# QA-NU-MA (qanūma)

> reeds (qanūma); heading on KH 88, grain entry on HT 116a

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

- Reading: qanūma
- Confidence: Candidate. A comparison worth testing; the evidence is thin or the word is rare.
- Root: [\*ḳanaw/y-](<https://linear-a.ai/roots/3035/index.md>) 'reed'
- Kind: Administrative
- Language: Semitic
- Signs: QA (qa) · NU (nu) · MA (ma)

## Compared forms

- Akkadian: *qanû* — qanû 'reed; arrow; measuring rod' (CAD Q 85)
- Hebrew: *qāneh* — qāneh 'reed, stalk' (HALOT 1113)
- Ugaritic: 𐎖𐎐 *qn* — qn 'cane' (DULAT 694)
- Phoenician: 𐤒𐤍 *qn* — qn 'reeds, reed pens or pipes' (Krahmalkov 427)
- Eblaite: *qan(u)wum* — ga-nu-wu, [ga]-nu-um /qan(u)wum/ 'reed' (VE 416; Krebernik 1983, 16)

## Attestations

- [HT 116a](<https://linear-a.ai/texts/HT116a/index.md>): QA-NU-MA GRA 20
- [KH 88](<https://linear-a.ai/texts/KH88/index.md>): QA-NU-MA \*21F-\*118 NI 10 — reeds (heading)

## Commentary

KH 88 heads its list with QA-NU-MA; on HT 116a QA-NU-MA GRA 20 is the last of six grain recipients under U-TA-RO · TE, with KU-PA-JA Kubbaya and SI-KI-NE Sikinet. qanūma 'reeds' < *qanawūma, as Huehnergard reconstructs Ugaritic qnm, with Eblaite qā-nu-wu, qā-nu-um (Huehnergard 2008, 291), the closest vocalic parallel. Weak point: on HT 116a reeds stand in a recipient's slot. Rival: √q-n-y 'acquire, possess', a heading for acquisitions. See QA-NE and KA-NA.

## Same root

- [KA-NA](<https://linear-a.ai/lexicon/KA-NA/index.md>) (qana / qanû)
- [QA-NE](<https://linear-a.ai/lexicon/QA-NE/index.md>) (qanē)

## References

- Reading: di Mino; Huehnergard 2008
- VE: Pettinato, Giovanni (1982), Testi lessicali bilingui della biblioteca L. 2769. Parte 1: Traslitterazione dei testi e ricostruzione del VE. Materiali epigrafici di Ebla 4,Istituto Universitario Orientale
- Krahmalkov: Krahmalkov, Charles R. (2000), A Phoenician-Punic Dictionary. Peeters (Leuven)
- Huehnergard, John (2008), Ugaritic Vocabulary in Syllabic Transcription, revised edition. Harvard Semitic Studies 32, Eisenbrauns
- HALOT: Koehler, Ludwig; Baumgartner, Walter; Stamm, Johann Jakob; Richardson, M. E. J. (trans. and ed.) (1994), The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, vols. I–IV. E. J. Brill, Leiden · New York · Köln
- 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 Q: Oriental Institute (Erica Reiner, ed.) (1982), The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, vol. 13, Q. The Oriental Institute, Chicago; J. J. Augustin, Glückstadt
- Krebernik, Manfred (1983), Zu Syllabar und Orthographie der lexikalischen Texte aus Ebla. Teil 2 (Glossar). Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und vorderasiatische Archäologie,73,1–47

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Page: https://linear-a.ai/lexicon/QA-NU-MA/
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 add28e94.