Nov. s] PROCEEDINGS. [1889.
Di = denu or dinu, "judgment,"is one of the numerous instances
in which it has been supposedto be quite obviousthatthe Assyrian
syllabicvalueof the ideogram was determined by the Assyrian word.
If so, what of the Chinese //', to judge," "to decide between,"which
is found in all the dialects, andto which the old sounds tc, de, etc.,
are assigned? In this, as in former instances,cognaterootssupply
abundantcomparisons.Thuswe have Hen (old sounds,tin, tim, dien),
pronouncedat Shanghai tin, din, meaning "a canon," "standard,"
or "ritual"; a "statute," or "code"; "a law"; "ordinances,"eta ;
ting,"to decide," "adjustfully, "determine,""arrange,"etc. (old
sounds,ting,ding). It would seemthatthe Accadian formwas din
originally,unlesswe prefer to see in these variantsthe growth of new
stemsfromthe simplest formof the root. Thenthereis twan (old
sounds,twan,dwan),pronouncedtiin at Canton, and in Chifu tan, "to
cut asunder," "divide,""settle,""givea judicial opinion," "a de
cision." Cp. also t'o, to "split wood" (old sounds, t'a, t'ap, da, dap) ;
to, " to mince," " carve,"" cut in two " (old sounds, ta, tap, etc.). That
verbsof cutting are used of giving legaldecisionsneeds no illus
tration. It is evident in the term {|j^*vidi-kud, danu, "a
judge" (? dd'anu). The second sign in this group, >*^, kud,is
definedby danu, " to judge," and dinu, "judgment,"by tamu, "to
speak," " pronounce" (a sentence, formulaof incantation, or exor
cism,etc.),and by pardsu, "todivide,""break,""decide." Read
as tar, it is explained by taraku—the Assyrian scribeswerenaturally
fond of selecting, where possible, an Assyrian term that,by its
assonancewiththe Accadian, wouldserve to assist the memory, —
taraku," to leave off," "cease,"andby Sdmu, "tofix," "appoint,"
"settle,""determine." kudis literally "tocut off," and answers to
Chineseko (old sound,kat),"to cut in two," and ko, "to examine,"
"siftthoroughly"; "a law"; cp. Cantonese kot, Amoygut. Klo
(oldsound,k'ak,k'at)"to subdue," overcome";"exorcise"(demons),
"prevail over," etc., and ko, to carve, "cut out," complete our
Chineseparallels. Ko " to stop," "leaveoff,"and k'o, "to strike"
and"smash,"prove,if proof werewanted, thatkudandtarwere
reallysynonymsin the Accadian language. Tar,tardku, corre
spondsto Chinese t'ien, "toterminate,""maketo cease," "finish"
(oldsounds,t'in,t'im,din,dim),i'ing,"to rest," "stop,""holdup";
whiletar,Samu,"toappoint," "fix,"etc.,maybe compared with
tien, "toruleor manage," "to be directed to," "bent on";Hen,
" to preserve," " establish," " fixed; " Hen, " fixedand settled," as the
17 c