Cuneiform sign tir

In Sumerian, 𒌁 can mean “forest,” “wood,” or “bow.”

Sumerian word lists give tir the readings “forest” and “wood”; the same sign also writes “bow.” In Akkadian, it can write a Sumerian word inside an Akkadian sentence (a Sumerogram) or represent a syllable by sound.

Cuneiform took shape in Mesopotamia in the late-fourth-millennium BCE for administrative record-keeping, including goods and rations. Over time, its signs came to represent whole words or syllables; TIR has different values in these reading traditions.

Why does TIR have several readings?

Other signs and the language help select the reading.

In 𒄑𒌁, the first sign marks tree or wooden terms, pointing toward “forest” or “wood.” The sequence 𒌁𒀭𒈾 means “rainbow”; Hellenistic Babylonian astronomical texts also use it as a constellation name. With 𒀭 marking a deity before that sequence, 𒀭𒌁𒀭𒈾 names a rainbow goddess.

What does 𒌁 mean when someone sends it?

A lone glyph points to the sign, not one certain word.

Someone sending only 𒌁 may be referring to the cuneiform sign itself, rather than writing a complete sentence. Without a language or gloss, do not choose among “forest,” “wood,” and “bow” from the glyph alone.