Linear B syllable B080 ma

It writes the open syllable ma.

B080 is the catalogue label; scholars transcribe the sign as ma. Linear B spells Mycenaean Greek, an early form of Greek, with consonant–vowel signs—one consonant followed by a vowel—so this sign gives part of a word, not its definition. An open syllable ends in a vowel. Final consonants and clusters may be left unwritten or represented with an added “dummy” vowel.

Most surviving examples are on clay tablets from palace offices—lists, accounts, and commodity records. In that setting, 𐀔 contributes one part of a written word; the rest of the spelling identifies the item or name.

Where did the Linear B ma sign come from?

Its proposed lineage runs from Cretan Hieroglyphic through Linear A.

The proposed lineage begins with a Cretan Hieroglyphic sign called the cat-mask, dated to Middle Minoan II, a period on Bronze Age Crete. Scholars link that sign to Linear A AB 80 and then to 𐀔 in Linear B. This traces sign forms; it does not prove that 𐀔 pictures a cat or has a fixed picture meaning. As of 2026, the earlier scripts are not fully deciphered.

Linear B was used by scribes across Crete and the Greek mainland in the Late Bronze Age. The Cypriot syllabary is another Greek-writing tradition, with different signs and a different writing direction.

Why does the sign appear with wool and fennel?

Those readings belong to larger sequences or words, not to 𐀔 alone.

In Linear A records, AB 80 + AB 26 is transcribed MA+RU and linked with wool; AB 80 and AB 26 are modern catalogue labels for the signs. The Linear B wool ideogram *145 is a separate sign, not 𐀔. As of 2026, AB 80’s role when it appears alone—sound sign or word sign—remains unsettled.

The attested Linear B word ma-ra-tu-wo means fennel, an aromatic herb. Here 𐀔 supplies its opening syllable; the rest of the spelling makes it a word for the plant.