MEŠ (cuneiform)

The cuneiform MEŠ, or meš is a plural form attached at the end of Mesopotamian cuneiform words as a suffix. As part of a name (PN, personal name, or other), or major class being referenced, in capital letters (a sumerogram form), it is typically separated from other capital letter sumerograms with a period. The name of the group can follow, in lower case letters, for example: (men-massu, Amarna letter EA 365), LÚ.MEŠ–ma-as-sà-meš, (and using a secondary suffix meš, not being typical).

The MEŠ cuneiform is a vertical stroke, followed by three or four angled smaller wedge-strokes. The strokes can also be "not angled", but 45 degree wedges, smaller, or large. For example, Amarna letter EA 161, Aziru to Pharaoh, shows a series of six preparation items listed sequentially. The following wedges (on the meš or sumerogram .MEŠ wedges, are large, and the scribe has a scribing base line, that follows the vertical stroke, a baseline on which the wedges are placed sequentially. EA 161 shows the baseline 'remainder', extending beyond the last 3rd, or 4th wedge.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, (Tablets I-XII) the meš sign is used as follows: as meš, 8 times, as MEŠ, 253 times.

In the Amarna letters, the meš sign is often referencing people, or types of people, but another common usage is KUR.MEŠ, since "land", or regions are often being discussed by the 'governors' of the city-states (called the 'man' of the city, typically).

The meš sign can be considered to be 1.--me (cuneiform). .(the horizontal "baseline"), 2.--with 3 vertical wedges., (eš (cuneiform)).

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