𒆸 KAR KUR

𓂓 ≠ 𓊖 “Kar” is likely the most recognisable international sign cluster in the age of urbanization and syllabic writing from the 4th millennium BC. It combines a wonderword with a kind of wondersign, akin to the spread of alphabets throughout many cultures:

𒆳 kur кайа 𒆠 ki 𔗜 ku 𜐺 KU 𐘾 ka 𐀏 KA 𑁣 керла 𔕆 •KAR 𔕈 KA 𔕇 𐀤 𐘿 QE 𐊨 ʘ q /kʷ/ Ⱆ Uku 𒉽 KUR₂ 𑀓 KA 𒄯 Ḫar 𓊖 [1] 𒃸 kár 𒃼 gar
𓏓 𓊖 𜰸 𜰴 𒆠 perfect continuum in Indus script, though its value so far is unproven.

It combines two similar sounding concepts, Kreuz and Kreis (cross and circle) or Kreuz and Karos (cross and squares) into a very persistant phonetic and logographic unit of "KAR".

“Kar” has two main semantic meanings "city" and "mountain", connected through the concept of tell (city-hill). Later also via extension: "country". Connections to "cold" and "stone" may be secondary or basal but not part of the logographic KAR cluster under investigation.

𐊔 Naturally associated with the number 4 (sometimes 𐊼 3 or π ), semantically via city court quarters, also supporting the "kar" root in some branches.

Traces of this sign or its underlying wanderword can be seen on any atlas: From Novgorod via Merhgarh, Ankara, Sakkara to english courts. As with many wanderwords as part of names, this very recognizable pre-/suffix is still all too often reanalized per instance by folk etymologies and Bad-Linguistics.

Representatives of Kar can have all vowels a,e,i,o,u,…, so labeling this cluster 'Kar' is somewhat arbitrary, K-R would be more fitting. For extended discussion of connections between this well defined group and other far reaching concepts see KUR!

Representatives of Kar are visible in near all logographich systems.

𒆳 kur 𒆠 ki 𔗜 ku 𜐺 KU 𐘾 ka 𐀏 KA 𑁣 керла 𔕆 •KAR 𔕈 KA 𔕇 𐀤 𐘿 QE 𐊨 ʘ q 𒉽 KUR₂ 𒄯 Ḫar 𓊖 [1] 𜐺 口 kǒu => 国 국 guk

The phonetic R 𔖱 of 𔕆 KAR is often omitted in syllabic practice, reduced to 𔕈 KA, just as only the 'be' of beta (β) is used in alphabetic usage.

Phonetics inside and outside the syllabaries were far from stable though:
Especially words for city (or related signs) corroded from kar > car > šar sar > ḫar > har via common sound-change chains. On the other hand it might have been reattached conciously to similar concepts and variants.

[1]:
𓊖 had probably many phonetic readings over time, but symbollically it fits the above description of Kar perfectly!!
𓊖 does have indirect evidence for repesenting the KAR/court cluster though: 𓐍 𓋓 𓂋 𓏏 𓏏 𓀐 even if via complement.
𓐍 fits phonetically but has no city connotation, unlike similar 𓊖.
𓊨 may be an imperfect specimen without circle connotations via secondary qursi ≈ chair readings.

see KUR
𓊖
𓐍
𓈉 •karst ⋍
𓂓
𒆳 KUR
𒆠 KI®
𒄯 ḪAR chert քար kʿar kʰɑɾ ढुंगा kerre ქვა kva ကျောက် kyau' quartz حجر ħája Ħaġra kura@Peru "stone"
𒄯 ḪAR •KAR "ring" kör karika gyűrű 고리 gori кру̑г кільце́ kilʹcé κύκλος kúklos ҳалқа halqa რგოლი rgoli
𒄯 ḫur.shan 𒄯𒊓𒉡 kur山 mountain

𒋼𒀀 KAR ⋍ 𒋼𒀀 = 𒋼⋅𒀀

𐊼 66236 𐊼 102BC CARIAN LETTER K
𐊔 66196 𐊔 10294 LYCIAN LETTER KK

𔔓 kī₄ 𜑳 KŪ court

𐂓 KAPO 𐀏𐀡 ka-po καρπός karpós 𒄒 kib ⇔ 𓂧 𓄿 𓃀 •cheirbe "grape" < darb Traube "fruit"
𐂔 ?

𜎂𓊖𜎂 ≈ Nagar 𒈾 ≈ 𒆠 @ Indus

𒆳 Uruk : "one third city, one third garden, one third field" vs quarters

Chagar
Chogha
Gawra
Warka
Uruk
Ort
UR
ar
ech
Eck?
…

The mountain root of the kar cluster, before it became to mean tell≈city/court can be reconstructed as
KAR<CARTSAR>TAR

circle forms with 'b' often lost their initial k as in ᶜorbit ⴲ ᵍyabh

TUR ⇔ KUR may be branches of the same tree since both are attested and connectable roots for mountain:
𓈉:𓈋 3:2 ⲧⲟⲟⲩ! طُور ṭūr ተራራ tärara טוּרָא ṭūrā ⲧⲟⲟⲩ тағ tağ тау tau тав taw too սար sar ደብር däbr thaba

𐘾 KA 𐘿 QE 𐀤 qe > Q Ç Ć Č C > 𐤈 𐌈 the(ta) > Θ Ѳ ѳ T

𐀤-𐀵-𐀫-𐀡- 𐀠 qe-to-ro po-di quatro-pod τετράποδα
𐀤𐀨𐀯𐀊 Κερασία Θηρασία Theresia

𐛧 𐙇 𐘾 kar 𜗶 𜗷 •çar Indus thar 𜏏 to 𜏧 ti 𜏂 ta 𜏝 tu تُرْس turs ⲑⲩⲣⲱⲛ thurōn "shield"

A similar related sign 𓊖 to city 𓊕 is less ubiquitous and less stable but still often recognisable:
𓊕 town 𓈇 tawi ظوحي tawahi (suburb)
𓊕 town / Dorf as lesser settlement:
田儿 tiár field
*trab-, *treb- (“room, dwelling, settlement”). Cognate with Latin trabs (“beam, rafter, roof, vessel”), Lithuanian trōbà (“farmhouse”), Welsh tref (“town, home”), Albanian trevë (“country, region, village”).

龟 turtle guiʳ 黾 ≈ frog in bronze script ⇔ dian 田 tián 田儿 tiár 𓄛 Tier ⇔ 𜏏 tar kar 𐘾
甲 jiǎʳ

𒄑𒄯𒎌 GIŠ.ḪUR 𓋴 𓂋 𓐍 𓂇 "designs" 设计 shèjì 설 جنسار {Jin}saar-a طرح tarh طراحی tarrâhi terv ≠ გეგმა gegma

𜏂 𜏏 𜏨 𜏧 Teil tell town vs 𜏇 ho half 𔓷 ha

Ⱆ Uku erkenne "know"

心 ≈ ♡ ≈ 𜏏 𐘾 … coeur in oracle

𒇫 gurun₄ Alternative of 𒄧 gurun

lower town (Akkadian karum, where the Assyrian traders lived)

𒄒 kib 𐀏𐀡 kaʳpo καρπός karpós

𐀒𐀩𐀳 ko-re-te κορέτερ courtier official title (‘mayor’)

𓏘 qar 𒋼𒀀 #kar kār 𒋼𒀀 te-a Deich 𒋼𒀀 te.mû dam 𒋼𒀀 embankment

ܟܪܟܐ karḵa meaning "citadel" or "town"