# \*mwt: 'plague, pestilence'

> Proto-Semitic *mwt, 'plague, pestilence': reflexes in 3 language(s).

A page of the Linear A Lexicon's research wiki, in [Wiki](<https://linear-a.ai/wiki/index.md>) › [Kaphtor Semitic Roots](<https://linear-a.ai/wiki/semitic-roots/index.md>) › [M](<https://linear-a.ai/wiki/semitic-roots/m/index.md>). Updated 2026-10-26.

## Root

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Reconstruction | \*mwt |
| Meaning | 'plague, pestilence' |
| Basis | project |

## Reflexes

| Language | Form | Sources | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akkadian | mūtānu (CAD M/2 296) | CAD M/2 296 | gloss withheld |
| Syrian Aramaic | mawtānā 'plague, pestilence, mortality' (Payne Smith 260) | Payne Smith 260 |  |
| Arabic | mūtān, mawtān 'death, a mortal disease, a murrain, that befalls camels or sheep; the like among men' (Lane 2742) | Lane 2742 |  |

A form keeps its source's gloss only when the source is public domain or openly licensed.

## Notes

Noun of 945 \*mw/yt 'to die'; cf. 2759 \*māwit- 'death'. Kaufman 1974, 57, 74 does not take Common Aramaic mwtnʾ as a loan: Syr. mawtānā is hard to explain as a loanword, and the Akkadian distribution points to a possible Amorite origin. Sab mwtn 'death' (Biella 270) is mwt with the article.

## Linked from

- [M](<https://linear-a.ai/wiki/semitic-roots/m/index.md>)

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Page: https://linear-a.ai/wiki/semitic-roots/m/3619_plague_pestilence/
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.