AEDIFICIUM-
‘building’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- subst
- ID
- 1433
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
AEDIFICIUM-
‘building’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is attested three times, in inscriptions from Karkamiš, Tabal, and Aleppo; of these, only the latter two can be dated, to the late 10th or early 9th and the mid-8th centuries BCE respectively.
[A.P.] [AH.B.]
1.1.2Forms
| gen. sg. | /…-si/ | “AEDIFICIUM”-si-i | BABYLON 1, §7 (Aleppo) |
| nom./acc. pl.? | /…-Tana?/ | AEDIFICIUM-tax-na | TOPADA, §14 (Tabal) |
| unclear | /.../ | AEDIFICIUM | KARKAMIŠ A15a, §6 (Karkamiš) |
The attestation from TOPADA, §14 is added to the above list provisionally. It is not clear whether or not the forms belong to the same lexeme or represent different stem formations. Moreover, while an analysis as a nom./acc. pl. of a neuter noun is the most likely option for TOPADA, §14, the form could also represent an acc. sg. of a common gender noun.
Note that the attestation “AEDIFICIUM”-si-i has also been assigned to a different lexeme, i.e. /tam(i)-/.
[A.P.] [AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of this word has remained almost entirely in the dark. Without any syllabic attestations, it cannot be said whether the word is in any way related to either the verb /tama-(di)/ ‘to build’ or the verb /tanatta-(ti)/ ‘to devastate’, which is spelt with the logographic determinative VACUUS (sign *345) derived from the logogram AEDIFICIUM (sign *244), although the assumed opposing semantics make this somewhat unlikely. For a detailed discussion of the meaning of sign *245 as opposed *244, and the words it is used with, see Melchert 1988a:32-34.
Provided the attestation from TOPADA, §14 is assigned to the present lemma correctly, the stem of the word appears to end in /-Ta(na)-/, with the quality of the dental unclear; for further analysis of the form, see the discussion of the stem below.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The meaning assigned to this lexeme is based on the elucidation its logogram, whose meaning was deciphered in connection with the verb /tama-(di)/ ‘to build’, because attestations of the latter usually involve a variation of the logogram AEDIFICIUM, viz. AEDIFICARE (sign *246, a combination of the signs AEDIFICIUM and PONERE), see Hawkins 1971a:129-131. The translation is kept semantically broad, because it is not clear what type of building the word denotes beyond the fact that it is unlikely to be a house (for which see /parn(a)-/ ‘house’, usually spelt with help of the logogram DOMUS, sign *247). The contexts of attestation support the assigned meaning. In BABYLON 1, §7, the relevant clause runs: ma-pa-wa/i-sa “AEDIFICIUM”-si-i “FINES”-sa, approx. /man=ba=wa=as …-ta(na?)si irhis/, probably meaning ‘whether it (be) the border of the building’ (cf. Hawkins 2000a:392f.). The attestation from TOPADA, §14 – provided it belongs to the present lexeme – shows it even more clearly: wa/i5-tax URBS+MI AEDIFICIUM-tax-na (FLAMMAE)lax-há-nú-wa/i-tax, approx. /wa=tta …-nassa …-Tan(a) luhanuwatta/, meaning ‘He burnt down the building(s) of the city’ (cf. Hawkins 2000a:453).
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
If the attestation from TOPADA, §14 does indeed represent a nom./acc. pl., then the word is a neuter noun, likely with a stem ending in /°Tan(a)-/. If, however, the attestation should prove to be an acc. sg., the noun would be a common gender a-stem ending in /-T(a)-/ (cf. Melchert 2003b:196). The remainder of the stem will only become clearer with further textual evidence.
[AH.B.]