/wassinass(i)-/, (“EUNUCHUS”)wa/i-si-na-sa-
‘attendant’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- subst, common
- ID
- 1347
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/wassinass(i)-/, (“EUNUCHUS”)wa/i-si-na-sa-
‘attendant’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is attested six times in the HLuw. corpus, and it can be found in inscriptions ranging from the centre in Malatya and Tabal, across to the east in Commagene to the south in Maraş and Karkamiš. The texts date to between the 11th and 8th centuries BCE.
[AH.B.]
1.1.2Forms
| nom. sg. | /ussinassis/ | u-si-na-si-i-sa | MALPINAR, §21 (Commagene) |
| acc. sg. | /wassinassin/ | (EUNUCHUS?)˺[wa/i-si]-na-si-na | IZGIN 1, §17 (Malatya) |
| abl./instr. | /wassinassadi/ | (“EUNUCHUS”)wa/i-si-na-sa-ti | KARKAMIŠ A6, §30 (Karkamiš) |
| nom. pl. | /wassinassinzi/ | (“EUNUCHUS”)[wa/i]-si-na-si-i-zi | KARKAMIŠ A24a2+3, §1 (Karkamiš) |
| acc. pl. | /ussinassinzi/ | (“EUNUCHUS”)u-si-na-si-zi-i | MARAŞ 4, §14 (Maraş) |
| dat./loc. pl. | /ussinassanz/ | u-˹si˺-na-s˹a˺-za | KULULU 4, §14 (Tabal) |
Not included in the above table is the single attestation for a similarly looking, but still different lexeme, viz. /ussinassura(/i)-/ ‘Chief Eunuch’, usually spelt as 〈(“EUNUCHUS”)u-[si]-na-su-MAGNUS+ra-sa〉 in MARAŞ 14, §1 (pace Hawkins 2000a:128 and Giusfredi 2010b:139.
[AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The equation with CLuw. waššinašša/i- ‘of the body’ (Hawkins 1980a:143) aids in the interpretation of the HLuw. evidence, and the proposed phonological shape is therefore quite certain. Moreover, the word is part of a larger word family in Luwian, comprising HLuw. /ussinassura(/i)-/ ‘Chief Eunuch’ and /wassinassahid-/ ‘retinue (?)’ as well as CLuw. waššina(/i)- ‘body’ (cf. CLL:264). The HLuw. attestations for this lexeme bear witness to a contraction (or syncope) in the root from /wass-/ to /uss-/ (cf. Hawkins, Morpurgo Davies & Neumann 1973a:38).
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The meaning of this lexeme was elucidated by Hawkins 1980a:143, who compared it to CLuw. waššina(/i)- ‘body’ and waššinašša/i- ‘of the body’. The HLuw. noun has been substantivized from a genitival adjective in /-assa/i-/, which in turn was derived from the noun /wassina(/i)-/ ‘body’, not attested in HLuw. Outdated is the suggestion by Hawkins 1981a:168 that this could be the word represented by 〈“COR”-ni-〉, e.g. in TELL AHMAR 2, §13., but present in CLuw. including the same genitival adjective formation waššinašša/i-, which may have likewise turned into a noun meaning ‘attendant’; cf. CLL:264. The meaning is further supported by the textual evidence, and can hence be regarded as certain.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Compounds
1.1.6Derivatives
For the derivational base see Luw. /wassina(/i)-/.