/irhal(l)issa-(i)/, FINES-ha-li-sa-
‘to separate (?)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- verb
- ID
- 2347
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/irhal(l)issa-(i)/, FINES-ha-li-sa-
‘to separate (?)’1.1.1Transmission
This hapax is attested in a single inscription from Malatya, dating to c. 1200 BCE.
[A.P.]
1.1.2Forms
| 1sg. pret. act. | /irhal(l)issahha/ | FINES-ha-li-sa-ha | GÜRÜN (upper inscription), §2 (Malatya) |
The transliteration of the attestation in GÜRÜN (upper inscription), §2 is usually given as 〈ARHA-li-sa-ha〉 (Hawkins 2000a:296), since ARHA consists of FINES+HA. However, since the verb is commonly assumed to have a more direct morphological link with /irh(i)-/ ‘border’ and words from that immediate family instead of the adverb /ahha/ ‘away, back’ (cf. Hawkins 2000a:298). Still, it should be noted that the design of the sign used does not differ from that employed to write ARHA a few words earlier in the same clause.
[A.P.] [AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of this verb is partly tentative. The spelling may represent either /irhalissa-/ or /irhallissa-/, since the HLuw. writing system is unable to convey the linguistically real difference between singleton and geminate consonants. The form /irhallissa-/ appears more likely on statistical grounds (the suffix /-alla/i-/ is quite frequent), but the form with singleton /l/ may perhaps fit better with the other members of the word family in HLuw., cf. the discussion of the stem below.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
First suggested by Hawkins 2000a:298, the semantic interpretation of this verb remains tentative. While it doubtlessly belongs to the word family around /irh(i)-/ ‘border’, its precise meaning is difficult to gauge on the basis of the single attestation in GÜRÜN (upper inscription), §2: *a-wa/i-tá *428-tà-i-ti(URBS) ARHA MONS(-)zi-na-pi? (MONS)na-ha+ra/i-sà-na? (MONS)na-ma-x-x-´? FINES-ha-li-sa-ha, approx. /a=wa=tta …-daidi ahha ZinaPin(?) Nahrassan Nama-… irhal(l)issahha/, possibly meaning ‘I separated (?) the mountains ZinaPi, Naharassa, (and) Nama-… from (the city) …-daya’ vel sim. (cf. Hawkins 2000a:296, 298).
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
The verb appears to be a formation in /-ssa-(i)/, which can build deverbal and denominal verbs alike (cf. Sasseville 2021a:488-490).Note that Sasseville 2021a:504 n. 14 explicitly excludes the present lexeme from his discussion, probably because its single attestation in a partly fragmented context does not yield enough clarity for a solid morphological assessment. In the present case, it may be denominally derived from the noun /irha(l)l(i)-/ ‘frontier-post’.
[AH.B.]
For the lemma head, see HLuw. /irh(i)-/.