/warpallawa-^?/, ARMA.REX-wa/i-

This lexeme is attested twice, once in an inscription from Hama dating to the mid-9^th century BCE., and once in a graffito-style text from Tabal, from the mid-8^th century BCE.

[AH.B.]

nom. sg.	/warpallawas?/	ARMA.REX	SUVASA inscr. B (Tabal)
dat./loc. sg.?	/warpallawa?/	ARMA.REX-wa/i	HAMA 4, A2§4 (Hama)

In HAMA 4, A2§4, the lexeme is followed by the conjunction /=ha/. Because the word occurs in the middle of a clause, it is unlikely that the sign <wa/i> is to be understood as the quotative particle.

[AH.B.]

The phonological interpretation of this word is proposed by Yakubovich 2019a:581, who links it to the word family around /warp(i)-/ ‘weapon, tool’ because of the logogram ARMA (*273) and the proper noun Warpallawa, well-attested elsewhere in Tabal.

[AH.B.]

Clearly related to /warpalla-/ ‘warrior (?)’, the meaning ‘royal warrior’ has been suggested for this word by Yakubovich 2019a:581, drawing on work by Rieken & Sasseville 2014a:311 regarding the suffix /-wa-/. The assumption that /warpallawa-/ has a strongly positive connotation is further supported by the fact that it is also used as a proper noun, e.g. for the king /Warpallawa/, who appears in a number of inscriptions from Tabal. In the Hama inscription the lexeme is attested in a context rife with difficulties, for while the forms as such are clear, the syntax and semantics of the clause have so far remained mostly in the dark (Hawkins 2000a:404-406, Yakubovich 2019a:581).

[AH.B.]

Based on the noun /warpalla-/ ‘warrior (?)’, this lexeme appears to be formed with the suffix /-wa-/, which is found in several of the Anatolian languages and expresses social rank (Rieken & Sasseville 2014a:311).

[AH.B.]

For the lemma head see HLuw. /warp(i)-/.