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The Sumerian word NIN (𒎏), later borrowed into Akkadian, was used to denote a queen or a priestess, and is often translated as "lady". Other translations include "queen", "mistress", "proprietress", and "lord".[1] The word EREŠ, also meaning "queen" or "lady",[2] is written using the cuneiform sign for NIN as well.
Many goddesses are called NIN or EREŠ, such as DNIN.GAL ("great lady"), DÉ.NIN.GAL ("lady of the great temple"), DEREŠ.KI.GAL, and DNIN.TI.
The compound form NIN.DINGIR ("divine lady" or "lady [of a] god"), denotes a priestess.
In writing
editNIN originated as a ligature of the cuneiform glyphs of MUNUS (𒊩) and TÚG (𒌆); the NIN sign was written as MUNUS.TÚG (𒊩𒌆) in archaic cuneiform, notably in the Codex Hammurabi.[citation needed] The syllable nin, on the other hand, was written as MUNUS.KA (𒊩𒅗) in Assyrian cuneiform. MUNUS.KU = NIN9[clarification needed] (𒊩𒆪) means "sister".[citation needed]
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Basic cuneiform MUNUS sign ("woman") -
Basic cuneiform TÚG sign (syllable ku)
Occurrence in the Gilgamesh epic
editNinsun (DNIN.SÚN) as the mother of Gilgamesh in the Epic of Gilgamesh (standard Babylonian version), appears in 5 of the 12 chapters (tablets I, II, III, IV, and XII). The other personage using NIN is the god Ninurta (DNIN.URTA), who appears in Tablet I, and especially in the flood myth of Tablet XI.[citation needed]
Of the 51 uses of NIN, the other major usage is for the Akkadian word eninna (nin as in e-nin-na, but also other variants). Eninna is the adverb "now", but it can also be used as a conjunction, or as a segue-form (a transition form).[citation needed][clarification needed]
The two uses of NIN as the word for "sister" (Akkadian ahātu), for example, are used in Tablet 8 (The Mourning of Enkidu), line 38:[citation needed]
- "May…
- "May the brothers go into mourning over you like sisters…"
See also
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References
edit- ^ J A Halloran – Lexicon → [1] Retrieved 2012-06-07 & ISBN 0978642902
- ^ J A Halloran – Sumerian Lexicon Version 3.0. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
- Parpola, Simo, with Mikko Luuko, and Kalle Fabritius (1997). The Standard Babylonian, Epic of Gilgamesh. The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project. ISBN 951-45-7760-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (Volume 1) in the original Akkadian cuneiform and transliteration; commentary and glossary are in English
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