šumēlum

Akkadian

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *šamʔāl- (“left hand/side”). Cognate with Arabic شِمَال (šimāl) and Biblical Hebrew שְׂמֹאל (śəmoʔl).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

šumēlum m (from Old Babylonian on)

1. the left
   1. left side
   2. left hand
   3. (military) left wing (of an army)

   Antonym: imnum (“right”)

Alternative forms

• šumēlu (non-mimated)
• šumīlum, šumīlu

Cuneiform spellings

Logograms	Phonetic
𒆏 (GUB₃) 𒀉𒆏𒁍 (A₂.GUB₃.BU) 𒆏𒁀 (GUB₃.BA)	𒋗𒈨𒈝 (šu-me-lum) 𒋗𒈨𒇻 (šu-me-lu) 𒋗𒈪𒇻 (šu-mi-lu)

Derived terms

• šumēlam (“on the left”)
• šumēlûm (“left-hand”)

 

References

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