/kusa(/i)-/, (CURRUS)ku-sà-
‘chariot (?)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- subst, gender unknown
- ID
- 1921
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/kusa(/i)-/, (CURRUS)ku-sà-
‘chariot (?)’1.1.1Transmission
This hapax is attested in a single inscription from Karkamiš, dating to the 10th or early 9th century BCE.
[A.P.]
1.1.2Forms
| abl./instr. | /kusadi/ | (CURRUS)ku-sà-ti | KARKAMIŠ A12, §7 (Karkamiš) |
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of this word is provisional, because it does not have any known cognates in the other Anatolian languages. Still, the spelling does not leave much room for further interpretation in this case. In fact, the use of 〈sà〉 for the sibilant in KARKAMIŠ A12, §7 suggests that it is a /ʃ/, see Rieken 2010b:659.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The presence of the logogram CURRUS (sign *288) informs the semantic interpretation, as the sign depicts a vehicle on two (sets of) wheels, and the current interpretation was assigned by Yakubovich 2016a:83. Previously, Hawkins & Morpurgo Davies 1986a:71 had suggested ‘battering ram’, whereas Hawkins 2000a:112 reneged on these assumptions and left both the verb as well as the word under investigation untranslated in KARKAMIŠ A12, §7, which doubtlessly details a military campaign: á-wa/i-ia-na-wa/i-na-pa-wa/i(URBS) “CASTRUM”-sà 100 (CURRUS)ku-sà-ti INFRA-tá “PUGNUS”-sá-ha, approx. /Awayanawanna=ba=wa harnissa … kusadi zanta …-sahha/. The passage is translated as ‘I broke down the defences of the town Awayana with 100 chariots?’ by Yakubovich 2019a:546, still harbouring some doubts already mentioned in Yakubovich 2016a:83 as to whether it really is a chariot or rather some other kind of vehicle that stands a chance against heavier defences such as walls. Further evidence is needed to determine the nature of the vehicle in more detail.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
The stem of the word is somewhat unclear from the one existing attestation in KARKAMIŠ A12, §7, because it is not possible to determine whether the word is an a-stem or undergoes i-mutation. The attested form also does not permit any conclusions regarding the grammatical gender of the word.
[AH.B.]