# NU-RO (nūr-)

> light, fire (divine epithet or votive label on clay vessels)

A Linear A word in the Linear A Lexicon. The reading is a proposal and carries its tier.

- Reading: nūr-
- Confidence: Candidate. A comparison worth testing; the evidence is thin or the word is rare.
- Root: [\*nūr-](<https://linear-a.ai/roots/1196/index.md>) 'fire' 1, 'to shine, sparkle' 2, 'light' 3, 'lamp' 4
- Kind: Divine
- Language: Semitic
- Signs: NU (nu) · RO (ro)

## Compared forms

- Akkadian: *nūru* — nūru "light, fire" (CAD N/II)
- Hebrew: נוּר *nūr* — נוּר (nūr) "fire"; נֵר (nēr) "lamp"
- Ugaritic: 𐎐𐎗 *nr* — nr "light" (DULAT 633)
- Arabic: *nūr* — nūr "light"
- Eblaite: *nu-ru₁₂-um* — nu-ru₁₂-um 'light' (GlOS 2, 114)

## Attestations

- [IN Zb 1](<https://linear-a.ai/texts/INZb1/index.md>): NU-RO
- [KAM Zb 1](<https://linear-a.ai/texts/KAMZb1/index.md>): NU-RO

## Commentary

IN Zb 1 and KAM Zb 1, the sole word on two clay vessels, from Kamilari and an unknown site, with no sentence context. nūr- 'light, fire', √n-w-r: Ug. nwr /nāra/, /yanūr-/ 'to be bright, shine' (Huehnergard 2012, 50), BH nēr 'lamp'. On a votive vessel nūru 'Light' addresses a god, as in the epithets of Shamash. Rival: a name on nūr, as Mari nu-ur-me-er, Emar nu-ri-ᵈda-gan, Ugarit nu-ri-ia-nu (GlOS 2, 114). Two attestations. See *301-U-RA.

## Same root

- [\*301-U-RA](<https://linear-a.ai/lexicon/*301-U-RA/index.md>) (naura)
- [\*47-NU-RA-JA](<https://linear-a.ai/lexicon/*47-NU-RA-JA/index.md>) (Šū-nūraya)
- [JA-I-NWA-RO](<https://linear-a.ai/lexicon/JA-I-NWA-RO/index.md>) (yā ʾanwaru)
- [QA-MI-\*47-NA-RA](<https://linear-a.ai/lexicon/QA-MI-*47-NA-RA/index.md>) (qāmī šū-nāra)

## In the onomasticon

- [NU-RO](<https://linear-a.ai/names/NU-RO/index.md>): God or goddess, Semitic

## References

- Reading: di Mino; GlOS 2
- Huehnergard, John (2012), An Introduction to Ugaritic. Hendrickson
- DULAT: del Olmo Lete, Gregorio; Sanmartín, Joaquín (2015), A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition. Brill, Leiden/Boston (Handbook of Oriental Studies 1/112); Third Revised Edition, tr. and ed. Wilfred G.E. Watson; 2 parts
- CAD N/2: Oriental Institute (Erica Reiner, ed.) (1980), The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, vol. 11, N, part 2. The Oriental Institute, Chicago; J. J. Augustin, Glückstadt
- GlOS 2: Sanmartín, Joaquín (2024), A Glossary of Old Syrian, Volume 2: l – z. Languages of the Ancient Near East 8/2,Eisenbrauns (Pennsylvania State University Press), University Park

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Page: https://linear-a.ai/lexicon/NU-RO/
Licence: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Cite as: di Mino, Tom. 2026. Linear A Lexicon. Plasma AI. https://linear-a.ai/. Data: kaphtor, commit 50525edd.