Akkadian Addenda · Signs

𒍢ZE₂ · [ṣi/ṣe] · bile, gall; the emphatic ṣ

bile

Where it comes from

Bile, gall — the bitter fluid — per the sign lists. Akkadian drafted it for a sound of its own: the emphaticpronounced with extra tension further back in the throat than its plain twin — q versus k, ḥ versus h ṣ, a pressed, sharp s that belongs to the Semitic side of the family and had no Sumerian sign waiting for it. The scribes’ solution across the syllabary was to repurpose signs near the right sound; this one took ṣi and ṣe and appears in the stele’s very first line.

How to remember it

Bile is sharp and it stings — so is the sound. When you see the bile-sign, press the s until it bites: ṣ, the consonant with an edge.

In the wild

Taught in 103’s chapter 02.