Nineveh
/ˈnɪnɪvə/ proper noun
- proper noun (historical) The capital of ancient Assyria, now Mosul, Iraq.
- proper noun A governorate in Northern Iraq.
Synonyms
Etymology
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)).
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “Nineveh”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details