/ussinassura(/i)-/, (“EUNUCHUS”)u-[si]-na-su-MAGNUS+ra/i-
‘chief eunuch’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- subst, common
- ID
- 1346
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/ussinassura(/i)-/, (“EUNUCHUS”)u-[si]-na-su-MAGNUS+ra/i-
‘chief eunuch’1.1.1Transmission
This hapax legomenon occurs in an inscription from Maraş, which is dated to around 800 BCE.
[AH.B.]
1.1.2Forms
| nom. sg. | /ussinassura(/i)s/ | (“EUNUCHUS”)u-[si]-na-su-MAGNUS+ra/i-sa | MARAŞ 14, §1 (Maraş) |
Against Hawkins 2000a:265f., the attestation in MARAŞ 14, §1 actually constitutes one word instead of two and does not belong to the paradigm of /wassinass(i)-/ ‘attendant’; instead, the new word is a different, albeit related, lexeme: /ussinassura(/i)-/. Therefore, use of the sign 〈su〉 here is not at all unexpected and hence remains unmarked in the transcription. See the discussion in Yakubovich 2017a:43f.
[AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of this lexeme has been suggested by Yakubovich 2017a:43 and is relatively certain, because it is clearly related to the more well-attested /wassinass(i)-/ ‘attendant’ (see under lemma) and also involves the logogram MAGNUS (*363) combined with thorn-shaped sign 〈ra/i〉 (*383), together commonly associated with the adjective /ura(/i)-/ ‘great’ (see under lemma). Due to the vowel indifference of the sign 〈ra/i〉, the shape of the stem cannot be pinned down with absolute certainty, and the suggested interpretation for the form in MARAŞ 14, §1 may have to be altered to /ussinassuris/ upon further evidence surfacing.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The meaning was first suggested by Hawkins 2000a:265f., who assumed this title to consist of two words. While the semantics have remained the same, the structure of the lexeme has since been reanalysed as a compound by Yakubovich 2017a:43f., proposing a combination of /ussinass(i)-/ ‘attendant, (eunuch)’ and /ura(/i)-/ ‘great’, the literal meaning therefore being ‘Great of the Eunuchs’. In MARAŞ 14, §1, this title is mentioned as part of the introductory clause to the inscription on a statue and describes the function and/or position of the author at the court of the local ruler.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
The lexeme is a compound consisting of the noun /w(a)ssinass(i)-/ ‘attendant, eunuch’ and the adjective /ura(/i)-/ ‘great’, the latter being used substantivally. The HLuw. corpus holds a number of titles built along the same lines, see Yakubovich 2017a:41-45. Until further textual evidence surfaces, it cannot be said with certainty whether the compound undergoes i-mutation or not.
[AH.B.]
For the first member of the compound see HLuw. /wassinass(i)-/.