Sumerian Addenda · Signs
reed
| Name | GI |
|---|---|
| Reads | [gi] |
| Means | reed — the writing tool itself; gi in Šul-gi |
| Taught in | 15 · Born a hero |
Where it comes from
The reed — the writing tool itself, finally a sign of its own: the stalk that, cut to a stylus, pressed every wedge you have read. As a syllable it serves in names; most famously as the gi of Šul-gi, the great king of Ur.
How to remember it
The reed is the pen drawing its own portrait: one stalk, leaves flagging off it. Every sign in this codex was pressed by a reed — this is the sign where the tool signs its work.
In the wild
urn:nabu:cdli:p010447:reverse:2:6 ·
license: attribution.
Piece by piece:
- ki-en — place, lord: the name’s first two signs
- gi — the reed, closing the country’s own name — how the whole parses is a debate the grammars carry
Sumer’s name for itself ends in a reed — the plant its script, its boats, and its houses were all cut from. The reed as tool is told in 102’s chapter 15 and the writing primer.