wijedri

This lexeme is attested in the inscription of the inscribed pillar of Xanthos, dated contextually to shortly after the ascension of Artaxerxes II in 405-404 BCE and stylistically to around 400 BCE (Borchhardt & Eichner 1997-1999a:19f.).

[D.S.]

acc.sg.	wijedri	TL 44c.45 (Xanthos)
		TL 44d.42 (Xanthos)

In TL 44c.45, the object wijedri is coordinated with pasbã ‘small livestock’, both representing items that are snatched away as tribute by the Lycian king to finance his military campaigns (Sasseville 2021d). As an etymological cognate, one should perhaps compare Pal. wiyannaš from a formation in -ātar/n-; the strong stem being preserved in Lyc. B as -dr-i, contra Gusmani 1968c:5 and Gehrisch 2018a:86, who equates Lyc. B wijedri to Lyc. A wedri(je)-, translated as ‘city’. This is phonologically unmotivated, since there is no other case of -ije- corresponding to -e- in either of the dialects. The same skepticism is expressed by DLL:134. Shevoroshkin 2011a:33 sees a military rank in wijedri, which is not contextually supported; cf. also Shevoroshkin 1971a:213 “captured women”.

[D.S.]

It is unclear whether the stem ends in -e/i- or a more complex -i(je)-. If wijedri goes back to a neuter abstract noun as in -ātar/n-, no i-mutation is expected. Thus, one should assume an additional derivational process, which remains obscure until more data emerge.

[D.S.]