amtum

Akkadian

Etymology

From Proto-Semitic *ʔamat- (“maidservant”). Cognate with Arabic أَمَة (ʔama, “female slave”) and Biblical Hebrew אָמָה (ʔɔmɔ́, “female servant”).

Pronunciation

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

Noun

amtum f (construct state amat, plural amātum) (from Old Akkadian on)

1. female slave, female servant

   𒄠𒌈 𒊭𒄠𒌈 𒄴𒇷𒅅

   [amtum šāmtum iḫliq]

   am-tum ša-am-tum iḫ-li-iq

   the female slave that was purchased escaped

Alternative forms

• amtu (non-mimated)
• andu (Neo-Babylonian)

Cuneiform spellings

Logograms	Phonetic
𒊩𒆳 (GEME₂) (frequent in Old Babylonian) 𒊕𒊩𒆳 (SAG.GEME₂)	𒄠𒌈 (am-tum) 𒄠𒌅 (am-tu)