Etymology

Nineveh

N1I1N1E1V4E1H4

Today it means: The capital of ancient Assyria, now Mosul, Iraq. Full definition →

Old English Niniuea ← Biblical Hebrew נִינְוֵה ← Latin Nīnevē
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The story

  1. akk-obb · derived from𒌷𒉌𒉡𒀀
  2. Akkadian · derived from𒌷𒉌𒉡𒀀 𒀏
  3. Ancient Greek · derived fromΝινευή
  4. Latin · derived fromNīnevē
  5. Biblical Hebrew · derived fromנִינְוֵה
  6. Old English · inherited fromNiniuea
  7. English todayNineveh

From Old English Niniuea (under influence from Biblical Hebrew נִינְוֵה (nīnəwē)), from Latin Nīnevē, from Ancient Greek Νινευή (Nineuḗ), ultimately from Akkadian 𒌷𒉌𒉡𒀀 𒀏 (/⁠Ninua⁠/) or Old Babylonian 𒌷𒉌𒉡𒀀 (/⁠Ninuwā⁠/) of uncertain origin, but is clearly a variation of 𒀏 (/⁠ninâ⁠/, “fish”). The cuneiform seems to denote "House of Fish", although whether this referred to literal fish, an aspect of Ishtar, a separate Hurrian goddess, or something else entirely is unclear. The traditional folk etymology in classical antiquity derived it from an eponymous founder Ninus (Greek: Νίνος (Nínos)).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.