ṣuʾru
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Variant: ṣūru
Meanings:
back, top
de:German: Deutsch Rücken, Rückseite, Spitze
Distribution: OB-LitOB-Lit: Old Babylonian literary texts — new attestation (not in AHw/CAD)
Grammar:
pos: subst.Substantivepattern: PuRS
Etymology: Borrowed ＜ NWSem.Northwest Semitic (?) Cf. PSem. *ṯ̣ahr “back”, see SED 1, 284; Kogan 2011, 217.
1Attestations
OB-LitOB-Lit: Old Babylonian literary texts elīma ana ṣú-ri-im ša šadîm Gilg. OB Harmal₁: 1a eBL “go up on the back country/top(?) of the mountains!” The ref. has been attributed to the word ṣūru “Felsen” in AHw. 1115 (hapax legomenon). But see George 2003, 250, who rightly points to the parallel īlīma Gilgameš ana ṣēr šadîm Gilg. OB Schøyen₂ 27. Whereas George mentions the possibility of a spelling mistake for ṣēru we rather think of a metaphorical use of ṣuʾru in the mng. “back country” as a calque to Akk. ṣēru. A different solution is provided by the Ug. cognate ẓr “back” (DUL 1005) used metaphorically as “top”, which would also fit here.