
themselves, SBH. 9, 88. slg-tilb = raibtu, palsy, ASKT. n, 25.
TUD, a) To bring forth, beget. tud =
aladu (of both male and female), banú.
dumu an azag·gi tud-da, ehild born of the pure heavens, CyI. A 2, 3.
barun tud-cla, a lamb·bearing ewe, CT. IX 20 obv. 18. Der. rl·tud, oÉ·
spring. gissinig .... an rl-tud-ta é-ninnü ím-ta-el-B-ne, with tamarisk
produet of heaven they purge Eninnu, CyI. B 4, 10. Henee denom. verbo
im-ta-rl-tud-da, it is begotten, CT. XVII 40, 9.
b) To build. Diorite alan-na-ni-sú mu-tud, he fashioned into a statue.
Gud. A 3, 3. See also SAK. 2 al Il 2; III 2.
1. TUG, Obtain, possess. tug, tuk=rasú, iSú. Vtig 1. azag lag-ga X+ y e-da-
tug, pure gold X and Y took together, RTC. 28. yaú-ri nu-tug, a rival he
has not, passim.
2. TUG, To repose. Original of tub 1. So read túg-mal, to appease (nibta sakanu).
sag IJw-na-túg-mal-e', he gave his heart repose, Cyl. A 18, 2. CL Cyl.
B 10, 16. za-ra ma-ra-túg-mal-B, he will give thee repose, Cyl. A 7, 5.
3. TUG, Cloth made of fibres, flax, hemp, ete. túg =
$abatu.
1. TUG, To open, set free. tug = pitú" pataru. su-tug, open the hand, to take.
igi·tug, open the eye, to see. azag-ta tug-ga, redeemed with money, CT.
III 46, 115.
2. TUG, Be plentiful. For dug. tu-ug =
duMudu, CT. XII 11 b 23.
1. TUL, SmalI. tu-tu-lú = $i[Lbiru. $ub.¿wru, littleness, IV R. 13 b 5. tul for
tUl' 4.
2. TUL, Great. gen- 'tu-ul = lu irbá, may it be mighty, VAT. 251 obv. 12. 'tu- 'tu-
Id = NI-ba-a, SBH. no. 62, 5. 'tu- 'tu-lú-úi =
rabís, K 69 rey. 10, 12:
cL 42, 56.
TU)!, To carry. tum, túm = babaZu. guskin ... mu-na·tum, gold he brought
1. For the reading tug, tuá for IEJ = nábu, V. CT. XV 23 a 16 KV glossed tu,
with the meaning ná¿w.
2. The writing is invariably l§r bul the meaning is certain. Only the reading
mal for yd is uncertain. Against making a eompollnd verb of the form is the fact
that the elements are never separated. In favour of reading mal is the absence oí
a variant gi, [fa, and the active meaning.
A SELECTED VOCABULARY 249
1. For ü in the sense 01 'upon' see the example under a) Irom Cyl. A.26, 26.
A SELECTED VOCABULARY
251
~';-!,i im-e, like the light of day he arose, Cyl. B 16, 8. Cf. SBP.296, 17.
'J-e:'l-eralword for sheep, immeru, $énu, (ineludes goats), su'u. údu-gal,
;::"-eaisheep, 1. e., ram, ";~. údu seg, fat sheep. Also ud (~1)= $6nu,
BE. XIV 48 ete.
-=::-::.. \Yaier yessel, jaro Noun formation from dul2. u-dul= di!;zaru, SAL
:'0."0. See udun.
',!;. -=:-:::.. Herdsman, eowherd. ú-du-li, ú·clu, Urukag. Cone, A 4, 5 and B 8,19.
R-egularly written LID-KV = utullu, herdsman, Epie of Gilgamish 44, 58
:e:l. Raupt], CT. XIX 10, K 4244, 6'. tÍ-tul = utullu, V R 40 e 13. udul-
',: ne-us, their eowherd 1 appointed, Gud. F 3, 18. A title after names,
RTC. 61 rey. 19; DP. 96 col. 1 ete. Perhaps ut-tul in SBP. 338, 2~ is a
phonetie speHing for udul. See utul.
=~. eeHar, underground store-room, oyen. Loan-word utunu. An udun for
:'.1.-81mand ia-sur, kinds of oil, AL" 80 T 28. 30; kannu, a yessel for oils,
3_"-1. 6625.
E. _ Light, heat. ug, ug, ug = núm, úmu. galu ug-dím síg-gí-a, he who shines
as the light, Cyl. B 9, 21. ug = immu, heat. sak-ki ug-ga-ni-ía, with
,zlowing face, CT. XXI 31, 16. OBI. 68 1 26.
!. Fieree animal, panther. Probably same word as ug 1. ug = labu, nimru.
In Cyl. A 26, 27 ug and ug are different animals'. ug = úmu, lion. ug =
Wllamu, flerce wild beast. ugu «~~1~11 = umamu. Adad whose roar
i5 like the ugu, Vil'. Adad no. VII 13. ug-ga=rayen. musen-uga, rayen,
Th. Rep. 88, 5. ug = lú, wild-ox, ef. lü = nisu, V R. 21 a 41. ug=
r!annu, da!;z!;zi!;ztt,names of wild animals, CT. XII 8, 13 f. ug-zi-ga,
ferocious panther, Cy1. A 2,9. U¡í ni-nad, a panther lay sleeping, 4, 19.
Adad rides the u¡j-gal-la, great lion, CT. XV 15, 9. u¡j-banda, strong
panther, Cyl. A 26, 27. u¡j-kás-e, swift panther, 7, 20; Cy1. B 9, 16. Adj.
fieree, uggu, aggu. ur-mag ug, the angry lion, Cyl. B 4, 20.
• To slay. uga=ndru, Rm. 11,31. Cf. dúg=cld!;zu. mu-un-úg=tandr,
¡hou didst slay, IV R. 30 b 11. ug for dug.
j[ Cr...-. u¡j=sara[w, nissatu. ug= sisítu, CT. XIl 6 a 16. For dug 4.
• -:: :C-:. UKU, UG,People. ug = nisú. ug-ga-na mu-túm, to his people he brought,
C...-1.A 10, 15. ug-ga mu-na-JÍg, with the people he went forth, 8, 13.
ug-ga mar-ma-cm-zí-en = nisi li{jíSanimma, let the people hasten, SBR.
UGU, Poisonous insecto ug= ublu, kalmatu, lJalJlJu. ug = bablJu, etc. Poi;:::
=
spittle, heuce curse. ug hispu, curse, ubl;u, poison. ug =
kusú, poi;:::.
Slime. úg of the river, Cl'. XXIII 43, 9; 5, 5; Zim. Rt. 113 Anm. l.).
UKK1N, Assembly, pulJru. Humanity, apati, KB. VI 351; PSBA. 1910, 1201. h
Variant unken, Cl'. XXIV 18, 1;¿. From ug people and gin to assembl,:.
l'he temple which ukkin-ni 8irJ-o, gives !ight lo humanity, CyI. A 30. 9.
1. UL, Glad, happy. ul= ul.~u. Bright, joyous, úl= namru. VU2. Noun; glad-
ness, risa/u (ul); feast, kirldtu (úIJ. Grace, annu, Cl'. XII 41 a end (¡<i.
la). Ad.v. ul-U-es, joyously, SBH. 14, 19; 85,3. Denom. verb, be brighr.
shine. ul, ül = nabatu, Cl'. XIX 14 h 28.
1. UMMA, UMMAN, Artisan, skilIed workman. has nam-um-ma, !iquor for the
artisans, SAK. 46 VI 2 (after break). 52 X 33 has nam-um-ma-an, with
val'. nam-um-ma-me. Loan-word ummanu. Hence original Sumo is
umman. See umun 1. Abr. um-me-a (§ 62). amelu um-me-a múdú, the
wise craftsman, Zim. Rt. no. 24 obv. 19. ana um'me-a la ikul, if he heed
not the wise one, IV R. 48 a 5. a-a um-me-a-ge-mes, father of craftsmen,
Sm. 61 in Bezold, Cat. ukkin 1Un-1I18-a,assembly of wise men, V R. 65 a 36.
um-me is the title of a man, RTe. 53 obv. 19.
2. UMMAN, UGNIM, People, host. Written KI-SU-LU-KU-GAR. Anam ab-ba
umman unu-ki-ga-ge, counseIlor of the people of Erech, OBI. 26, 2 f.
IStar nin llIwrwn, mistress of the people, IV R. 1 a 68. umman·bi d¡¡l-
A SELECTED VOCABULARY 253
dul, he gathers his host, ASKT. 80, 11. Henee um-mi-a, total, whole,
CT. VIII 36 O 10.
UMUG,Heart disease. u-mu-ug =
sula. Der. of mug, distress. ef. sumug.
1. Artisan.
U~IUN, Harmonised form of umman 1. umun ummc7nu. Der.=
umún, skilled work, mummu, ummatu.
2. UMUN, Lord. umun= belu. Prinee, rubu. Lady, beltu. Hero, !Jarl'adu. Often
u-mu·un.
3. UMUN, Swamp, morass. umün, umuna =
¿wmmu, alapü, II R. 27 a 57 f.
umün=mi!J$u, CT. XlI 26 b 10; umun= mi!J$atu, Br. 8713. Cf. LAGAB +
UH (umun) =
¿tammu, CT. XIl 26 b 14, and eL ug, slime. Here the
names of several water plants. u-mu-un =
u-gil =
elpitu, a kind of
priekle.
UNU, Abode, great house. unu, unu =
subtu. unu =
mdkalu, dining hall.
unu-a ni-tud, in the great house he has begotten me, Cy!. A 3, 8. unu, un,
people, nisu. Late for ugu.
=
l. DR, Seize. ur a!Jazu. Cf. ir 1. mussu'u, 1,0 despoil. u-me·ni-úr-úr', despoil,
Del. HW. 428 b. elingir elingir ur-ur-I-i-a-mes =
ilani massi'uti, the de-
spoiling gods, Br. 11896. Here ur=bdru, ur=$ddu, 1,0 hunt. In Küeh.
Med. XV 38, end-su ur-mes = i$$anurlu, the meaning appears 1,0 be 'his
eyes are red '1.
2. Be in distress. For sur. Ul' araru.
UR, = =
Ul' asasu. ur nu-tuk, not having
sorrow, la ade7l'U, SAL 8664. Noun; distress, astsu (ur). HU +PIR in-
ga-ur-ri, the birds thou distressest, SBH. 130, 22.
3. DR, Sexual strength, organ of sexo ur= baltu, bus tu. Henee al' =dutu, viri-
lit)', sunu breast, uellu lap, Male organ birku. The god of begetting is
uri-zid, SAK. 2,7;2. Henee ur=idlu, ame la, maleo ül'=amtu, maid. w'u
= allu, strong. uru ()o-~T) = ardu, male slave. Denom. verb, uru =
el'esu 1,0 create. Nabu-alJe-uru (eris). Nebo has created brothers. eL
Tallquist, NB. 306. Veri 1.
4. DR, Till the land, make fruitful with water machines. [Same root as 3?]. i¿rla
ina agadibbi ba-an-ur-ru-e (irris), the fleld he tills with the hoe(?), ASKT.
73, 8. d·dú-Sár-I·a ur-a, he that makes fruitful the grain, 1 V R. 23 a 13.
galu uru = erisu the farmer.
5. DR, Weeping. =
ÜI' dimtu, SBH. 54 reY. 6. Ver2. See iSi.
6. DR, To protect, al', ü,-=nu$aru. seg la-ba-ür, obedience was not observed,
Gud. B 7, 30. e-ne mu-lu w'a-uru nu-un.zí-ir_[zi-il']', How long shall he
1. lf this interpretation be correct then the roots $ddu, hunt, and $ádu, be red
are identica!. For u$$anadu 11', employed with ená, v. King, Magic 53, 10.
AIso Jensen, KB. VIl, 390, argues for a single root.
2. Read ilHlJ-i-il-~a-a].
5'
254
SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
who is proteeted not escape? BA. V 640,17. Noun; úr= kidinu, protecl:,::,
~~~H (uru) = tagsirtu. d'nina unl e-gal'-ra, Nina protectress oi 12:.-=
encJosures, Nik. 163 obv. II 4.
b) Part of the body, legs, feet. ur-slg-bi izi u-ne-tag, his legs and face
toueh with tire, CT. XVI 45, 145. Yet ur means apparently Jeet in nig-
ul'-tab-tab-ba, whatsoever is four footed, Bois. Choix 30, 11. á-ul' =
mesréti, limbs, i. e. hands and legs.
bam, BE. VIII 106, 6.
Cf. ur-uzu = isid séri, a leg of tlesh,
e) Baek (?) ür=letu. ür galu tu-ra-Sú ra-ra·da, in beating the baek (?) of tbe
siek man, CT. XVI 5, 189. Also ur =
letu. bad-Ul'-ta ba-sub, upon the
ridge of the city wall he hurled her. All these words go baek to an
original us, to place, to Support emiidu. Henee ür =
emiidu.
8. UR, Demonstrative pronoun, § 163.
9. UR, URU, eity. W'U, úru, urú = alu. urú = ummanu, host, K. 69 obv. 15.
121'= kapru, village. urugal, ir(fal = irkallu, arallu" the great city (oí
the dead), hel!. Possibly eonneeted with eri to beget.
10. UR, Go, advanee. Vara. ür=bala?u, ef. ra=bil?á, run away. úr=ba'u,
come. ur, u/' = bamamu to lead. a-ma-ru úr·ra, the advaneing storm,
SBH. 38, 8. úr = rakabu, to ride.
11. UR, One.
ru = édu, isten. ur = isten. ur, 121'= mitlwru, unanimous.
2. 121' See
12. UR, To bristle, Bore with a pointed instrument, to harrow, úr = sakaku. bao
ab'úr-ra = usakkak, he shall harrow, ASKT. 73,6. úr = sakaku sa iij:li,
and masaru sa iij:ti, to harrow a tield, BM. 47779, rey. ef. 36991, 19. túg
Úgir úr-ra, a garment studded with sharp points. slg-úr = sintu, a
woollen garment beaded. su-úr-su-úr = sintatu, beaded belt. ur =
masaru.
IV 4". fox's tail im-ma-ni-ib-ur-ur
R. 11 a The = imtanassar, bristled (?),
13. UR, Hostile, nakru. úru-ma uri me-en, varo ur-ri men, to my eity ] am
hostile, CT. XV 8 !. 1 (above) =
24, 9. Possibly eonneeted with kur.
14. UR, Dog, kalbu. ur-bar-I'a, wild dogo ur-maiJ, lion. panther labbu. W'
idim, the howling dog, uridimmü. See idim 3 and SAL 8662.
15. UR, Old, labil'U. Value assumed for U'l'a
¡) i. e. ur, man against mano
= labiru from Poebel 11, 21, tú.lu-
16. UR, =
Roof, house, stable. tÍ,' u/'u,rub$u, rukbu. ddru, campo al' = I'ukbu.
=
Possibly connected with tUl' tarba$u, stal!. See Bab, II 119.
1. us, Decision, order. tÍs = temu. ve¿ 2.
2. us, Sixty, p. 119.
3. US, 'fo place. us = emedu. To place upon. Ships.,. gtl-de-a en d·nin-gir-
su-ra im-ma-na-us, were loaded for Gudea the priest of Ningirsu, Cy1. A
16,12. zag-ga a dé-ib-us =
a¿ú lummid-su, I will place (my) side by him,
i. e., will stand beside him, ASKT. 81, 13. ga-du ig-e-ü us-sa-bi, the
cornice which was placed above the door, Cy1. A 26, 26. Noun; us =
nlmedu, foundation, see ur 7. Of a temple; us-bi mu-azag, its foundation
I have consecrated, Gud. E 3, 6. See ussa 1.
4. us, To follow after, drive. tnu-un-us-e =
ridanni, it Jollows me. im-ma-an-
us =
irtedl-su, it follows him, IV R. 2 VI 3. na é-a-ni-stÍ itn-ma-an-
us-es, the man unto his house they have driven, IV R. 16 b 20. gü-ud-da us
=
ridtl sa alpi, one who drives oxen, Il R. 24 a 60. See ussa 2.
5. us, Side. us =
siddu, the long side of a field, V R. 20, 46. us-an-ta, the upper
side, us-ki-ta, the lower side.
ussu, Eight, see p. 118.
1. USSA, To place, emedu. mug gis-kun sug-bi us-sa, place his limbs against (his)
rump\ Craig, RT. II 11 a 10. Tread upon, ddsu. bar-bi al-us-sa= aIJati
idds, SBP. 42, 63. é me-lam-hi an-ni us-sa, the temple whose splendour
is erected heavenward, Cy1. A 17, 18.
2. USSA, To follow, drive. seg anna-dím ussa =
kima zunnu sa istu samé surdtl,
like rain which is driven from heaven, CT. XVII 33, 36. ussa-tnu ina =
ridl- ~a, as 1 follow after. Hence adj. next, following. mu ussa, the
following year'. Employed passim to denote second quality. kas ussa,
liquor of the second quality. slg-sig, good wool, but slg ussa sig, wool
of second quality of goodness.
1. USSADU, Driver, shepherd. galu ussadu = ridtl. ussa 2 with augment du{g).
2. USSADU, Side. us 5 with augment dulg). A field is ussadu X, beside the field
of X.
A temple devotee (both genders). galuú-sag_ga, Cy1. A 1:3, 14. (Here
USAG,
written SA-Ú-GJ. The u-sag of the gods, Radau, Ninib, 33, 6. lStar is
called ú-sag-gd-ge, SBP. 300,1. See usug.
1. USAN, Darkness. usan, úsan simetan.= Night, lilatu.
2. USAN, Whip. usan =
kinnazu, CT. Xl 18, 31. galu sUusán-sur,h3fness maker,
Poebel, 55,3. usan la·ba-sig, no one was struck with a whip, Gud. B 4,10.
3. USAN, Elamitic word for goddess, SAL 2220. Cf. ZA. XXII 110, Ninsun.
2.
1. usu, Sunset.
Dragon. For ud-sus,
For Usum. suppression
usa, usü. of daylight. Varo uzu, <~~r
3. usu,
4. usu, Qne.
Thirty, Sic SAL 221, usú
p 119. = isten. usú = edisu. Cf. as, one.
1. UTUL, Herdsman, shepherd. re'u Br. 5237.39. See udul. Cf. SAL 3895. utullu
shepherd to be distinguished írom utuUata flock
1 b 40 and LID-GUD-SE-Rr.A, V R. 12 a 38.
=
LID.LU-LU-Ú_A IV R.
2. UTUL, Water jaro dil!aru, see udul and CT. XII 24 b 16.
1. uzu, She-goat.
UZ,
Sunset, seeúzusu enzu,
1. = Also ewe la¿u'u, Thomp. Rep. 103, 11.
4. ZAG, Side, boundary. zag = idu, ittu, abu. za,q ;;id-sul'-ra imi dar.ra, beside
the mixed meal variegated (?) clay... [place l, CT. X VI 35, 23. zag-ba
gUb-ba-da, to place (a fisherman) at its side, Cyl. B. 15, 1. Cf. 15, 11.
Boundary
thee (who pátu.
is there sabatu,
?). inside. As preposition beside. zag-bi, beside
1. GI-DIRlG.
2. Cf. perhaps CT. XXVI! 38, 22 asib mabazi ZAG-ka una akri isapparü, the
inhabitants of a city will send thy strength to the foe.
257
A SELECTED VOCABULARY
;~. ZID, Right hand, imittu, abbr. of á-zid. See zig 7, and seg. 17
GRAM. SUMo
2. ZIR, Fall into misery, be seized with woe. Active, bring to woe. See sir 3.
asasu. ib-sig si-mu zi-ir-ra [ -mu J, My spirit fails, my ... is
aftlicted with woe, BA. V 640, 13. (júl-gál kalam-ma zi-ir-zi-ir, the evil
one who brings the land to woe, K. 9272, 8.
ZU, To know. zu idu. =
AZAZU, lmploration, te$lttu.
1. ZUR, Break. VZLr 1. zur=1:Ja$a$u,1:Jamasu. Nonn; eradication, nabarmutu.
2. ZUR, Psalmist. zúr=kalU. Vsir, nir to sing. Prayel'. zur=$uIJ1:Ju, nuIJIJu.
Denom. verb, to worship, suppu, $ullu. su-ni el-ta im-ta-zur-zUl', her
hand she raises in prayer to the pure one, CT. XV 23 b 8. Perhaps read
~, zür, prayer, ikribu, hence offering.
----
T. XXVI, V 83.
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ASSYRIAN
OFTen, T
Window,
Water,
Hand,
Cow, THE
Mother,
Sage,
Make,
Thorn,
~m
tamtu.
H--T
~T~
~~Tn
~~
esru.
Wild-ox,
TRANSCRIPTIONS
~ Measure,
Pick, mu.
idu.
littu.
alZu.
HoJe, Ocean,
aptu.
SIGNMEANING
SIGN ORIGINAL ~
~<~T MOST
rimu.
madadu.
ummu.
councillor,
epesu.
asagu. abü, IMPORTANT
a
Jj SYLLABIC
-
ad I
an
I
a~a~
+
--ffi~T
~~rnJ
gr
262
PUONETIC
.t-T
<T~ IL
-------
II
I
~+
I!
ORIGINAL I H
ASSYRIAN
+H+
1
~B
«<
~~-*
H~T
T
~ CT.X2.
~T
~~ ~~T
Ui ~ »-T
One,
Half,
MEANING
IIOne.
[
Six,
Curse,
Go,
Route,
Heaven,
ANCIENT
Grind,
I
Open,
edu.
SIGN I iI SIGN
<T~~n",T meslu.
meslu.
City-wall,
sessu.
arratu.
aláku.
fenu.
Iduru.
alaktu.
samu.
pitu.
I
SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
I To apportion, za,m.
~- ~- §+~n~S~a
bil
bar
rt
\!
Jj of yoke
oxen,
LIST
with this signo
bar
THE O
Gunü
~< ~
~yr
~~nT~
. bar is not
OF ANCIENT
~:mfH
~T.4~~ ~T
~~T
of
MOSTbil.
(late)
SIGN
~
Double
ASSYRIAN
ToSever,
18
Shine,
Chapel,+
ORIGINAL
New, ~
~T
SIGN
~~
IMPORTANT n<HT
MEANING
essu.
shine,
:H=a
seatter,
Dwelling,
blaze,
Stone-bowl,
Side,
(Gudea)
To [Jana!J,u.
SYLLABIC
namaru.
Js,af¡af¡u.
of land.
sapa!J,u.
Js,altl,
subtu.
AND
puru.napa!J,u.
namaru.
parakku.
scatter,
Sever, ittu. saratu.
pasáru.
VOWEL mules, ete. 263
TRANSCRIPTIONS
dea).
--- -- ~~-=--~~~~---~=~=,.,==~-==,--~
- - ~----~~~-~. -
C dYg
díb
264
da di
I~
~fAA. III
ORIGINAL
t-H-I
fttl
D>x:?-
signo
1 ~
I
:rnr
II H
I14
~H
t>4;-
(Gudea)
I:d
I ~T
~~ ~S
~n~T
~~
ANCIENT SIGN
~,~~
:TT
.tT
I
To
II To
<T~
MEANlNG
Grow
·Nik.
die, mátu.
Advance,
ASSYRIAN
II 14
Pour
Unhewn SIGN
out,
(ditto).
die, up, ete~u.
stone,
~mátu.
~~T raMo not original
tabaku.
r SUMERIAN GRAMMAl't
abnu.
I Seize, $abatu. Perhaps
Bright, ibbu.
with this
t-~
dim
T ~
dlg
,
~--~·T·
lt~~~:
LIST OF ~~
~f(Li-
ANCIENT
~. M
~T
~(GU-~T
<==T~
~ rr ...
~~n
~nH
~ ~(Gudea)
-t~ ~".
THE MOST
~T
~~TI (?),
onster ~
Build,
ASSYRTAN
ORIGINAL
.&.
Connect,
SIGN IMPORTANT
Grow
Make,
Chamber,
Begiant
~
~
~T.&.T
Walk, ~banu.
SIGN
~~
MEANING
up,
alaku.
in full
(?). rabú.
beauty,
epesu.
~==T==Tdü. asamu.
265
SYLLABIC AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS
aarasu.
o
266 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
dún dun
dul d
PnONETIC
tal form
is original.
il
dub
dün
dun
díi
tdu
dul
dug
dub
O
M' @]
horizon-
ANCIENT SIGN
~(GUdea)
ORiGINALSIGN
ASSYRIAN
~ ~~ (Gudea)
(Gudea)
(Gudea)
MEANING
dül düg
dlll dug
dúg
dúb
dül
~Thelinear
U~Tr
---
~
úr
~n
rg~*=
~~TTT~T~~I!3
~nn
Possibly for
ITJ ~n
~ MOST
LIST OFANCIENT
m
THE ASSYRIAN
SIGN
c:E::>RTC.
~and UM
similar~ in the classical ~bemg
script.
Y!f(GUdea)
um-me, M!tS
H~ar
~T~
HT~~~T
~T~T
~IEE:<f~HH
<~T~T
SIGNMEANING
ORIGINAL
House,~~~~
IMPORTANT
Mother, ~bUu.
(ditto).
Prince,
Ascend,
Tongue,
L
Canal,e-(g).
Foal
OBr.ord,
Band,
She
~(Gudea)
To of
bélu.
Ass.
12cover,an
lisanu.
riksu.
ass, ass,
Mule.
atanu. muru.
katamu.
267
SYLLABlC AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS
ummu.
rubu.
<l§Ta$u.
dun
~
""
n
--
.,
1
[j
11 D
~~n
~~T
~T~
r~+
~
~~T
H
Tn.t-
<~T~T
H
~nT.t-
I
III
~n~T
«<
ORIGINAL
~T @lt>
I I es*
MEANING
~
(Linear) lJtI
ASSYRIANANCIENT
I§J
SIGN
~,
268II Curse,
ga
IIga.t-T
1
House,
Slave,
II (ditto).
Weep,
Three.
I Thirty.
City,
SIGN 1I
gá
TH
H<T~
gal arduo
bitu.
SUMERJAN
sipiu.
bakú.
H<T~
dlu.
:n-T
Great,rabú.
Ascend,
bakú.
iJJJÚ •
GltAMMAR
(Linear) ~
I
r
,
--,~~--
LIST OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SYLLABlC AND VOWEL TRANSORIPTlONS 269
-U.SIGNAS5YRIAN
-r
PBONETIC
~~J--
~J-- lIITI ~T
~ ~~ (Linear)
ANCIENT
~==TT~
~(Linear) ~ 4H
=:-
~ ~T
~T
~
~~t(t:m1
Tf
SIGN
ÍF-
==TH
~~~
~~~~
~T4-
~::TnT
T.t- ORIGINAL MEANING
gálgar
Exist, basu.
Storm demon.
Exist, basu.
Man, amelu.
W ailing, tanul$atu.
Collapse, fall prostrate,
l$adádu, kaniJ'su.
Produce, biltu.
Field, il$lu.
Totality, kullatu.
Bread, aklu.
Wagon, narkabtu.
--
-- III
ORIGINAL
/11/
10
I~&
ANCIENT
I
~I Darkness.
~~A ~1!!
~~ I~~T
I SIGN
MEANING
<~==
IIIIEl
ASSYRIAN
<IEl
~TTa
T
~TTAA
<~~ II Sick, II Turn,
Be
Escape, ~TTT
~
~
SIGN
T TTa
SUMERJAN
Hew,
long,
~~carve,
aT'aku.
taT'u.
perish,
GRAMMAR
na1;aT'u.
lJ,ala1;u.
Ir
maT'IJu.
I YI "$-
270
,
t
ly 1/60.
g'im
gWl
~~nT , ~-
Literal-
LIST OFANCIENT
THE
~(GUdea)
~T
SIGN Turn,
MO$T
~~~ To
~:::-Tn
~
~n4
Shekel,
~mg
mg
~~nT~
Make,
ASSYRIAN
~T
Maid,
A
SIGN
in ~-
~l~HH~T
IMPORTANT
ORIGINAL
Go reed,
Inhabited
Hasten,
Sword,
assemble,
kustu, ~~~ ~
siklu.
banu.
<1ET
MEANING
tdru.
a~~ circle.
amtu.
l;anu.
land,
po,tru. Scorpion.
lJ,amiitu.
»+-~
a planto
palJ,aru.
ir~itu. 271
SYLLABIC AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS
-~,lJ
~~1
¡
tr~ yIIII I ~T
~B
--.&.4t- II I I I gir*
II~ ~l
ASSYRJAN
O I ~.t-
272
°gir
OIlIGINAL MEANING
T~T ~IW
Raging,
Hasten.
<~ ~H4.,
SIGN
*gir
Sixty.
I
II
~T
ood, ~
~~T
Male,
II Plant,
ANCIENT I SIGN
<~~T
Foo~,
uuu.
ififiu.
SUMERIAN GRAMMAR
zikru.
sepu.
!la, Ip1.
AO. 4686 rey. 3.J
SUM
gug
~
gig
Compare
~ ~ 7
11111
LIST OFANCIENT SlGNin Tall,
THE MOST Speech,
Dark,
OX,
Stand,
~Tt-~ (Gudea) ~TH~
~l§J ~r~O
~~n
~nr
H~:n
tJ
[Gunified
elu.
~mg
alpu
ASSYRIAN
form (gil)
lsibitu.
~~T~T
IMPORTANT nazazu.
black.
~
~~
~H==F
l§J
~T
~Tt-
~~T~T
t -T
SIGN
SYLLABIC ORIGINAL
AND MEANING
VOWEL
18 273
TRANSCRIPTIONS
_____ ~__ ...~_~ ~ _'__~.;...._"'.;.... __ .•.•• ~~~~.~c
gul
tr
--
~~Tí?-~T
601r-a.) \>i
II!II ~
taru.
(Original
I
~~(Linear)
~l>-
~(GUdea)
measure
~
for H~
(Gudea)
~<:«<
352~n
~i~
T
I Man,
~~nf
1:. I gun
~TaT
Seed.
ASSYRIAN
274
III bis sign
ORIGINAL
Great,
SIGN
II Lacerate,
Burden,
(Linear)1
ANCIENT I SIGN Cut,
Be
Lift, ~:rr
~T~
E:~
amelu.
~
E:Tf
Totality,
Hew,
~Tn~mg
grain,~~ttT
may
~
MEANING
rabu.
SUMERJAN
Turn,
biltu.
kasamu. represent a
napaaru.
destroy,
GRAMMAR
1r-a.~a$u.
thicky,heavy,pa1r-alu.
nasa. nakaru.
LlST OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SYLLABIC ANO VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS 275
~IH
SV~XX~~~mtH
~<:~
I
~
a
gtlrgur
PIIONETIC
-
-c:o
etJ (~ ~
~
==<:«< rn-
O
"-
is ANCIENT
~ H"
~<~
~XI
~TSIGN
~(Linear)
(Linear)
==TH (ditto)-'::-T~
Vase,
ASSYRIAN
ORIGINAL
Crush,
Harvest,
Harvest,
Shear.
15,18.
Fish,
Perhaps
guristu.
Sturdy,
(ditto).
Granary,
(ditto).
==TTT~
;¡indu.
SlGN
~T MEA:\"ING
-S4.E!=
~nT~==T
. kanasu.
nunu.
Harvest, enbu.
eldu.
kartl. (gur-is)
idlu.
(ditto).
variant.Gunified of guro
~CT.XV
g
- * rgn
276
&~
PnONETIG
gis
*
la~
10
aH
~
--aH
t-l ~CI ,
-<
III I ~(Linear)
ORIGINAL
<J-lS
ÚJJ
~
(mulieris
1 ~~
I
III ~T
MEANING
lID
ANClENT
1<
<T~rB
(Linear) .(~
Hasten,
ASSYRTAN
III Break,
~T~
~<:«<Wicked,
Ox,
SIGN
Plan,
Many,
Axe,
Bind,
Rejoice,
To
Bright,
I
1 1CT.
aasu.
SIGN
SUMERIAN
Js,a~á~u.
alpu.
Shame, limnu.
bu'sanu.
u~urtu.
ma'adu.
(ditto).
Act
Humiliate,
shamefully,
sabru.
II (Semitic)
Bright,
design,
pudenda).I Secret part,
XII ellu.
Js,asu.
lJadu.
ellu.
GRAMMAR
Js,adadu.
b 14. blsu.
24eseru.
baltu, uru
m
~~
•....
TT
~
TTr -v"
W~
LIST OFANClE~T
THE 4ft
H ~nT.t-ID§~m
~m
Ha
~EH
:rn
~n
~
~ T
~~~
e'n a
Five.
ASSYRIAN
SIGN Rage,
MOST IMPORTANT
(ditto).
Pierce,
River,
SeU,
(ditto).
~-<. .~l
SIGNMEANING
ORIGINAL
High, elü.
a,qagu. 277
SYLLABlC AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS
saráQu.
naru.
ramánu.
:'n ~~
~~T~T
~. ~ o_o~~_~..,._,.,._".,
...__".._,.~_".
__.._.~,~_._
.....
, . ' • '- ~ ~-o
ETIC
Ír 'o
ir
'o 00
..om
~-f
~~T
~H
4ll?~H ~ r
fr
~n<~~*
tr
ANCIENT
WOEl.
~4~~(Late)
~~T~T
~nr <rgy
00
Left
Field,
102 arm,
SIGN
Vase,
Route,
Mouth,
Gate,
Weep, ~~n
~T
~rt-Tr
..ET~rU
~.ET~lU
ET~r
r land.
~rrl
ORIGINALSIGN
ASSYRIAN
Inhabited iJs,lu
H<T~
diJs,aru.
Moat-wall,
Bind,
Gloom,
(ditto) Js,a$aru.
.~~ adirtu.
padanu.
babu.
pú.
baku.
MEANING
sumelu.
. karú.
s
-(
kar
~
IftI
~HH
LIST OF ANCIENT
~
~HT
~
)--(
~ ~
~
kitu.
THE~ MOST
SION
Sever,
(Linear)
~(Variant)
~B(keSda)
~S
~H~
~f
Liquor,~<~
IMPORTANT
ASSYRIAN
ORIGINAL
Earth, ~~~+~<IEJ
Bind, <lliT
irf¡itu.
rakasu.
Tf
lsarasu.
Sickness.
Bread,
Woven-cane-mat,
Road, aklu.
iiikaru.
lJarranu.Run, lastimu. • 279
SYLLABlC AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS
kes. SIONMEANINO
-=
~ ~T~¡¡¡
tJ
~T
H" Á
~<-<
~~~tic
Semi
kissatu, 8 ~Ht!
~~OO ~Jll
II
XIII ~I ~Code
ORIGINAL
(Linear)
~.ol..
[
loan-word
~~r~T<~~T
Ham.
~~OO
I
280I II SIGN
ktr
l\lEANING
ANClENT
l§J
1 for
lB",",
(Hypothetical)
I
---
ASSYRIAN
(,t-m
12.<H
""O"
of I SIGN
IIII Dig,
Rush,
Change,
the
Store-room,
To
appu,
Dig,
Eat, eat, ~~
'SUMERIAN
search.
zdlsu
<:«< . kiru.
sanu.
akalu.
nose.
lJ,araí!u.
akalu.
I Store-room,
Seize,I í!abatu.kiru.
First employed in the name
city Kis. GRAMMAR
Later a
~---=---- ~
kur
«í~'it
\'-
~nT<
<'W 9
LIST OF ANCIENT
THEtX:'
MOST
Run,
Glow,
~ <T~~f +
tJ
~f
White.
~JII
Pure,
ASSYRIAN
~T
T~
Go,
~ Talaku.
IMPORTANT
White.
ORIGINAL
~T
CJ
SIGN Wash,
Lament,
Food,
~n
~E=T
namru. namru.
SraN
MEANJNGSYLLABIC ANDVOWEL
alaku.
Mountain,8adú.
Pure, go,
purify.
(Linear)
E=~TT*,E=+TT*
~n* ~
misú.
kurmatu.
analJu. 281
TRANSCRIPTIONS
lil
obv. 5.
lal
"l rr
~ """"'cJ
~282
~T
~~nA <~n
~~IiUEa
~ r
III I I
1+
~ASSYRrAN
~ I
~T
SIGN I SIGN I
IEU
ANCIENT
~~
I
RTe. '"
Glamour.
II Wind,
Gladness.
Bear
Advance,
Man,
Heart
Bind,
Honey,
Weigh,
I
Erg
~TH
fruit,
ORIGINAL --~
.ET~
~Tn
MEANING
.amelu.
{;-~T
<TI-
Fall into ete~u.
~saru.esebu.
BM.
misery,
SUMERIAN
~amadu.
dispu.
sa~alu.
.t-TH \13039
GRAMMAR
dala!J,u.
(Semitic)
p
"
LIST
++
~B.ll
vv
~H~
T~ T
t:.f
~Tn
~OFc:rnm
t
THE MOST
ANCIENT
~Ta~T
ASSYRIAN
A rey.
SIGN Half,
Kid,
malú.
~Blau Tongue.
Adore,
Boat,
Crown, ~ms
~~OO
~S
~Hn
<~
~T
T~
SIGN
ORIGINAL
Wagon,
Battle, MEANING
f-T~ r--nT
~abltu.
Create,masü.
IMPORTANT
(ditto).
(Linear)
SYLLABIC
ta1:Jazu.
narkabtu.
sakanu.
:TT
~arabu.
elippu.
minnu, (Semitic)
agu.
AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS 283
,
t
_______________________ J -~
284
més
I)HONETIC
value ANCLENT SlGN
-
$UMERIAN GRAMMAR
ASSYRIAN sraN
ORIGINAL MEANING
mes
r~
T---
mín
nun
« Two.
mzr
n Two.
~r
mér, mírl
mer, mtrl ~
mer, mlr
~
ª
I
(Linear)
(Linear)
~~nr
~~T
4.:rt-
Sword, patru.
Girdle, sibbu.
mú
t ~ Name, sumu.
sattu.
Year,
mu
~B
~~fH<
mil
mil
~~&grtJ (Oracle, tertu).
siptu.
Curse,
,~ (Linear)
~~@J Adore, karabu. (Not ori-
gina1.)
mu
~
~~mr (ditto ).
mu
D§7 (Gudea) zg
',nu
mug
*- Male, zikru.
~~
W omb, bi.~.~uru.
múg
w ~
(ditto).
mug ~>-
~~
~---
,---'------, --'.""--'-~
mus
mug
i~~~f~+
CT.
~n~*
~t~
t;:ff XII
~(Gudea)
{;-<T~T
~ ~emu
yAtY
ANCIENT
r~DP.55VI
~
~T
~
~~tH<
~ ~~T 1F~~
LIST
SIGN OF
~<:«<
Cyl. {;-~T{;-~T
ASSYRIAN
(Gudea)
ORIGINAL
(ditto).
Man,
Serpent,
Name,
Womb,
Middle,
a(ditto).
226 a
Father-in-la
<
THESIGN
MOSTWomb,
=t
<~~T~T
~T
~
~~nT~
{;-
amelu.
3f tabtu.
Salt,
Appearance,
ASO(Late)
4,Top.
munu,
w,. uru.
IMPORTANT
MEANING
~rn~<T~T
~~ f/tru.
sumu.
uru.
1J;ablu
Star,1J;aMabu.
scorpion.
mul]}Ju. zfmu.
SYLLABIC AND VOWEL TRANSCRlPTIONS
Male,zikru. 285
na
--~?
286
.! r~ <E:gn
a-ft
~
~T~T
IIII f
ORIGINAL I II ASSYRIAN
I'en<~~
~
<IET~
MEANING
~~T
I~(Gudea)
~T~T~
Tf
ANCIENT
I w.(GUdea)
~~ cn1n> {;-~T
~
Fire.
IIII(ditto).
SlGN
Stone,SUMERIAN
Mistress,
Strength,
Oyen,
SIGN 1
Bed,
Polished
:.H=~f <~~ emul!u.GRAMMAR
beltu.
abnu.
kinunu.
iT'su.
stone, abnu.
~ ,;1
L
~a
~~
----_._~_.- ---.- ..-
-4
LIST OF~ *X~H~ +W~nnT
*<W<T~tm
THE MOST
ANCI.ENT
<1if ~~n
~~H
~H
<T~1lll
<~~
~nn
~T~
WJT
~T
SIGN Abundant.
Not.
ASSYRIAN
ORIGINAL
IMPORTANT
Bear,
Platform,
Chamber.
Name,
~(Linear)
Chief,
Canal,
Biscuit,
:m:f
~
SIGN
aladu.
kisallu.
Bright. asaridu.
Reservoir,
nabU.
pattu.
palgu.
pattu.
kusapu.
287
~MEANINGSYLLABIC AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS
mn
~~~ ".C- __• ~_ ~_._~, ._~~ __ "",=.y.--" ~_~ __ ~~
~~n
~f
~T
~~
288
y
1!-~
~~f
EEJ IIII(Linear)
~Tn
~TT~T
~UnT
I
00 ~~n
~n
~n~T ~T
~ ANCIENTI II SIGN
~T ~T~X
ID
ASSYRIAN SIGN
(Gudea¡
IIII Go,
Smite,
Water
Double
Swine,
Life,
~~
XXXili
SUMERIAN
alf.lku.
alf.lku.
Bright,
(ditto).
Plunder, ma1JMu.
jar,
(Semitic)
GRAMMAR
pisannu.
yoke.
1Jum~iru.
nipsu. salalu.
ORIGINAL MEANING
1
LIST
W
y> 00
<D> ~
~~~T
*= &
OF ANCIEr\T
THE MOST
<T* Rush,
Que,
Net, édu.
AS6YRJA~
Wisdom,
Dedicate,
IMPORTANT
Shepherd,
SIa:.;-
(Gudea) (ditto).
~(GUdea)
mr
~n=f:
<~T~
-~TTn
*~
t1
~r
~~t
~~T~TT
H milku.
Proclaim, ~T~T<~~
selu.
ORIGINAL SIGNMEANING
Carve,=~nal;ilpu.
eugrave.
Head,1'ésu. ~TT
:<;tTf»-Tnaba.
SYLLABIC
.~arill;u.
1'e'u. AND VOWEL
19
TRANSCRIPTIONS
289
1'UH
--
C
value
si
llin~
~r.--
~f
~-.o
290 'V'
fi
WJ
$
III ~n
r=J
1
~
I
I II III ~n
~::~~ ~nH
OnIGlI\"AL
~f
~T~T To
I ~XX~
XX ~nH
~nn
ANCIEI'IT
~f
gT~
*~nX~T
*I
SlGN
I I!
MEANING
Red.
Smite,
Give,
Pointing
Carding
I Horn,
Red,
Brick,
Low,
Give,
II
j
~~ASSYI\IA" SIli"
malYl$u.
nadanu.
Yellow. Ifinger.
comb,
l;arnu.
sámu.
libittu.
saplu.
give,
nadanu.
1
SUMERIAN
muduru.
.saral;u.
I (?)
GRAMMAR
sil
~ +
~áB
X>tH+
tt:ttY
~t=TT
A:\CIEsr+
~~m ~f
~~fH
~HH
(?) sfnLIST
~mr
)(>-(Linear)
~ ~~ áSSYRIA:,(
SIGX OFORlGlNAL
Bind,
(ditto)
THE
Light,
Be long,
(ditto).
Bright,
Skin,
Clay.
Give,
Gladness,
Sever,
The
Verdure(?)
Sieve,
Bright.
~IGudea)
Lamb,
T:~~T
.<T~
<<<
~T4.T~
SlG" MEANING
~+~rr~~TT
~T
~a'iaru.
MOST
núm.
~T"T~ IMPORTANT
araku.
essu.
masku.
nadiinu.
Moon-god.
~ rísatu.
.~alatu.
salJOlu.
pulJadu.
291
SYLLABIC AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS
süb SU
292 '(IIIII X(>-+H+
4tw8±l
{f~ mJ 1
I
ORIGINAL I
~~Illi
AMEANING
I~T
NCIENT SIGN
ASSYRIAN SIGN
<~T *~
~H~
lüTI
~~fH
~mf
III1~~Hf
~f To
Par water,
Water-basin,
II Street,
~~OO
~'§T
~~T~T Foundation,
Grind,
I, To
(Linear)
~~T~T
<T~HH
(Gudea)
~T.s...T
f suZü
(dittol.
~ Annihilate,
away,
Pluck
Tooth,
(dittol·
Shepherd,
eresu,
away,
SUMERIAN zarlilsu.
buninnu.
uSsu.
naJt.aru.
lsa$li$a.
prostrate,
Adoration,sinnu. GRAMMAR
rillsu.
nasálJ.u.
Zabánu.
ikribu.
re'u.
I
--~-- - _._._~~-
~l'
€7,0
§::t
4J~
~~n
~BmY
namuSisu. ~S
~~tH
~~THf mr
súr SIGN
~.-I.xCIENT
gn
ASSYRIAN
LIST ORIGINAL
.tnT Weave,
OF THE
Make,
Heart,
Good,
Meadow,
Angry,
H
~T
W
~
<
Blaze,~.tTH
Shepherd,
Chant,
MOST ~T~
<I§J
~~TT~
SIGN
MEANING
Brightness,
epesu.
libbu.
(amu
re'u..
damJ;,u.
birútu.
(amu.
izzu.
libbu;
¡¡araru.
sisUu.
IMPORTANT SYLLABIC AND VOWEL 293
TRANSCRIPTIONS
sür .tTTnT
.tTn
sd
~l..ln
vV ~~<
~< O
294
~Tn~
H~~T
~~
O~I(SemiticJ
~00'
~~T~~n rgII
~l:J
~&..
J§T~XXrJ§T~Lrl 1
~ ~S
I II
OUIGINAL
1
MEANING
Grain,
lliUE<~n
ANCIENT I SJGN 1
~H<r~T
nX~f:m
~<~Tf»-T
Rain,
Gracious,
II Anoint,
Universe,
Brotber,
Shower,
Cold,
Misery,
Price,
Plant,
II
(ditto).
To <T~~f
ASSYRIAN
~Tse'u.
~H<r~T
H~T<T*
zananu.
SIGN
I Verdure,
Totality.surru,
SUMERJAN
magaru.
pasasu.
aau.
sáru.
lj;uf;f;u.
surubba.
saZ~ummatu.
purchase,
srmu.
sammu. samu.
GnAMMAR arlj;u.
Sár
sag I
-"---:::::--.~
.,
ck,~~
l§J~
nuru.OFANCIENT
LIST
m'
THE MOST
~'--~ ~
~T X(Gudea) +
H~~T-
ASSYRIAN
<ID!
<T~~f
IMPORTANT
SIGN (di <
"11
H;YT
"ID!
mr W
;YTH
tto).
«<
Bright.
ORIGINAL
Hand,
~~TnT
Pros
Food,
(ditto)
Be
Clean,
Pond,
(ditto).
Good,
Low,
(Gudea)Light,
1;atu.
trate,
hanu.
sukku.labanu.
.kurmatu.
bright,
dam1;u.
dam1;u.
saplu
..5T~ffitebebu.
.
295
SIGNMEANINGSYLLABIC AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS
sir
sig sin
LIST -sr!Ef
S
H#&
t>-.
OF ANCIENT
THE MOST
~ (Linearl
~~T
lE!
*~(Linear)
HH(Gudea)
~lE!
SIGN
HTH Die,
Have,Be
ASSYRIAN
Live,
matu.
Repose,
Healthy,
N eck,
Tremble,
Beget,
Pour,
(Gudea)
~(GUdea)
material, f$ubatu.
Wailing,
Curse, ~S
Garment madegamaru.
~nI
~~&~nT
~::Hn
complete,
mg
SIGN
ORIGINAL
te!
(ditto
basa.
~~ nabu.
offibrous
l¡l..ET~
). MEAl\ING
.ET~r:m
balatu.
.El ~
IMPORTAN'\' SYLLABIC
dama/;,u.
kisadu.
rdbu.
ramaku.
aladu
.(-T
~sipiu ..
sisítu. 111
AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS 297
tig
-
tun üm
uflü'u
-298
-- W~~r
I
I»)~, 1
II
<
~ I ~U~Tl
~~iÍr
~lE
mJl'
~nT~
<~T
ORIGINAL
11
~T
PHONETIC ASSYRIAN
ium
~ ~
~~T
~~
>jj~ mT
ID~T
~nn<T~T
...
<T~rgr
~T
II Bear,
Band,
<~Tn~
<T~~nn I
TStable,
~n
MEÚIlNG
Small,
Enter,
(ditto).
Ride,
~ ANCIENT
(Gudea)
I
I
iazu,
I babalu.
Overpower,
$iaru.
erebu,
Behold, sunu.
III II
kamaru.
iarba;~u.
amaru.
rakiibu.
SIG,N I SIGN
(ditto) I
I (Gudea)
J
SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
:--. ~
-~---------
úg
etc.).
U
'O'
,
9!?-J
LIST OF ANGIENT
H
~~n
<....
a~~Hf IDm
SIGlO"Myrh-
THE samsu.
Of.
ublu
MOST
~14.~T~<T
~T
~"""'.NT
~(Linear)
13 and ==TH
Pantber,
ASSYRIAN
Spider,
IMPORTANT
ORIGINAL
Slay,
Panther,
(ditto).
Hole,
People,
Day,
Glad,
Poisonous
Ride,
Curse,
Be
(ditto),
High,
Region,
~"""'.NT
==~
~T
~==S
~~TH
naru.
IEJ
Tambourine,
suplu
umu,
<~
nimru.
SIGNMEANING
parsu'u,
nisu.
ull!u.
~
~S
Demonstrative
bright,
rakabu.
kispu.
<==T
salstl. ~SYLLABIC
<~==T==T
nimru.
1. uppu.
sun,
saliva,pronoun.
lJ,amatu.
nabatu.
tuplsu. ubJ}u.
299
AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS
" -.~- ••••• ;¿""'''_••"•_,_
""'!_"'"O;¡iL;:;._._ •• •.••••;;¡.;:;O;_;¡¡;¡_;¡¡;;;;;;:;;"'""""''''''ar __ •• uU'' ••••••• __ •• ,••••• •••• '''''' •••
- ~;:~ --~r
twfLI«~
300
~<J~~
«Í~
al--+
I
f ~n
PHONETIC
I l--~r
nT~
~rI
:n~fHfT
~~r<~
II
~<:«<
III
fr=J
aa=:
ORIGINAL
~<:«<
<T~!§u
<r
III
~r~<:«<
I ~~~
/t~ 111111
ANCIENT
CT.X
(Gudea)
(Gudea)
umun verb, to water, eresu.
Husband,
Stall.
Red.ASSYRIAN
r1III Swamp,
Abode,
MEANING SIGN
Back,
Stand,
Hall, SIGN
(ditto).
Harvest,
Roof,
Leg,
Be aold,
Protect,
24
lEf
subiu.
SUMERIAN
r sukutiu.
eljennu.
emJJdu.
ürü,
isdu
Craftsman,
Lord, hut,
(?), also
eresuGRAMMAR
(foundation).
eljedu.
labaru.
belu.
Mljaru. rukbu.
ummanu.
aammu.
*ur ur
ur*
úr
ür
umün .t'r
- <~
TltE;««
LIST OF ANCIENT
~~T
<~T
~
~~~~ ~T
MOST
~T~TT
~::-nT
~V(GUdea)
IEr
Jcrm(~
<<<
-
~A.~:.~(
~~Hff ~TH
~~T Elamitic
~f<¡E!!~~
~H~TH*
Thirty.
~~TnT
ASSYRIAN
~T4T
Dragon. Sun-set,
~ m--ff.(í=T~.(
Dragon.
(ditto
(ditto).
Male,
(Gudea)
~~
~(GUdea) City,
~~ (Linear)
(ditto).).
word
SIGNMEANING
SIGN IMPORTANT
Cultivate.
ORIGINAL
(ditto),
Darkness, lilatu.
for god-
SYLLABIC
simetan.
ereb
:;ikru.
álu.
Shepherd,
Leather-whip, samsi.
re'u.
301
AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS
dess. ~H kinnazu.
uru
--
IIII ~ H '*
I I :H
~H ~n~
ffJ rifr~~r E:S
~+<T
302 Roast, 1;alu.
M
ASSYRIAN
~(GUdea)I ~H~
~H ORIGINAL MEANING
~
II(Linear)
~<:«<
Jewel, <~ lE!
SIGN
1ft!
mr lE!
~Tn=%
ANClENT
1EJ ~n~
~H (ditto).
Flesh,
She-goat,
Faithful,
baru,
Meal,
Rush,
~<:>-ffi
I Run
(ditto),
SIGN
I seer.
I Water-jar,
séru.
kemu.
teMo SUMERJAN
abnu.
kinu.
enzu.
utullu.
away, GRAMMAR
dilsaru.
lJala1;u.
zá
útulzíd I
LIST OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SYLLABIC AND VOWEL TRANSCRIPTIONS 303
PHONETIC
&,~
tJ~~
~~H m
~~T~T
~Tn=%~
ANCIENT
~~
ASSYRIAN
SIGN
SIGN
ORIGINAL MEANI"G
<~
ZU
Know, 'ida.
Prayer, ~u1Ju.
Prayer, ikribu.
Psalmist, kaZIl.
1
INDEX1
a, Signs for, ;¿9, 32. Interrogative ele- b, p. 38. Becomes m, 49. For g, p. 42
ment, 165. Inflection of the status dI, f), g).
obliquus, 73. Of the subjunctive, ba, Demonstrative, 159. Suffix of nouns,
221. Of dependent sentences, 223. 161. Reflexive and passive prefix
Precative of first person, p.161. of verbs, p. 139, §§ 190, 189.
aba, Interrogative, 165. Adverb,' then', bar, Negative, 228.
241. bi, Demonstrative pron., 159. Adver-
adim, so, thus, 241. n.
bial force, Conjunction, 229.
Agade, Literature of, 13. bi-da, bi-da-ge, Conjunction, 229.
Agent,95. Blau Monuments, p. 7, n. 1.
Akkadian, means Semitie, 2. Cardinals, Syntax of, 175.
al, Noun augment. 150 di. Yerbal pre- Casus obliquus, ,3 ff., 68.
fix,192. Casus rectus,68. Subject, 69. Object,
am, Abstraet prefix, 149 b). Neuter re· 70. Adverbial accusative, 71.
lative, 168. Indefinite pron., 166. Compound verbs, 203-206.
Verb 'to be', 208. Emphatie, 211. Compound prepositions, 111-121.
T Force of eomparison, 212. Infleetion Conditional sentence, 222, 220, 218.
of ordinals, 176. Conjugation, Suflixed original, 182.
an, Noun augment, 150 al. Interroga· Seeondary,183. Prefixed, 185. Par·
tive, p. 111. Yerb prefix.192. tieipial, 210.
ana, As many ag, p. 11:.1. Interroga- Consonants, 38, 39 etc.
tive, 165. Construct, 131-139. Genitive and cstr.
Apoeopation, 62, 147. inverted, 141. Replaced by suffix,
ara, Multiplicative, 178. 138. Double construct, 139.
Assimilation, 55. d, Dental d, p. 37 f. Palatalised d
Association, expressed by oblique case, becomes sibilant, 40. Becomes l, 48.
79. da, Inflectional sulfix, 94 ff. Denotes
as. Numeral'one', 172. 'Six', 17:2. agent, 95. Instrument, 96. Pur-
Suffixed lor asu, 83. Ad,erbial pose, 97. Circumstance,98. Loca-
suffix, 88. tive, 99. Noun and verb augment,
l
ª,j
ha, Alter loan-words, § 22 and p. 25 nam, Abstract prefix. 149 a). Nega·
n.4. tive, 227.
l, Liquid, p. ~8 f. Palatalised to l, 40. Namamallni, lnscriptions of, p. 12.
For n,45. Nasal l, p. 3S. name, Indefinite pronoull, 166. Indef.
la for na, negative, p. 44, n. 2. interrogative, 165 end.
Labialisation, 41. Nasals, p. 39.
Labials, p. 38. Negatives, 226·7.
lam, lim, Numeral' ¡our', p. 118. ng, Velar nasal, p. 39.
Lenis for fortis, 54.
ni, Demonstrative pronoun, 159. Suffix,
li, Demonstrative pron., 164.
160. Reílexive, 169. At end of de·
Liquids, p. 38 f.
pendent phrases, p. 129. Conjunc-
Literature, types of 5. Religious, 18.
tion, 229.
Locative case, 74. ta locative, 102.
cla, 99.
/lig, Abstract prefix, 149 c). Neuter re-
lative, 168.
Lugalanda, lnscriptions oí, 9.
Lugalkigubnidudu, 12. nimin, Numeral, 'íorty', p. 119.
Lugal-usumgal, 14. nin, Abstract prefix, 149 d).
Lugalzaggisi, 12. nin/lü,Numeral, 'fifty', p. 119.
m, Labial nasal, p. 39, 7). Stands íor Numeral, 'twenty',
/lis, p. 119.
sonant lO, p. 38. For g, p. 42. For Nouns, Nominal roots, 142-3 (two con-
m, 42. For b, 49. sonants). Consonant and vowel, 26,
ma, Oblique íorm oí 1st pero sing., 155. 144. Vowel and consonant, 28,145.
Suffix, 156. Two vowels, 146.
ma-e, Status rectus oí 1st pero sing., 155. na, Negative. 226.
mas, 'One hall " p. 120. o, Vowel (?), 37.
me, me-a, 155. Interrogative adj., p.11l. Oldest inscriptions, 7.
Adverb, 242. Verb 'to he', 207. Ordinals, Syntax of, 176.
Definite plural, 126. p, Labial, p. 38, 4). Stands for surd lO,
men, lnterrogative adv., p.178. Suffix ibid.
oí 1st. pero pl., 156. Palatalisation, 40. Palatals, p. 37.
mes, Late plural inílection, 129.
pamb, 'Five sixths', p. 12I.
Meiaihesis. 58.
Participles, 181. Partieipial conjuga-
~fiddle voiee, 190.
tion, 210.
min, :\'umeral 'two ',172.
Passive, p.189.
71W, Suffix oí ¡st. pero sing. with nouns,
Phonetic system, Origin of, 25.
159. Yerbal prefix, 193. Sign of
Pictographs, 19.
dep~ndent pillase, p. 130. Trw-nm
pl. oí 1St. pero suffix, 103, n. 6. Plural, Byrepetition,124. Indefinite, 125.
Definite,126. Suffixge-a, 128. meS,
~íultipiicatiHs. 1;8.
129.
n, :\'asaL p. 3f1.,7. Becomes 01,42. l,
45. 1', 47. For g, 51. Postfixes,80. Position ol, 122. Vowels
n, p. 37: p. 38: p. S9. Beeomes m, employed before them, 123.
40 e,'. Practical hints, 30.
na, Negative, 2:¿7. ¿>, Reasons for its existence, 27 bis.
308 SUMERJAN GRAMMAR
1', Liquid, p. 31l. Becomes S, 46. l, 43. bal infix, 200. Interrogative, p.11l.
n,45. Distributive, 17i.
I'a, Inflectional suffix, 81. Accusative, Tables of vowels, 37. Consonants, 39.
8.~. Yerbal infix, 197. Demonstra· Pronouns, 162.
tive pronoun, 163. Thrown to the tam, Distributive, 177.
end oí phrases, 202. Temporal case, Time in which, 77.
Reflexive pronoun, 169. Extent of time, p. 64. su temporal,
Relative pronouns, 167. 86. ta temporal, 105.
s, s, Sibilants, Signs for, 27. Nature Tenses of the verb, 224.
of, p. 38, 5). For dentals, 40. For til, tal, = summa, p. 165.
1', 46. u, Yowel, signs for, 29, 33. Noun aug-
scmap, 'Two thirds', p. 121. ment, 148,3). YVord for 'anything',
sal' =
3600, p. 119. 166. Word for 'ten', p. 118. Ineli·
Semivowels, 36. cates the imperative, 215-6. Coneli-
Sibilants, 27, and p. 38. tional, 218.
SiglJS within signs, 21. Variably com- ut, Demonstrative, 16J.
posed, 23. Ul', Demonstrative, 161.
su, Inflectional suflix, 83·4. Factitive, Ur, Literature ol, 15.
8). Causative, 90. Accusative,91. Ur-Nina, Inscriptions 01,9.
Subjunctive, 221. us, Inflectional suffix, 83.
Suffixes, Noun, 160·16'? YerbaL 182· usu, Numeral 'eight', p. 118.
184. 115, Surd and sonant, p. 38.
Sumer, Origin and meaning, 1. z, Sibilant, :08, 5). Evidence for :2:, ibid.
susu, sussu, 'Sixty', p. 119. 'One For dentals, 40 a).
sixth',I73. sussan, ibid. za, Oblique case of 2nd. pero sing., 157.
t, Dental, 38, 3). Becomes s, 40. Passi- Noun suffix, 158.
bly pronounced th?, 38, 3 end. za-e, Status rectus 012nd.per. sing., 157.
ta, Inflectional suffix, p, 76. Compara- zu, Suffix of 2nd. pero sing., nouns,158.
tive, 108. Circumstantial,106. Yer, verbs, 182.
ADDENDA
lapidary and linear signs for 'one' is DP. 138 a lis! of deeeased persons
and the names of their heirs. The determinative of person before the
names oi the deceased is D but before the names of the heirs \' and
these are not included in the total.
§ 199. For da of association, cf. lugalteg-da e-da-ti, he lives with
Lugalteg, Nik. 14 obv. VI. As verbal infix this da appears in e-da-
síg, an-da-ti, e-da-ti, it abides in the possession of a persa n ; see iVlission
Fram;aise en Chaldée, vol. 1 6 n. 1.
§ 216. ü-na-dllg, 'say to him', Mission Franr;aise en Chaldee,
vol. 1 no. 119 obv. 4.
Page 168 note 3, add ba-latJ-/¡ies, he has conveyed them (two
slaves), MFC. 1 no. 1120.
§ 235. For lld-sú, ef. zicl-sag-w ud mi-ni-ib-clúg-ga-sú, 'Thy
faithful heart - when it speaks', BE. XXIX no. 4 rey. 7 .
...•.~--~7
ERRATA