ḫassū

Akkadian

Etymology

The Akkadian translation of this word is based on Classical Syriac ܚܣܬܐ (ḥastā, “lettuce”). Considered either a loanword in Sumerian (see 𒄭𒊬 (ḫi^sar /⁠ḫiz⁠/, “lettuce”) or a Kulturwort. Cognate with Arabic خَسّ (ḵass) and Hebrew חַסָּה (ḥassɔ).

Pronunciation

• (Old Babylonian) IPA^(key): /ˈχas.suː/

Noun

ḫassū m pl (from Old Babylonian on)

1. lettuce

Cuneiform spellings

Logograms	Phonetic
𒌑𒄭𒄑𒊬 (U₂.ḪI.IS.SAR)	𒄩𒊍𒋢 (ḫa-as-su) 𒋻𒋢 (ḫas-su)

Descendants

• → Aramaic: חַסָּא (ḥassā)
  • Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܚܲܣܵܐ (ḥassā)
  • Classical Syriac: ܚܣܬܐ
  • → Arabic: خَسّ (ḵass) (see there for further descendants)
  • → Hebrew: חַסָּה (khása)

References

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