On the assumption that the union of the syllables A-nun-na-ki[216] represents a compound ideograph, the middle syllable _nun_ signifies 'strength,' whereas the first is the ordinary ideograph for 'water.' Hommel[217] proposed to interpret the name therefore as 'gods of the watery habitation.' The artificiality of this manner of writing points, as in several instances noted, to a mere 'play' upon the real name.

_Anunna_ reminds one forcibly of the god _Anu_ and of the goddess _Anunit_, and the element _ak_ is quite a common afformative in Babylonian substantives, conveying a certain emphatic meaning to the word.

If therefore we may compare Anun with the name of the god of heaven, the name _Anunnak_ embodying, as it does in this case, the idea of power, would be an appropriate designation for the spirits, or a group of spirits collectively.

Be it understood that this explanation is offered merely as a conjecture, which, however, finds support in the meaning attached to the term 'Igigi.' This, as Halevy and Guyard have recognized, is a formation of a well-known stem occurring in Babylonian, as well as in other Semitic languages, that has the meaning 'strong.' The ideographic form of writing the name likewise designates the spirits as 'the great chiefs.' The 'Igigi,' therefore, are 'the strong ones,' and strength being the attribute most commonly assigned to the Semitic deities,[218] there is a presumption, at least, in favor of interpreting Anunnak, or Anunnaki,[219] in the same way.

The 'Igigi' are at times designated as the seven gods, but this number is simply an indication of their constituting a large group.