Akkadian

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Proto-Semitic *mīn- (what). Cognate with Ge'ez ምንት (mənt) and Ugaritic 𐎎𐎐𐎎 (mnm, whatever, anything).

Pronoun

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mīnum (from Old Akkadian on)

  1. (interrogative) what?
    𒈪𒉆 𒂊𒇷𒅀 𒋾𒋗 [mīnam elīya tīšu?]mi-nam e-li-ia ti-šuWhat do I owe you?
  2. (relative) what, whatever
  3. (interrogative) why?, what for?, for what reason?
Alternative forms
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Cuneiform spellings
Logograms Phonetic
  • 𒂗𒉆 (EN.NAM) (mathematics)
  • 𒂗𒈾 (EN.NA) (mathematics, Middle/Neo-Babylonian)
  • 𒂗 (EN) (mathematics, Middle/Neo-Babylonian)
Derived terms
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References

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  • “mīnu”, in The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD)[1], Chicago: University of Chicago Oriental Institute, 1956–2011
  • Black, Jeremy, George, Andrew, Postgate, Nicholas (2000) “mīnu(m) I”, in A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd corrected edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag

Etymology 2

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From manûm (to count).

Noun

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mīnum m (from Old Babylonian on)

  1. number
    𒈪𒉡𒌝 𒌑𒌌 𒊏𒁉 [mīnum ul rabi]mi-nu-um u₂ ra-bi(Their) number is not big.
    𒀉𒋾 𒀲𒆳𒊏𒎌 𒆷 𒈪𒉆 [itti sīsê lā mīnam]it-ti ANŠE.KUR.RA.MEŠ la mi-namwith countless horses
  2. accounting
  3. shape, good look, figure
Alternative forms
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Cuneiform spellings
Phonetic
Derived terms
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References

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  • “mīnu”, in The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD)[2], Chicago: University of Chicago Oriental Institute, 1956–2011
  • Black, Jeremy, George, Andrew, Postgate, Nicholas (2000) “mīnu(m)”, in A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd corrected edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag