MÁ

The cuneiform sign MÁ denotes a ship or boat. It is used in Sumerian and as a Sumerogram for the Akkadian word eleppu (also 'ship'/'boat').^[1] MÁ is usually preceded by the determinative for items made of wood, namely GIŠ: GIŠ.MÁ, or ^GIŠ.MÁ, .

Digital rendering of the sign MÁ. In the variant found in the Amarna letters, the lower horizontal crosses all three verticals.

Examples

The Epic of Gilgamesh lists sixteen wood-related words written with the GIŠ determinative, among them GIŠ.MÁ/eleppu.^[2] The epic also uses the 'ship'/'boat' Sumerogram in Tablet XI (the Gilgamesh flood myth), and elsewhere when Gilgamesh is taken by boat.

Some of the Amarna letters using the Sumerogram are EA 86, EA 153,^[3] EA 149, EA 245,^[4] and EA 364.^[5]

See also

• Amarna letter EA 86
• Amarna letter EA 153
• Amarna letter EA 245