Nineveh

Meaning

Proper Noun

• The ancient capital of Assyria.

Origin

• From Old English Niniue (under influence from Ancient Hebrew נִינְוֵה), from Latin Nīnevē, from Ancient Greek Νινευή, ultimately from Akkadian 𒌷𒉌𒉡𒀀 𒀏 or Old Babylonian 𒌷𒉌𒉡𒀀 of uncertain origin, but is clearly a variation of 𒀏. 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).