Av also Ab (Early August, Num. 33:38 "in the first day of the fifth month").
Tropical: June 14-July 13, Gregorian: [Epagomes July 14-July 18] July 19-Aug. 17, Julian: [Epagomes July 28-Aug. 1] Aug. 2-Aug. 31.

• Hebrew 'ab, awb, a primary word, father.
• The 5^th month of the Hebrew calendar and the 11^th Jewish calendar.
• Sumerian ab-ba: father; elder; ancestor (Akkadian loanword).
  • Sumerian ab: window; niche (cf., aba).
  • Sumerian ab-(ba): (cf., aba).
  • Sumerian aba, ab: lake; sea.
  • Sumerian abba: (cf., ab-ba).
• Akkadian Abu.
  • From www.lexline.com:
    • "On the 5^th of Abu, the bow BAN and star of kings LUGAL are visible and the Goat UZ sets."
    • "On the 15^th of Abu the opposite is the Old One SHU.GI."
• Canaanite 'ab, ("hostile" as in heat, "bulrushes," as in growing).
  • Heat.
    • Sumerian kúm: heat; hot.
    • Hebrew qatsiyr, kaw-tseer', or qatsir, from Heb. qatsar, kaw-tsar', to dock off, thus severed, i.e. harvest (as reaped), the crop, the time, the reaper, or fig.
    • Greek therismos, ther-is-mos', from Gr. therizo, ther-id'-zo, from Gr. theros, ther'-os, heat, summer, thus to harvest, reap, reaping, i.e. the crop.
  • Bulrush.
    • Sumerian aški: bulrush (Typha grass) (éš, 'rope', + kid₍₆₎, 'to weave a reed mat').
    • Hebrew 'agmown, ag-mone', from Heb. 'agam, ag-am', thus a rush (as growing in swamps), hence a stockade of reeds, thus a marsh pool, by implication a rush (as growing there), collective a rope of rushes, bulrush, caldron, hook, rush.
    • Hebrew gome', go'-meh, from Heb. gama', gaw-maw', properly an absorbent, i.e. the bulrush (from its porosity), spec. the papyrus, bulrush.
  
  
• The hot weather continues as in the 4^th month of Tammuz.
  
  
• During the 5^th month of Av the following items ripen and are harvested:
  • Walnuts.
    • Hebrew 'egowz, eg-oze', probably of Persian origin, a nut.
  • Grapes.
    • Hebrew 'enab, ay-nawb', from an unused root probably meaning to bear fruit, a grape.
    • Hebrew peret, peh'-ret, from Heb. parat, paw-rat', a primary root to scatter words, i.e. prate (or hum), chant, thus a stray or single berry, grape.
    • Sumerian geštin-hád: raisins ('grape vine' + 'dried').
    • Sumerian geštin: vine; wine (giš, 'tree', + tin, 'life').
    • Sumerian gurun, gurin; girin, girim; gìrim, gírin: fruit; berry; flower (gúr, 'sphere', + an, 'high').
    • Sumerian buru₇: fruit tree; fruit; berry.
  • Olives.
    • Hebrew zayith, zah'-yith, probably from an unused root [akin to Heb. Ziv, zeev', the 2^nd month of flowers, Ijar or May, Zif], an olive (as yielding illuminating oil), the tree, the branch or the berry.
    • Hebrew shemen, sheh'-men, from Heb. shamam, shaw-man', to shine, thus liquid (as from the olive), oinment.
    • Sumerian ìa, ì: n., oil, fat, cream. modal prefix, indicates distance from speaker.
    • Sumerian ì-dùg(-ga): perfume; good oil ('oil' + 'sweet').
    • Sumerian ì-gu-la: perfumed oil ('oil' + 'flax' + 'beauty, desire').
    • Sumerian ì-ir-a: ointment ('oil' + 'perfume' + genitive ?).

    To return to the Sumerian City of E-ana/Unug (Uruk/Erech/Warka) - First Dynasty in regard to Inanna or to Sumerian INANNA.   Sumerian Dingir', the Sumerian Inanna.

    The following is from neither the Tablets from pre-Sargonic (before 2334 B.C.) the Calendar of Ur for one of the nine month names, or from the calendar reformed in the Ur III period by Shulgi, king of Sumer from 2094-2047 BC.    Five of the pre-Sargonic month names survived the transition, and the total number of months rose from nine to twelve.

• 5) Sumerian itiezem-mah-dNanna
  (iti, month + ezem, festivity + mah, great + ^dnan-na, divine god/goddess of the Human Race),
  thus reading "The Month of Great Festivity for God/Goddess of the Human Race (Nanna)."
  Some claim that this month represents the Sumerian August as seen here for the 5^th month of Av.
  • Sumerian itud, itid, itu, iti, id₈; it₄, id₄: moon; month; moonlight (te, 'to approach, meet', + ud, 'sun').
  • Sumerian ezem: festivity.
    • Sumerian ezen-mah: great festival ('feast' + 'great').
    • Sumerian ezen: festival, feast (uzu, 'cut of meat', + en, 'time').
    • Sumerian èš-èš: a festival (reduplicated 'shrine').
    • Sumerian gišbun: (cultic) feast.
    • Sumerian únu: (cf., únug).
    • Sumerian ùnu: feast; chief cowherd.
  • Sumerian mah: v., to be or make large; adj., high, exalted, great, lofty, sublime.
    • Sumerian dub-sar-mah: chief scribe ('scribe' + 'high').
    • Sumerian ezen-mah: great festival ('feast' + 'great').
    • Sumerian sukkal-mah: vizier ('minister' + 'grand').
    • One-source claims that the Sumerian Mah, is a priestly class, august, Nanna, full moon.
  • Sumerian ^dNanna or ^dnan-na (divine Bull/Moon God or God of the Human Race).
    • Sumerian Nanna, is equal to the Sumerian é-u₄-15: full moon ('house' + 'day 15').
    • Bull god and moon god Nanna in Ur.
      • Ur (modern Tell al-Muqayyar) was a Sumerian city in southern Mesopotamia established early in the Ubaid period (c. 4000 B.C.).    The city was the primary center for the worship of the Moon god, Nanna (Sin), and is home to a magnificent ziggurat built for the purpose of his adoration.
    • This name is also used in the following:
      • Eighth Month (Bul) - Scorpius as the Sumerian itishu-esh-^dNanna.
      • Sixth Month (Elul) - Virgo, we find the Sumerian itiamar-sag-gu₇-^dNanna.
      • Fifth Month (Av, Ab) - Leo, the Sumerian itiezem-mah-^dNanna.
  
  
• Sumerian INANNA - The Goddess Inanna or Ishtar was the most important female deity of ancient Mesopotamia at all periods.    Her Sumerian name Inanna is probably derived from a presumed Nin-ana, 'Lady of Heaven', it also occurs as Innin.    The sign for Innana's name (the ring-post) is found in the earliest written texts.    Inana, "queen of heaven," Sumerian E.AN.NA.
  • Sumerian ^dnan-na (divine God/Goddess + human race), thus God/Goddess of the Human Race.
    • Sumerian Nanna, is equal to the Sumerian é-u₄-15: full moon ('house' + 'day 15').
      • Sumerian nan: an-na: tin ('sky' + 'stone').
        • Sumerian digir: gods.
        • Sumerian ^dnin-kilim: mongoose ('divine proprietress' + 'herd of wild animals').
        • Sumerian ^dnin-nínnamušen: owl ('divine proprietress' + 'owl').
      • Sumerian na: n., human being; incense; adj., no; modal prefix, emphatic in past tense; prohibitive in present/future tense.
        • Sumerian na₄: pebble, stone; token; hailstone; weight.
        • Sumerian na₅: chest, box.
        • Sumerian ni; na: he, she; that one.
          • Sumerian ná, nú: (cf., nud).
          • Sumerian ne: this (one).
          • Sumerian ní: self; body.
          • Sumerian ní; ne₄: fear; respect; frightfulness; awe.
          • Sumerian nì: (cf., ní ).
        • Sumerian a-na: what (a,'to', + ni,'he, she', + a,'the').
        • Sumerian a-na-àm: thus ('what' + 'as, like').
        • Sumerian a-na-aš(-am): why ('what' + 'one' + 'to be').
        • Sumerian na-gada: herdsman ('human' + 'linen' ?).
        • Sumerian na-kab-tum: cattle pen (Semitic loanword ?).
      • Sumerian a, e₄: n., water; watercourse, canal; seminal fluid; offspring; father; tears; flood; interj., alas!; prep., locative suffix - where; in; when - denotes movement towards or in favor of a person; def. article, nominalizing suffix for a noun or noun clause, denoting 'the'.
        • Sumerian á: (cf., áhi).
        • Sumerian a₅: (cf., aka).

    Sumerian Ki-sig-^dNin-a-zu
(ki, earth, grain + sig, late, small, weak or (optional live, dwell) + ^dnin-a-zu, divine proprietress + the + wisdom),
which is possibly "The Goddess of Wisdom or Medicine, Who Lives In The Earth."

• Sumerian ki: n., earth; place; ground; grain. prep., where; wherever, whenever.
  • Sumerian kì: to build; to make; to act.
    • Sumerian ki-a-nag : death offering ('earth' + 'water' + 'to water').
    • Sumerian šubur: earth.
    • Sahara to get Sumerian sahar: dust, sand, earth, mud, loam; rubbish; sediment (cf., kuš₇) (sa₅, 'red-brown', + hara, 'crushed, pulverized').
    • Sumerian ^dugsáhar [SAR]: clay pot.
• Sumerian sig: low; late; small; weak, (optional silent, to dwell or live).
  • Sumerian ^(giš)eme-sig: ship plank ('tongue' + 'small').
  • Sumerian gi-sig: reed wall, hut ('reeds' + 'small, weak').
  • Sumerian kíg-sig: evening meal; afternoon work (?) ('tasks' + 'late').
  • Sumerian síg: (cf., siki).
  • Sumerian sig_3,11, sag_2,3; sì, sè: n., stroke, blow. v., to chop down (trees); to strike, hurt, damage; to beat (rhythmically, for instance a drum); to (make) totter, shake, quake; to demolish, raze; to flatten, crush; to remove, doff; to become still.
    • Sumerian sè.
  • Sumerian sig₄: sun-dried brick; brickwork; wall(s).
  • Sumerian sig₅: (to be) mild, sweet, good; of fine quality.
  • Sumerian sig_5,9; šeg₅: n., silence. v., to stay silent.
  • Sumerian sig₇, se₁₂(-g), sa₇(-g): v., to live; to dwell; to let live; to create; to complete; to be/make pleasant or beautiful; to garden, pull out weeds; to tear out; to complain (in meanings 'to live', plural stem of tìl). adj., pale, sallow; green, yellow.
  • Sumerian ensi₍₃₎: dream interpreter (en, 'time, background' + sig₇, 'to dwell; to complete' ?).
  • Sumerian sig₉; si: to be narrow.
  • Sumerian sig₁₇ (GI): the color of the setting sun = reddish yellow or gold (cf., sig).
• Sumerian ^dnin-a-zu
  (^dnin, divine proprietress + a, the + zu, wisdom)
  or "Goddess of Wisdom" or "Medicine."
  • Sumerian nin: queen, mistress, proprietress, lady; lord.
    • Sumerian nin-digir: high priestess ('lady' + 'gods').
    • Sumerian ^dnin-kilim: mongoose ('divine proprietress' + 'herd of wild animals').
    • Sumerian ^dnin-nínna^mušen: owl ('divine proprietress' + 'owl').
  • Gizzida (Gishzida) - the son of Ninazu, was a consort of Belili, doorkeeper of Anu, "The Lord knowing the waters."
    • Another source calls Nin-Azu - god of Eshunna.
    • Sumerian a-zu: physician ('liquids' + 'to know').
  • Sumerian a, e₄: n., water; watercourse, canal; seminal fluid; offspring; father; tears; flood; interj., alas!; prep., locative suffix - where; in; when - denotes movement towards or in favor of a person; def. article, nominalizing suffix for a noun or noun clause, denoting 'the'.
    • Sumerian á: (cf., áhi).
    • Sumerian a₅: (cf., aka).
  • Sumerian zu, sú: n., wisdom; v., to know; to understand; to inform (in marû reduplicated form); to learn from someone (with -da-); to be experienced, qualified; adj., your; pron., yours.
    • Sumerian zú, su₁₁: tooth, teeth; ivory; flint, chert; obsidian; natural glass.

    This file was updated on November 20, 2004, June 18, 2005, and June 30, 2010.