/lamanissa-⁽ⁱ⁾/, (LOQUI)la-ma-ní-sà-

Attested once, this hapax legomenon occurs in one of the Karkamiš inscriptions, dating to the mid-8^th century BCE.

[AH.B.]

The word is attested in a partially destroyed context across a line break, and the beginning of its clause is missing. Even so, the use of the logogram LOQUI (*22) for a determinative classifies the lexeme as a verb of speaking (cf. e.g. Hawkins 2000a:143), and the context appears to contain an object, which would make it a transitive verb (thus suggested by Sasseville 2021a:495), although that cannot be said with certainty. The suggested meaning is therefore first and foremost based on etymological and orthographic evidence. Possible further finds may require an adjustment of the semantic interpretation.

[AH.B.]

The verb is a deverbal form in /-ssa-⁽ⁱ⁾/, which as a class inflects according to the ḫi-conjugation, and the attested form in KARKAMIŠ A31+, §9 can therefore only be a 3pl. pres. act. The suffix usually denotes imperfective aspect, but this cannot be proven in the present case for lack of enough context. It derives from a verb in /-i-^(ti)/, which is unattested in HLuw., but like its Hittite equivalent lamniye/a-^(mi) ‘to name’ (HEG L:29), it would have constituted a denominal formation based on the noun /alaman-/ ‘name’ or its Hittite cognate /laman-/ ‘name’ (cf. Sasseville 2021a:495).

The doubts expressed by Morpurgo Davies 1979a:604 over the connection to HLuw. /alaman-/ ‘name’ are moot since the reading of the signs *319 and *172 was readjusted to 〈la/i〉 and 〈lá/í〉 respectively, see Rieken & Yakubovich 2010a.

[AH.B.]