Sumerian Addenda · Signs

arm

Name	A₂
Reads	[a]
Means	arm; strength; side — a₂ zid-da, the right side
Taught in	10 · In those days

Where it comes from

A₂ is the arm — and everything an arm stands for: strength, labor, a side. With zi it makes a₂ zid-da, “the right side,” literally “the true arm.” Festivals, wages, and directions all borrow the limb.

How to remember it

An arm bent at the elbow — the wedge angles like a bicep at work. Strength, wages (“arm-hire”), the right-hand side: when the body politic needs a limb, this is the one it raises.

In the wild

𒌗 𒀉 𒆠 𒋾iti a₂-ki-ti"month of the Akiti festival"

Ur III administrative tablet, ca. 2100–2000 BCE. CDLI P100219 via Nabu, urn:nabu:cdli:p100219:reverse:3 · license: attribution.

Piece by piece:

iti — month
a₂-ki-ti — the Akiti festival, its name opening on the arm-sign

The great new-year festival of Ur, dated into a bookkeeper’s line. The month is read in 102’s chapter 13.