/niwarann(i)-/, (INFANS)ni-wa/i+ra/i-ni-

This lexeme is attested 37 times and only occurs in Iron Age Luwian times, starting in the 10^th century BCE, i.e. there are no attestations dating to Empire times, nor have any been found in Western Anatolia. In fact, attestations are limited to the east, south-east and far south of the HLuw. area.

[AH.B.]

nom.sg.	/niwarannis/	INFANS-ní-i-sa	KARKAMIŠ A6, §12 (Karkamiš)
		INFANS-ni-sa	KARKAMIŠ A7, §5 (Karkamiš)
		INFANS-ni-i-sa	MARAŞ 14, §5 (Maraş)
		"INFANS"-ni-sa	ANCOZ 5, §3 (Commagene)
		INFANS-ní-sa	KARKAMIŠ A6, §18 (Karkamiš)
acc. sg.	/niwarannin/	INFANS-ni-i-na	TELL AHMAR 1, §11 (Tell Ahmar)
		INFANS-ní-i-na	KARKAMIŠ A1a, §24 (Karkamiš)
			BABYLON 1, §3 (Aleppo)
		INFANS-ni-na	KARKAMIŠ A15b, §21 (Karkamiš)
			TELL AHMAR 6, 8§32 (Tell Ahmar)
			KÖRKÜN, obv. §10 (Karkamiš)
			ASSUR letter e, §28 (Assur)
			ASSUR letter f+g, g2§52 (Assur)
		INFANS-ni(=)	ASSUR letter e, §30 (Assur)
		(INFANS.NI)L282	TELL AHMAR 1, §2 (Tell Ahmar)
		(INFANS.L282)[ní]	TELL AHMAR 6, §2 (Tell Ahmar)
		(VIR2)INFANS	ALEPPO 7, §18 (Aleppo)
dat./loc. sg.	/niwaranni/	INFANS.NA-ni	KÖRKÜN obv., §11 (Karkamiš)
		INFANS-ni-i	ASSUR letter f+g, f3§16 (Assur)
			KARKAMIŠ A4a, §12 (Karkamiš)
			BOROWSKI 3, §9 (Tell Ahmar)
		INFANS-ní-i	TELL AHMAR 6, §14 (Tell Ahmar)
		INFANS-ni	CEKKE, inscr. 2 rev. §13 (Karkamiš)
abl./instr.	/niwarannadi/	INFANS.NI-na-ti-i	KARKAMIŠ A6, §29 (Karkamiš)
nom. pl.	/niwaranninzi/	INFANS-ni-zi-i	KULULU 2, A3§2 (Tabal)
		INFANS-ni-zi	ASSUR letter e, §10 (Assur)
			TİLSEVET, §5 (Karkamiš)
			KULULU 3, A4§3 (Tabal)
			KULULU 3, B2§6 (Tabal)
			SHEIZAR, §3 (Hama)
acc. pl.	/niwaranninzi/	(INFANS)ni-wa/i+ra/i-ni-zi	MARAŞ 4, §14 (Maraş)
		INFANS-ní-zi-i	TELL AHMAR 1, §23 (Tell Ahmar)
		INFANS-ni-zi	KARKAMIŠ A 19m, l. 1 (Karkamiš)
		FEMINA.MANUS	TOPADA, §25 (Tabal)
dat./loc.pl.	/niwarannanz/	INFANS-ni-ia-za	KARKAMIŠ A15b, side §17 (Karkamiš)
		INFANS.N[I]-na-z[a]	TELL TAYINAT 2, 2a§iii (Amuq)
		FEMINA.MANUS-zi/a	TOPADA, §15 (Tabal)

The two attestations from TOPADA (§14 and §25) are listed here only tentatively. While it is generally assumed that they belong to /niwarann(i)-/, they are spelt with a combination of the logograms FEMINA (*79) and MANUS (*59), the latter of which is very similar to INFANS (*45) but usually not the same. Still, TOPADA features many unusual sign forms (see already the discussion in Hawkins 2000a: 31f.), and what is taken here as *59 may be an idiosyncratic version of *45.

[AH.B.]

First interpreted by Hawkins 1980a:143, 146, /niwarann(i)-/ fits neatly into a group of Indo-European words for ‘children’ and related meanings that include a privative element signifying a lack of power and related meanings (see Steer 2015a:28, 41f.). Starke 1990a:452 suggests the literal meaning of the compound to be ‘having no help, helpless’ as a paraphrasing of ‘child’, connecting it like Tischler (HEG W-Z:328) tentatively to Hittite /warr-/ ‘help’. A different possibility is to take it with Sasseville 2021a:329 as containing to the root *war- ‘to speak’ (cf. Lat. infans ‘the non-speaking one’ = ‘child’), which is supported by the single /-r-/ in CLuw. warann(i)- ‘the speaking one’.

[AH.B.]

A common gender noun, /niwarann(i)-/ shows i-mutation. Its suffix /-ann(i)-/ is found in many other lexemes and derives adjectives from nouns that are often subsequently nominalised (Melchert 2003b:196). The formation of the derivational base of this lexeme is similar to that of /nimuwizza-/ ‘son’, which likewise uses the negative particle /ni-/.

[AH.B.]