AHw and CAD

Scholars of Ancient Near Eastern studies today primarily work with two Akkadian dictionaries: the three-volume Akkadisches Handwörterbuch (AHw) in German, published from 1958 to 1981,1 and the 26-volume Chicago Assyrian Dictionary (CAD) in English, published from 1956 to 2010.2 Both dictionaries are lexicographical masterpieces that greatly advanced our understanding of the Akkadian language. They are indispensable for the philological and cultural-historical analysis of cuneiform texts, as well as for Semitic studies and related disciplines. The dictionaries’ extensive reference collections serve as the basis for numerous studies in grammar, realia, and the history of concepts.

While the importance of CAD and AHw as primary reference works is beyond any doubt, they are also, in part, outdated. During the long period of publication and after their completion, a large number of new Akkadian cuneiform texts of all genres, periods and regions were published. These now total several tens of thousands of cuneiform texts which have not yet been analysed lexicographically, or have only been included in individual volumes of the printed dictionaries. Scholarship has likewise progressed significantly throughout the past eight decades, steadily outpacing the state of research reflected by the dictionaries.

In-depth philological research will usually require the consultation of both AHw and CAD, as they differ in methodology and extent, containing at times diverging interpretations of the source material.

Rather than starting over from scratch, LAD considers both lexicographical works its bedrock. The majority of material presented in them remains relevant and reliable. Dictionary entries from both CAD and AHw are consistently mapped to LAD’s entries in order to provide a framework for our own interpretations. Users are able to comfortably compare three dictionaries at a glance. The older dictionaries are not altered in this process: any corrections, alterations, updates or diverging interpretations are indicated on the LAD side.

We thank Chicago University Press as well as Harrassowitz Verlag for granting permission to digitally reproduce CAD and AHw.

The two dictionaries beside every LAD entry, and what their columns on the entry page show, each have a page of their own: AHw and CAD.