Cuneiform Sign Gu

Its main Sumerian value names cord or thread.

The Sumerian word conventionally written gu means cord or thread, including flax; it can also refer to a snare or net. This value is attested from Early Dynastic IIIa through Hellenistic sources.

Cuneiform began at Uruk around 3400–3300 BCE as a way to record goods and services. A sign could represent a word and later also a syllable. As cuneiform was used for Akkadian and other languages, GU could stand for a Sumerian word or serve as a phonetic value.

Context decides which reading fits

In an ancient text, 𒄖 does not translate to one fixed English word. Language, period, grammar, and neighboring signs decide whether it stands for a whole word or supplies a sound or syllable.

Scholarly transliteration—the Latin-letter notation used to write cuneiform readings—uses uppercase GU to name a sign and lowercase gu for a reading; subscripts mark homophonous signs, written differently but with the same reading. GU₂ is associated with “neck” or “bank,” GU₃ with “voice,” and GU₄ is a separate sign with an “ox” reading. The sign’s lists also include other gu readings, so a similar label does not guarantee a shared meaning.

If someone sends only 𒄖, identify it as the cuneiform sign GU or ask for the source line; there is not enough context to choose among its historical readings. In a modern message, add a transliteration and plain-language gloss if you need the intended word to be clear.

The typeface is not the ancient hand

The digital glyph is a typeface’s standardized drawing, not a photograph of one tablet. Cuneiform marks are wedge impressions, and the sign’s appearance can vary with the writing surface and scribal hand; a different outline alone does not establish a different sign.