/wazzassa-/, (“PES2”)wa/i-a-za-sa-
‘to lead’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- verb
- ID
- 1273
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/wazzassa-/, (“PES2”)wa/i-a-za-sa-
‘to lead’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is a hapax legomenon, whose sole attestation can be found on one of the letters found in Assur, but originating from an unknown location. The letter dates to the late 8th century BCE.
[AH.B.]
1.1.2Forms
| 3sg. (or pl.) pres. act. | /wazzassatti/ (or /wazzassanti/) | (“PES2”)wa/i-a-za-sa-ti | ASSUR letter f+g, §30 |
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of this verb is somewhat tentative due to the ambiguous 〈wa/i〉 sign used. Yakubovich 2016a:85f. incl. n. 24 comments on the additional sign 〈a〉 used in the string 〈(“PES2”)wa/i-a-za-sa-ti〉 in ASSUR letter f+g, §30, where he regards it as an indicator of vowel quality for the 〈wa/i〉. With respect to the ending, the reading is somewhat uncertain, because the form may either be a 3sg. as suggested, or it may stand for /wazzassanti/, a 3pl. pres. act.; see the discussion below under stem.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The verb is very likely a direct derivative of /wazza-/ ‘to lead’, and the same meaning ‘to lead’ has been tentatively suggested by Yakubovich 2016a:82f. on the basis of the available context in ASSUR letter f+g, §30: PRAE-pa-wa/i-za-ta NEG2-a kwa/i-sà-ha (“PES2”)wa/i-a-za-sa-ti, i.e. /parran=ba=wa=anza=ad=tta? na kwisha wazzassa(n)ti/ ‘No-one leads them forth to us’. The object referred to are probably the 4-zi-i ka-mara/i-zi, /mawinzi kamarinzi?/ ‘four k.’ mentioned in clause §28, which denote a tradable commodity, perhaps ‘camel’ (see under lemma), and would therefore fit the interpretation of the verb as ‘to lead’. However, it should be noted that the relevant passage of the letter is still not fully understood.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
This verb is in all likelihood a deverbal formation in /-ssa-/ (Rieken 2007b:272), which can form imperfectives of existing verbs (Yakubovich 2015b:6.5); its base verb is /wazza-/ ‘to lead’, cf. also Yakubovich 2016a:82 and see under lemma. Usually, verbs in /-ssa-/ inflect according to the ḫi-conjugation, yet that the attested form in ASSUR letter f+g, §30 clearly shows an ending in 〈-ti〉, whereas the expected 3sg. pres. act. should be */wazzassai/ or /wazzassaya/. There are three possible explanations for this state of affairs. Firstly, the choice of ending, i.e. /-tti/ over correct /-i/, could be a simple mistake on part of the scribe. Secondly, the stem class in /-ssa-/ may be closely linked to the ḫi-conjugation, but it is not exempt from change, and the attested form may indicate the beginnings of a change in endings towards the mi-conjugation. Thirdly, the verb may represent /wazzassanti/, the regular 3pl. pres. act., resulting in a morphological mismatch in number between the nom. sg. subject /na kwis-ha/ ‘no-one’ (lit.: ‘not anyone’) and the verb in a constructio ad sensum, cf. Sasseville 2021a:469f. This third option can be supported by a similar context with a different verb belonging to the class in /-nuwa-/, which likewise usually show ḫi-endings, but in EMİRGAZİ 1A, §9 reads: tara/i-zi/a-nú-wa/i-ti-wa/i-tá NEG-sa kwa/i-i(a)-sa-ha, /tarzanuwa(n)ti=wa=tta nis kwisha/ ‘no-one will overturn it (scil. this stele)’; the EMİRGAZİ altars date to the second half of the 13th century BCE and therefore pre-date the ASSUR letters by approx. half a millennium.
[AH.B.]
For the lemma head see HLuw. /wazza-/.