Sumerian origin
Source-reportedMeaning: “the ancestral hero”
Learned borrowing from Akkadian 𒀭𒄑 (Gilgāmeš), from Sumerian 𒀭𒄑𒉋𒂵𒎌 (ᵈgilgameš₂ /Gilgameš/, “Gilgameš”, literally “the ancestral hero”). Native folk etymology explains this as ܓܸܠܕ (gild, “skin of”) + ܓܵܡܘܿܫܵܐ (gāmōšā, “buffalo bull”); compare Classical Syriac ܓܠܝܓܡܘܣ (glīgmōs), Arabic جِلْجَامِش (jiljāmiš) and Hebrew גִּלְגָּמֶשׁ (gīlgámēš).
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- Akkadian
- Sumerian
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Read the cited Wiktionary entrySources for this account (1)
- Wiktionary: ܓܠܓܡܝܫCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
