*u/wśoλ

This word is reconstructed from widely attested simplex and compound personal names in Caria (Hyllarima, Kaunos, Mylasa, and Stratonikeia), in Egypt (Abydos, Gebel Sheik Suleiman, Memphis, and Thebes), and in Greece (Karabournaki) from the last quarter of the 7th c. until 320/319 (on the Memphite dates see Kammerzell 1993a:163–170, on Hyllarima see Adiego 2019b:20–22, on Karabournaki see Adiego, Tiverios, Manakidou & Tsiafakis 2012a:195f., those from Abydos, Gebel Sheik Suleiman, Thebes, Kaunos, Mylasa, and Stratonikeia remain without date).

[Zs.S.]

nom. sg.	uśoλ	E.Ab 35
		G.3 Frg. 1, 1
gen. sg.	uśoλś	C.Hy 1, 4
		C.Hy 1, 5
		C.St 2, 1
	wśoλś	E.Me 12, 1

In compound names:

(nom. sg.)	pn-uśoλ	E.Me 19, 1
	pn-wśol	E.Th 27
	pn-uśol	E.Th 27
	šar-uśoλ	E.Me 30, 1
		E.Ab 6
		E.SS 1, 1
	ša[r-u]śoλ	E.Ab 30, 1
	td-uśoλ	E.Me 24, 1
(gen. sg.)	id-uśoλś	C.My 1, 9
	d-wśoλś	E.Me 35
	pn-uśo‹l/λ›ś	C.My 1, 6
	pun-wśoλś	E.Me 21, 1
	ps-uśoλś	C.Ka 1, 2

Uncertain

unknown

šaruś[oλ?]

E.Ab 42

The attestations follow Adiego 2007a:330, 362, 368, 403, 418, 421, 431 and Adiego, Tiverios, Manakidou & Tsiafakis 2012a:198 checked against the photographs, if available (Blümel & Kızıl 2004a:132 [C.My 1]; Laumonier 1934a:347 Fig. 26 [C.Hy 1], Robert 1950a:Pl.VI.3 [C.Ka 1], Şahin 1980a:Pl.V.1 [C.St 2], Adiego, Tiverios, Manakidou & Tsiafakis 2012a:197 Fig. 1 [G.3], O. Masson 1978a:Pl.IV.1, VIII.2, IX.2, XI.1, XIV.1, XVI.2 [the Memphite inscriptions], Villalba Varneda 2007a:24 [E.Th 27 & 40]; but no photographs are available for the graffiti from Abydos and Gebel Sheik Suleiman). For its Greek spellings (Υσσωλδος / Υσσωλλος as well as Ιδυσσωλλος and Σαρυσ(σ)ωλλος, see also at least Ακταυσσωλλος, Καρυσωλδος, Μαυσσωλλος, Παρ(α)υσσωλλος, Πονυσσωλλος, Σαυσσωλλος, Adiego 2007a:330 [and already Zahlhaas & Neumann 1994a:165]) see Zgusta 1964a, Blümel 1992a, and LGPN V.B, all s.vv. The term kδuśolš in C.xx 4 and C.xx 5 also contains this word, but the term itself is an appurtenance adjective (in nom. pl.) of the personal name *kδuśol (Nunn & Simon forthcoming with detailed discussion). The plausible restoration of ša[ru]śoλ in E.Ab 30 on contextual and onomastic grounds by O. Masson 1978a is generally accepted (Meier-Brügger 1979b:136 and Adiego 2007a:91). On an alternative and unconvincing reading of tduśoλ see s.v. Carian ted. Adiego 2007a:401 correctly remarks that pnuśoś in C.My 1 has no parallels and thus it is logical to assume a scribal error for pnuśo‹l›ś (Adiego 2005b:84, contra Blümel & Kızıl 2004a:136, or even pnuśo‹λ›ś). As Adiego 2007a:418 rightly points out, śaruś in E.Ab 42 could be a personal name in genitive if it is complete, but it is more probable that it is an incomplete form of šaruśoλ.

[Zs.S.]

The proposed meanings are widely diverging due to the fact that this word is currently attested only in personal names and, accordingly, there is no evidence for its meaning, and thus all proposals are merely based on etymological guesses. The only relatively certain observation is that the word contains the widespread -oλ- appurtenance suffix (according to Zahlhaas & Neumann 1994a:165f. the root uś- is attested in Greek spellings of Carian names, see s.v. Carian *uśo/i-).

Almost a century before the decipherment of Carian early research considered this word to be the source of the Greek word ὑσσός ‘javelin’, more precisely, the stem of the above quoted Greek spellings of the personal names based on this word (Bechtel 1906:272, see the discussion s.v.). While the proposal had some followers, the derivation is formally problematic, since there is no explanation for the initial /h/ (cf. Simon 2018a:407, rejected also by DELG:1162, albeit without arguments; cf. also Zahlhaas & Neumann 1994a:166 n. 8).

The next proposal connected it with Luwian wāšu- ‘good’ (Adiego 1993b:44f. referring to an idea of V. Ševoroškin). Adiego, however, later abandoned this interpretation (Adiego 2007a:344 n. 16), since the presence of ‹ś› points to an earlier sequence *-si- and therefore he suggested (with question mark) that it could be related to the Luwic word for ‘year’, Cuneiform Luwian ušša/i-, Lycian uhe/i- (see s.v.). Without refuting these proposals Melchert 2013c:41, 44 claimed that this word means ‘blessed’ or similar from *waksya-alla-, a derivative of *waksi- to be found in Milyan waxs(s)a- and Carian uks / Οαξα-, -υασσις / -υαξις / -υαΤις (see s.v.).

Melchert’s idea can be excluded due the unexplained lack of -k- in uś-. Furthermore, Adiego 2019b:19, 25 discovered that the real Carian word for ‘year’ is uso (see s.v.). However, in the meanwhile Yakubovich 2013b:158 n. 6 proposed a form *wassiyalla/i- ‘dear’ from the root *was(s)- ‘to be dear’ vel sim. (see the discussion s.v.) with the suffix -iya- in order to explain the ‹ś›. This is formally possible and as far as it can be judged, it fits the personal names (the meanings of *id-, *ps-, and *pun- are unknown [see s.vv.], while ted means ‘father’ and *šar- means approximately ‘super, hyper’ [see s.vv.]), but there is no independent evidence for this meaning.

[Zs.S.]

Last updated: 27 July 2020