ḫuruttili-

This lexeme is found on a fragment, containing possibly a song, attributed here to the Palaic language. Further, it is found in Hittite transmission as ^TU7ḫurut(t)il-.

[D.S.]

The word ḫuruttiliyaš is found at the beginning of a clause in the second line of a strophe, built in a parallel fashion with all other strophes of the song. Compared with other words that occur in the same position in the other strophes, e.g. appuzzi- ‘animal fat, tallow’ (ii 6’), allišunanni ‘alli-fill’ (ii 12’), ḫuruttili- could designate something related to food. It has been pointed out in HW 2nd ed. Ḫ:776 that this ḫuruttiliyaš should belong to the same lexeme as ^TU7ḫurut(t)il-, found in Hittite texts. Based on the determinative and the contexts in which the Hittite word is used, ^TU7ḫurut(t)il- represents a kind of stew (HW 2nd ed. Ḫ:776f., Rieken 1999a:486f.). This harmonizes with the Palaic context. Nonetheless, the exact meaning of Pal. ḫuruttili- remains obscure.

[D.S.]

From a morphological perspective, Pal. ḫuruttili- can be directly compared to Pal. šunnuttila (n. pl.) ‘stuffed (modifying bread)’. The derivational chain -utt- + -ili- appears to be Palaic proper. Thus, ḫuruttili- represents an adjectival stem in -ili-, which has been substantivized.

[D.S.]

The origin of the Hittite word ^TU7ḫurut(t)il-, to which the Palaic lexeme here is surely related, is very much debated. While there have been several attempts to connect its root with one of other Hittite verbs (cf. HEG A-Ḫ:314, Rieken 1999a:486f., both with further literature), Rieken (ibid.) suggests a Hattic origin. Her arguments rest on its appearance in rituals from the Hatt.-Hitt. domain and on the vacillating graphic feature between singleton and geminate -t(t)-. However, these arguments are not enough to determine a Hattic origin but may in fact indicate a non-Hittite origin. Considering the attestation in a song, which very likely belongs to the Palaic language, as well as the “Palaic” morphology of the word (see under Stem), a Palaic origin of ^TU7ḫurut(t)il- appears the most straightforward and convincing hypothesis. We will however refrain from etymologizing the Palaic word any further, either until its meaning becomes clearer or until an inner-Palaic cognate surfaces.

[D.S.]