*H^u̯edu̯ól(i)-

The lexeme is found three times in ritual texts of the Kuwattalla tradition. The copies feature MS^? and NS.

[E.R.]

Checked against the photographs in the Mainzer Fotoarchiv. – The remains of -a- at KBo 29.10, 8’ transliterated as -˹a˺- in Starke 1985b:158 are in all likelihood part of the break-off edge rather than remains of any signs.

[E.R.]

The assignment of the meaning ‘alive, living’ to ḫuitwal(i)- was prompted by Otten’s (Otten 1953a:86f.) recognition of the lexeme as the base of ḫuitwalaḫi(t)- ‘life’ (see under Lemma). Otten “subtracted” the abstract suffix -aḫi(t)- and thus “reconstructed” the base he found actually attested in the corpus. His views are followed by Meriggi 1957a:195, DLL:47, StBoT 1990a:166, CLL:84, HED H:354f., HEG A-K:264, Ünal 2007a:224, EDHIL:354f.

The use of ḫuitwal(i)- is limited to a single context, where a potentially living and dead opponent of the ritual patron are paired to form a merism, but the head noun is omitted so that the adjective functions as a substantive. In spite of its rare attestation, ḫuitwal(i)- seems to be used in this way frequently, as shown by the formation of a denominative -i(ya)- adjective ḫuitwali(ya)- ‘related to the living one’, which is a different lexeme (see under Lemma). 

[E.R.]

It is common sense that ḫuitwal(i)- is a derivative ultimately belonging to the root ḫuit- ‘to live, life’ (for references, see under Meaning). Several scholars plausibly assume as an intermediary step a u-stem *ḫuitu- parallel to Hitt. ḫuišu- ‘alive, living’ from ḫuiš- ‘to live’ (Otten 1953a:86, Melchert 1983a:17, Starke 1990a:562f., Carruba 1998c:78 with yet another intermediate step *ḫuitwal- ‘life’, Rieken 1999a:366; differently HED H:354).

[E.R.]

1. ḫuitwali(ya)-
2. ḫuitwalaḫi(t)-

1. qetbeleime/i-