Akkadian

American  

[uh-key-dee-uhn, uh-kah-] / əˈkeɪ di ən, əˈkɑ- /

Or Accadian

noun

1. the eastern Semitic language, now extinct, of Assyria and Babylonia, written with a cuneiform script.

2. one of the Akkadian people.

3. Obsolete. Sumerian.

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adjective

1. of or belonging to Akkad.

2. of or relating to the eastern Semitic language called Akkadian.

3. Obsolete. Sumerian.

Akkadian British  

/ əˈkædɪən, əˈkeɪ- /

noun

1. a member of an ancient Semitic people who lived in central Mesopotamia in the third millennium _bc

2. the extinct language of this people, belonging to the E Semitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family

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adjective

1. of or relating to this people or their language

Etymology

Origin of Akkadian

First recorded in 1850–55; Akkad + -ian

Example Sentences

The alabaster vase bears inscriptions in four ancient languages: Akkadian, Elamite, Persian, and Egyptian.

From Science Daily • Dec. 18, 2025

It now receives hundreds of queries per week, and similar efforts are being applied to languages from Korean to Akkadian, which was used in ancient Mesopotamia.

From Scientific American • Oct. 17, 2023

Among these languages are Sumerian and Akkadian, both dating back at least 4,600 years.

From Scientific American • Aug. 24, 2023

Certain Mesopotamian languages, especially Akkadian, became international languages of diplomacy, allowing travelers and merchants to communicate wherever they went.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

He adopted the old Akkadian title, "king of the four quarters", as well as the title "king of Sumer and Akkad", first used by the rulers of the Dynasty of Ur.

From Myths of Babylonia and Assyria by Mackenzie, Donald Alexander