Sumerian Addenda · Signs

𒁕

side

Where it comes from

An arm or side, by the usual reading of the picture. As a word, da is the side of something; as a grammar tag, -da is the comitative — “together with”: dumu-da, “with the child.” What stands at your side comes along with you.

How to remember it

Your side is where company walks: the sign spreads a shoulder-and-arm of wedges, making room for whoever comes along. See -da, add “with.”

In the wild

Early Dynastic name list, ca. 2600–2500 BCE. CDLI P010063 via Nabu, urn:nabu:cdli:p010063:reverse:6:5 · license: attribution. Name translations are approximate by nature.

Piece by piece:

  • lugal — the king
  • a2-zi-da — the right side, literally “the true arm,” this sign closing the phrase

A name that leans a whole life on the king’s strong side. The name is read in 102’s chapter 10.