Akkadian Addenda · Signs
write
| Name | SAR |
|---|---|
| Reads | [šar] |
| Means | veteran — SAR gains [šar]: šarrum, the king spelled sound by sound |
| Taught in | 08 · More than one: the plural |
| In Sumerian | the same sign's Sumerian page |
Where it comes from
The writing-sign of 102 — sar, “to write,” the verb of the tablet house itself. Akkadian borrows the sound with a sharpened sibilant: šar, and spends it on the one word the stele says most proudly — šar-ru-um, šarrum, “king,” written out syllable by syllable where the Sumerian shorthand LUGAL would have done.
How to remember it
The sign that means write spells the king: when Hammurapi wants his kingship in full Akkadian voice rather than borrowed Sumerian dress, the scribe’s own verb writes the first syllable.
In the wild
urn:nabu:cdli:p464358:a:3147' · license: attribution.
Akkadian reading taught in 103’s chapter 08.