aνi-

This noun is attested once in a dedicatory poetic inscription found at the cemetery of Sardis and dated within the broad range of 5^th - 4^th century BCE.

[I.Y.]

nom. sg.

aνis

LW 11.3 (Sardis)

There are two cues for determining the meaning of aνi-. On the one hand, it is likely that this noun is cognate with the verb stem kat-aνi-, as was already seen in Gusmani 1964a:59, although Gusmani’s attribution of this idea to Meriggi 1935a:88 n.36 appears misplaced. The verbal stem aνi- probably has the basic meaning ‘to erect’. On the other hand, this is the apparent subject of the sentence, modified by isko- ‘every’. The immediately preceding sentence refers to the dedication of various religious installations to individual deities, and so the interpretation ‘every installation’ appears contextually appropriate; cf. further under Lyd. kaτare-^(d).

[I.Y.]

If the etymology of aνi- proposed above is correct, then we are likely dealing with a root stem. The hypothesis that it was reinterpreted as a semi-vocalic stem aν(i)- is possible but not necessary.

[I.Y.]

For the lemam head see Lyd. i-.