Akkadian Addenda · Signs

𒌔

spittle

NameUH2
Reads[uh]
Meansspittle, phlegm in the lists
Taught in11 · An eye for an eye

Where it comes from

A day-sign with a crab-like companion pressed against it; the lists read the pair as spittle, phlegm (stated) — scribes did not flinch from the body. Akkadian borrows the plain sound uh and gives the unlovely sign the most famous verb it owns.

How to remember it

Nobody forgets an insult: the spit-sign opens uḫtappid, “he has blinded” — the deed of law 196, an eye for an eye. Crude sign, capital crime, unforgettable pairing.

In the wild

Codex Hammurapi (composite text), law 196. urn:nabu:cdli:p464358:a:2509' · license: attribution.

Akkadian reading taught in 103’s chapter 11.