sbirte-
‘(a kind of priest)’
- Language
- Lycian B
- Grammar
- subst, c.
- ID
- 1045
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Lycian B
sbirte-
‘(a kind of priest)’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is attested on the inscribed pillar of Xanthos, dated to shortly after the ascension of Artaxerxes II in 405-404 BCE.
[D.S.]
1.1.2Forms
| nom. sg. | sbirte | TL 44c.32 (Xanthos) | |
| acc. sg. | sbirtẽ | TL 44c.41 (Xanthos) | |
| TL 44c.49 (Xanthos) |
Contra DLL:128, sbirte cannot be dative/locative plural on contextual grounds.
[D.S.]
1.1.3Meaning
The word sbirte- is the subject of the sentence in TL 44c.32 and, therefore, it references the person who performs the sacrifice for the god Natri. Later within the same text (TL 44c.41) in the speech of the Storm-god, it stands for the person, whom Gergis instructs regarding the sacrifice to be performed. Lyc. sbirte- should hence refer to a kind of priest. Differently, Schürr 2016d:169 assumes that sbirte refers to the god Natri and translates it as ‘patron’. Eichner 1993a:145 n. 128 equates it etymologically with Lyd. sfarwa- ‘oath(?)’ and translates it accordingly (followed by DLL:128), but this is not supported either syntactically or contextually. Gusmani 2010a:68 n. 19 takes sbirte in TL 44c.32 to refer to the monument, which is not supported by the grammar.
[D.S.]
2. Reconstruction
2.1Reconstruction
Considering the root sber- (Lyc. A hber-), the root vowel -i- in the derivative sbirte- is more likely to be an anaptyctic vowel than to represent an original lengthened grade. Therefore, we reconstruct the pre-form *sbrte- c. (< *su̯(E)rtáHi- c.; on Lycian stems in -e- c. see Sasseville 2021a:206-214). For another Lycian B example with an anaptyptic vowel -i- before -r- in closed syllable, see under qirza-.
For the lemma head see PAnat. *su̯er-.