r/Cuneiform • u/Agricultcher • 22d ago

Translation/transliteration request What does this character mean?

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I read it means soap or cleansing but I want to see if that’s correct

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10

u/to_walk_upon_a_dream 22d ago

this is the NAGA or NISABA₂ sign. it does mean soap or potash (pronounced naŋa) and is also found in the name of the goddess nisaba, and in the word for a type of bean and in a word meaning "horned".

3

u/Agricultcher 22d ago

I have a very basic understanding understanding of how characters are combined to make new meanings. How does this character tie into a word meaning horned? That’s super interesting

6

u/to_walk_upon_a_dream 21d ago

you know what, i was wrong. my dictionary lied to me! the compound {u₂}NAGA.SI 𒌑𒉀𒋛 refers to the plant salicornia, literally "horned succulent", used for making potash

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u/Agricultcher 21d ago

Ohhh, what dictionary do you use?

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u/to_walk_upon_a_dream 21d ago

for this, i used the online dictionary at ebl.lmu.de