nūnum

Akkadian

Etymology

Possibly from Sumerian or a loanword from elsewhere into Semitic languages, also found in an Aramaic נוּנָא (nūnā) / ܢܽܘܢܳܐ (nūnā, “fish”) and Mishnaic Hebrew נוּן (nun, “fish”). (A Proto-Semitic *nūn- (“fish”) sometimes posited is hardly possible, in as much as two identical consonants linked by a vowel are a strange patterning for a Semitic noun.)

Pronunciation

• (Old Babylonian) IPA^(key): /ˈnuː.num/

Noun

nūnum m (plural nūnū)

1. fish
2. (astronomy) Piscis Austrinus

Alternative forms

• nūnu (non-mimated)

Cuneiform spellings

Logograms	Phonetic
𒄩 (KU₆)	𒉡𒉡𒌝 (nu-nu-um) 𒉡𒌑𒉡 (nu-u₂-nu) 𒉡𒉡 (nu-nu)

References

• “nūnu”, in The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD)‎^[1], volume 11, N, part 2, Chicago: University of Chicago Oriental Institute, 1980
• Huehnergard, John (2011) A Grammar of Akkadian (Harvard Semitic Studies; 45), 3rd edition, Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, page 611