Cuneiform sign AB₂

AB₂ writes the Sumerian word “cow.”

A form linked to AB₂ appears in Uruk IV/III, archaeological periods named for the ancient city of Uruk, in accounting records from around 3350–3000 BCE. The clay tablets track cows and other goods.

Later Sumerian scribes also used AB₂ for phonetic values conventionally transliterated li, lid, and lit. These are scholarly labels for the sign’s sound values, alongside its word value “cow.”

What if someone sends 𒀖 by itself?

A lone 𒀖 is a cuneiform reference, not a full translation.

Treat it as a reference and ask what text or reading the sender has in mind. “Cow” is a valid historical gloss, but the single sign cannot tell you whether that word, another sound value, or a tablet quotation is intended.

Placement changes the historical reading. After a quantity in an administrative entry, AB₂ points to a counted cow or cattle item; animal-list qualifiers narrow the kind to wild, milking, pregnant, or young cows. In AB₂.NUN.ME, it contributes to abrig, the name of an office associated with ritual purification.