Martu
/ˈmɑːr.tuː/noun
Martu is the name of an Indigenous Australian people of the Western Desert and, separately, an ancient Mesopotamian term for western peoples or lands.
Did you know?In Sumerian texts, Martu was associated with Amorite pastoralists and sometimes personified as a powerful wilderness deity or force from the west.
Etymological Timeline
3rd Millennium BCE
Sumerian
martu
“A term for western lands and peoples beyond the settled Sumerian world.”
Early 2nd Millennium BCE
Akkadian
Amurru
“The western region and its Amorite inhabitants; also the name of a Mesopotamian god connected with the west and pastoral life.”
19th–16th Century BCE
Akkadian
Amurrū
“A designation used for Amorite groups and western territories in Near Eastern political and religious texts.”
19th Century CE
English
Amorite
“The standard English historical form for the ancient West Semitic peoples associated with Mesopotamian Martu or Amurru.”
20th Century CE
Western Desert languages
Martu
“An ethnonym used by several Western Desert Aboriginal communities of Australia, commonly glossed in community and linguistic sources as “one of us” or “person.””
Modern English
English
Martu
“A proper name referring primarily to an Indigenous Australian people, while also appearing in scholarship on ancient Mesopotamian religion and history.”
Explore more surprising origins