Cuneiform Sign Sila3

SILA3 chiefly denotes a capacity measure in Sumerian and Akkadian writing.

A damaged entry in a scribal word list from the Uruk III period at Uruk, c. 3200–3000 BCE, preserves SILA3. In accounts, a numeral before it records a capacity amount. CDLI’s 2026 sign-reading entry estimates the unit at about one litre, a historical measure rather than a modern kitchen conversion.

Later scribal glossaries—lists that teach signs and readings—pair SILA3 with the Akkadian measure name qû and connect it with readings such as “half,” “split,” “street,” and “afterbirth.” The “street” reading is a homophone, a different word with the same sound, not a meaning of the capacity unit. These list associations do not make every reading interchangeable in a sentence.

Why does 𒋡 look different in different fonts?

Unicode identifies the sign, not one tablet’s exact drawing.

Cuneiform signs changed across historical periods, and fonts may be designed around particular styles. The glyph 𒋡 can therefore differ between fonts; an ancient tablet may not match the page’s font stroke for stroke.

When comparing a digital sample with a tablet, check the period and sign list before deciding one is wrong. The character identifies a sign across the writing system; it does not specify which historical style to use.

What does 𒋡 mean when someone sends it?

Read it as a cuneiform sign, not a complete translation.

Without a transliteration or neighboring signs, the glyph alone cannot tell you whether the sender intends the capacity unit, a reading from a scribal list, or a reference to cuneiform itself.

For a translation, the language, period, and surrounding signs matter. If someone sent it alone, ask which reading they intended.