/war(ri)muttall(i)-/, (*481)wa/i+ra/i-mu-ta-li-

A hapax, this lexeme is attested just once on one of the letters found in Assur, but originating elsewhere. The text is dated to the late 8^th century BCE.

[AH.B.]

acc. pl.

/warrimuttallinzi/

(*481)wa/i+ra/i-mu-ta-li-zi

ASSUR letter b, §9

The meaning of this lexeme denoting a type of dog becomes reasonably clear from the context and was first proposed by Hawkins 2000a:545. In ASSUR letter b, the context runs: (“CANIS”)zú-wa/i-ni-zi-ha-wa/i a-pa-zi kwa/i-ri+i-´ a-sa-ti a-wa/i 2-zi-i sa-na-wa/i-i-zi (*481)wa/i+ra/i-mu-ta-li-zi PUGNUS-ri+i-´ wa/i-mu-u VIA-wa/i-ni, i.e. /zuwaninzi=ha=wa abanzi kwari asanti a=wa tuwinzi warrimutalinzi ari wa=mu harwanni/ ‘If (there) are those dogs, pick two good war(ri)muttallinzi and send (them) to me’. A more precise meaning cannot be assigned, however. Melchert 2003b:198 suggests a compound made of /wara-/ + /muwattalla/i-/ ‘strong of sense/smell’, which is possible, but unprovable. If the lexeme under discussion is indeed related to Hittite warrā(i)-^(mi) ‘to come to help’, it could mean something like ‘assistant digger’ vel sim. (perhaps a breed akin to a modern terrier or dachshund?); see also the discussion of the stem below.

[AH.B.]

Clearly an i-mutating noun, the stem-final suffix /-all(i)-/ represents the substantivized version of the well-known adjectival suffix /-alla/i-/, which attaches to nouns. Other statements about the stem rest on a far less secure basis, e.g. /warmu-tta-lla/i-/ (Sasseville 2021a:198). Thus, it is possible – albeit not provable on the currently available evidence – that the lexeme constitutes a compound, and that its first member is cognate with Hittite warrā(i)-^(mi) ‘to come to help’. Although marginally possible, the first member is unlikely to be connected to HLuw. /walliya-^(ti)/ ‘to rise (in favour)’ for two reasons. First, for /walliya-/ to undergo rhotacism, its geminate /ll/ would need to have been simplified to /l/ at some point, which is possible, but not known as a regularly occurring feature (cf. Sasseville 2021e). Second, /walliya-/ has an uncontracting stem in /-iy-a-^(ti)/ (see Sasseville 2021a:128-130) and would therefore be expected to surface as /walliya-/ also in a compound, unless the form used were based on a different stem formation otherwise unattested in HLuw. The second member of this putative compound may or may not be connected to a noun from the word family around Hittite mūtā(i)-^(mi) ‘to root, dig’ (EDHIL:588), although 〈tà〉 would be expected in HLuw.; the lexeme could perhaps indicate a type of dog that goes after prey in burrows.

[AH.B.]