Sumerian Addenda · Signs

mighty

Name	KAL
Reads	[kal] (fuller form kalag)
Means	mighty, strong (kalag); precious
Taught in	15 · Born a hero

Where it comes from

Kal is “mighty, strong” — the royal epithet nitah kalag-ga, “mighty male,” follows kings’ names through the entire Ur III titulary — and also “precious, rare”: what is strong holds its value. On seals, the name lu₂-kal-la, “the precious one,” wears the same sign.

How to remember it

Mighty and precious are one wedge-cluster: strength you can bank. A king is kalag-ga the way a treasure is kal — held tight, worth the holding.

In the wild

𒃻 𒉆 𒆗 𒆗 𒂗 𒃻 𒂊 𒈨 𒆗 𒆗niŋ₂ nam-kal-kal-en niŋ₂-e me-kal-kal"treasure a thing, and the thing treasures you" (approximate; the saying compresses)

The instructions of Šuruppak, the oldest wisdom collection in the world, composite text. urn:nabu:etcsl:5.6.1:243 · license: ETCSL · non-commercial.

Piece by piece:

niŋ₂ nam-kal-kal-en — if you treasure a thing
niŋ₂-e me-kal-kal — the thing treasures you back: kal doubled on both sides of the deal

The oldest advice about caring for your tools, hinged on this sign twice over. The saying is read in 102’s chapter 16.