/sar(i)-/, sara/i-
‘(unknown)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- subst
- ID
- 1230
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/sar(i)-/, sara/i-
‘(unknown)’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is attested twice in the two exemplars of an inscription from Emirgazi, dating to the second half of the 13th century BCE, i.e. the Empire era.
[AH.B.]
1.1.2Forms
| acc. pl. | /sarinzi/ | sara/i-zi/a | |
| EMİRGAZİ 1B, §26 |
It is possible that the attested form should be read /sar(r)an=za/ and be analysed as a nom./acc. sg. neuter noun; however, the plural chosen for the analysis above is more likely in the context. Graphically possible is also /sar(r)anz/, a dat./loc. pl. of unknown grammatical gender (cf. Hawkins 1995a:99), but the clause already features a dative in the initial chain of clitics and a second one is less likely than a direct accusative object.
[AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of this lexeme is tentative, because its meaning has remained opaque so far and it has not been linked to any cognates either within HLuwian or in the other Anatolian languages. An alternative interpretation is /sar(r)an=za/, a nom./acc. sg. of a neuter noun marked with the neuter particle /=sa, =za/.
The attestations of the present word prompted Hawkins 1995a:99 to assign the number *303 to the sign used and, following an earlier identification by Laroche 1958c:258, fix it with the syllabic value 〈sara/i〉.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The meaning of this noun has so far remained in the dark. In the context of EMİRGAZİ 1A and B, §26, the word features in the apodosis of the curse formula intended to protect the installation from damage by a future king in calling for the wrath of a number of gods to befall any such person: *a-wa/i-tu-tá (DEUS)SOL SOL+RA/I (DEUS)TONITRUS CAELUM CERVUS3.DEUS.*463-ti (DEUS)MONS.THRONUS á-(FEMINA.DEUS)*461 REX.*398-zi/a sara/i-zi/a INFRA tara/i-zi/a-nú-wa/i-tu, meaning approx. ‘…, for him may the Sun-Goddess of Arinna, (the storm-god) Tarhunt of Heaven, (the god) Kuruntiya of the Steppe, (the god) Mount Sarpa (and the goddess) Ala turn down the royal? sar(i)-’ (cf. Hawkins 1995a:88f. and Rieken 2004a:460f.). Only further evidence will serve to illuminate the meaning of the lexeme under discussion.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
The brevity of the stem suggests that the word consists of a root and one suffix, probably a thematic vowel, but this remains speculative until further data and/or cognates are found to shed more light on the form.
It is marginally possible, but entirely speculative at present, that the lexeme is related to the verb /sarnu(wa)-(i)/, whose meaning is likewise unknown, but which seems to be derived from a base */sar°/.
[AH.B.]
1.1.6Origin
No etymology possible.
[AH.B.]