šaptum

Akkadian

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *śapat- (“lip”). Cognate with Arabic شَفَة (šafa) and Biblical Hebrew שָׂפָה (śɔp̄ɔ).

Pronunciation

• (Old Babylonian) IPA^(key): /ˈʃap.tum/

Noun

šaptum f (dual šaptān, plural šapātum) (from Old Akkadian on)

1. lip
2. utterance, speech, command
3. rim, edge

Alternative forms

• šaptu (non-mimated)
• šabdu (occasionally)

Cuneiform spellings

Logograms	Phonetic
𒅻 (NUNDUM, NUNDUN) 𒅾 (SUN₄, SU₆) (occasionally)	𒊭𒀊𒌈 (ša-ap-tum)

References

• “šaptu”, in The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (CAD)‎^[1], volume 17, Š, part 1, Chicago: University of Chicago Oriental Institute, 1989