Sumerian Addenda · Signs
seize
| Name | KU |
|---|---|
| Reads | [ku], dab5, tuš |
| Means | to seize (dab5); to sit, dwell (tuš) |
| Taught in | 14 · A row of proverbs |
Where it comes from
Four wedges, several jobs: as dab5 it is “to seize” — the hand of fate, the bailiff’s grip, the taking-charge of workers on a roster. As tuš it is “to sit, to dwell.” Seizing and settling: what the hand closes on, someone ends up sitting on.
How to remember it
Seize: a clamp of wedges, closing. When a god seizes a glutton or an officer seizes a work-gang, the script uses this grip — and once the seizing is done, the same sign sits down to stay.
In the wild
urn:nabu:etcsl:6.1.22:22.ll.276-277.277 ·
license: ETCSL · non-commercial.
Piece by piece:
- diŋir — the god
- an-dab5-be2 — seizes him: this sign as the grip in the chain
The proverb’s glutton finds out who collects on excess. The line is read in 102’s chapter 14.