šaltinnima/i-

The only attestation of this word occurs in a mythological passage belonging to the Tauriša tradition (MS).

[E.R.]

acc. sg.

ša-al-ti-in-ni-mi-in

KUB 35.107 iii 21’

(CTH 764, MS)

Melchert (in CLL:186) considers the omission of final -za, since an acc. pl. in -inza would be more apt in the given context (see under Meaning).

[E.R.]

Checked against the photographs in the Mainzer Fotoarchiv.

[E.R.]

The passage that contains the lexeme describes the fashioning of the image of an ailing head. The šaltinnima/i- is used to represent a part of the head, presumably the ears (for the restoration of [tumm]andaḫinza^ḪI.A, see Melchert 2004a:370, followed in Steitler 2017a:392f., 399). While a pair of items would be more apt to shape ears and a plural form in -inza could therefore be expected (see under Forms), the problem of the lacking number agreement between ]andaḫinza^ḪI.A and šaltinnimin remains firmly in place also under a different restoration of the former. Due to the wide range of items that could be used to represent a part of the head and the lack of related words with a secured meaning, no concrete semantic interpretation is offered here or elsewhere (Otten 1953a:33, DLL:85, CLL:186, HHw:s.v.).

[E.R.]

Although the meaning of šaltinnima/i- remains unknown and the base *šalti- (perhaps attested as šalt(i)-) cannot be reliably analyzed, an educated guess for its suffixes would include the (diminutive) formant -ann(i)- and -i-^(ti) for denominal verbs. The participle of *šaltinni-^(ti) in -mma/i- is substantivized here to designate a concrete item.

[E.R.]

No etymology possible.

[E.R.]