wabālum

Akkadian

Root
w-b-l
2 terms

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *wabal- (to carry). Cognate with Arabic وَبَلَ (wabala, “to carry much rain”) and Biblical Hebrew הוֹבִיל (hoḇil, “to lead, transport”).

Pronunciation

• (Old Babylonian) IPA^(key): /waˈbaː.lum/

Verb

wabālum (G, a-i, durative ubbal, perfect ittabal, preterite ubil, imperative bil) (from Old Akkadian on)

1.  to bring, transport
2. to carry (things, animals, people; life, prosperity; messages, dreams)

   𒉺𒈾𒄠 𒉿𒁀𒈝 [pānam wabālum] ― pa-na-am wa-ba-lum ― to forgive (literally, “to carry the face”)

   𒌒𒇴 𒉺𒉌𒅀 [ublam pānīya!] ― ub-lam pa-ni-ia ― forgive me!

3. to carry off, sweep away
4. to fetch (a price), be worth
5. (mathematics) to multiply

Conjugation

Conjugation
Infinitive		wabālum
Participle		wābilum
Adjective		wablum
Active		Durative	Perfect	Preterite	Imperative
1.sg		ubbal	attabal	ubil	lubil
2.sg	m	tubbal	tattabal	tubil	bil
	f	tubbalī	tattablī	tublī	bilī
3.sg		ubbal	ittabal	ubil	libil
1.pl		nubbal	nittabal	nubil	i nibil
2.pl		tubbalā	tattablā	tublā	bilā
3.pl	m	ubbalū	ittablū	ublū	liblū
	f	ubbalā	ittablā	ublā	liblā
This table gives Old Babylonian inflection. For conjugation in other dialects, see Appendix:Akkadian dialectal conjugation.

Alternative forms

• wabālu (non-mimated)
• babālum (Old Babylonian)
• abālu (Standard Babylonian)
• ubālu (Middle Assyrian, Neo-Assyrian)

Cuneiform spellings

Logograms	Phonetic
𒉐 (TUM₃) 𒁺 (TUM₂) (Old Babylonian, mathematics)	𒁀𒁀𒇻𒌝 (ba-ba-lu-um) 𒁀𒁀𒈝 (ba-ba-lum) 𒁀𒁀𒇻 (ba-ba-lu) 𒀀𒁀𒈝 (a-ba-lum) 𒀀𒁀𒇻 (a-ba-lu)

References

• “abālu A”, 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) “wabālu(m)”, in A Concise Dictionary of Akkadian, 2nd corrected edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag