kukok

This lexeme is found in a metrical inscription discovered at the cemetery of Sardis that cannot be precisely dated.

[I.Y.] [D.S.]

unclear

kukok

LW 14.17 (Sardis)

Gusmani 1964a:153 interprets the segment kukok as ku-ko(d)-k. For the disappearance of -s, -n, -d and -t before -k in Lycian, see Gérard 2005a:77 with further literature. According to the analysis of Gusmani 1964a:153, kuko(d)-k contains the same root as nã-kukod. Since both the particle =k and the nã(ν) are used for the formation of indefinite pronouns, this hypothesis would imply that kukok belongs to the same semantic field as nã-kukod ‘wherever, whenever’. Alternatively, one can analyze kuko=k as the nominal stem kuko-, a putative cognate of Hitt. ḫuḫḫa- c., Luw. /huha-/ c., and Lyc. xuga- c. ‘grandfather’. One fact that might support this interpretation is the presence of taadas ‘father’ (nom. sg.) in the preceding line LW 14.16. On the other hand, the Lydian personal name kuka- ‘Gyges’ is commonly assumed to have the same etymology. Moreover, the o-stem would be difficult to account for morphologically, unless one takes it to be an artificial form for the purpose of making the end of each line rhyme in -o-. In any case, since the context is fragmentary, none of these hypotheses can be verified and, thus, more evidence is needed.

[I.Y.] [D.S.]