/hwidni(ya)-/, hwa/i-tà-ni-ia-
‘game (?)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- subst, neuter
- ID
- 1365
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/hwidni(ya)-/, hwa/i-tà-ni-ia-
‘game (?)’1.1.1Transmission
The present lexeme constitutes a hapax legomenon within the HLuw. corpus. It occurs in an inscription from Malatya, which is dated to the first half of the 8th century BCE.
[AH.B.]
1.1.2Forms
| nom./acc. sg. | /hwidniyan=za/ | hwa/i-tà-ni-ia-za | ŞIRZI, §4 (Malatya) |
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
Although a hapax legomenon, the phonological interpretation of the present lexeme can be regarded as reasonably certain. The word belongs to the word family around /hwidar/ ‘animal’, which has cognates in CLuw. ḫuitar ‘wild animal’ as well as Hittite ḫuitar/ḫuitn- ‘game, wild animal’ and several other Anatolian languages.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The suggested meaning ‘game’ is tentative, even though it is based on both an etymological as well as a contextual analysis. Derived with the well-known suffix /-i(ya)-/ from the noun /hwidar/ ‘animal’, its meaning must be closely related to that of the noun, which is further supported by the fact that the clauses before and after the attested word mention the deity Runtiya, the god of wild life, several times. Still, the attested form represents a noun in its context, rather than an adjective, and it functions as the direct object in the clause: wa/i-tu (COR)hú-sà(-)SERVUS-wa/i-sá hwa/i-tà-ni-ia-za zú-pu-na pi-pa-sa-tu ‘The h. grants to him game(?) for z.-ing.’ Since two words of the relevant clause are still unclear, the assigned meaning should be taken with caution until further textual evidence is unearthed.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
Used as a neuter gender noun, this lexeme is originally an adjective in /-i(ya)-/. It is derived from the weak stem */hwidn-/ of the noun /hwidar/ ‘animal’, of which there are no other attestations currently.
[AH.B.]