/husa-…/, (COR)hú-sà(-)SERVUS-wa/i-sá
‘(unknown)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- subst
- ID
- 2364
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/husa-…/, (COR)hú-sà(-)SERVUS-wa/i-sá
‘(unknown)’1.1.1Transmission
This hapax is attested in a single inscription from Malatya, dating to the early or mid 8th century BCE.
[A.P.]
1.1.2Forms
| nom. sg. c. or nom./acc. sg. n. | /husa-…./ | (COR)hú-sà(-)SERVUS-wa/i-sá | ŞIRZI, §4 (Malatya) |
The grammatical analysis of this word is unclear, because the spelling can reflect a nom. sg. stem final /-wis/, indicating a stem in /-a-/ or with i-mutation for a common gender noun, or a nom./acc. sg. ending /-i(d)=sa/ of a neuter gender stem /-w-id-/.
As indicated by the uncertain hyphen 〈(-)〉, it cannot be said with certainty if the string of signs at ŞIRZI, §4 is in fact one word or two. The reading of the sign SERVUS is also not entirely beyond doubt, cf. the remarks by Hawkins 2000a:324.
[A.P.] [AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of this noun is at least partly opaque. Beyond the fact that the string attested at ŞIRZI, §4 may be two words instead of one, the phonological value behind the logogram SERVUS (sign *387) is not clear, either. As mentioned above under Forms, the shape of the stem cannot be determined from the attested spelling. Further textual evidence is required.
The logogram SERVUS is otherwise exclusively used in the word family around /hurdarl(i)-/ ‘servant’.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The meaning of this word has so far remained unclear, not least because its syntactic function in the only context of attestation is ambiguous. ŞIRZI, §4 reads: wa/i-tu (COR)hú-sà(-)SERVUS-wa/i-sá hwa/i-tà-ni-ia-za zú-pu-na pi-pa-sa-tu, approx. /wa=du husa-… hwidniyanz zuPuna pibassattu/, maybe translating as ‘May the husa-SERVUS-wa/i- grant zup-ing to/for game to him (scil. the stag-god Runtiya?)’ or – if the word under discussion should be neuter gender – as ‘May he grant the husa-SERVUS-wid- to zup- to/for game to him’ (cf. Hawkins 2000a:323).Or should 〈hwa/i-tà-ni-ia-za〉 be understood with Hawkins 2000a:324 as /hwidniyan=za/, i.e. the nom./acc. sg. n. of an adjective of appurtenance, modifying the preceding noun? Postnominal modification is less frequent than prenominal, but no less grammatical, cf. Bauer 2014a:261.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
Unclear. As mentioned above, the attestation does not permit any certainty regarding the stem of the word. On the one hand, the word may be a common gender noun in /-wa-/ or – more likely – in /-wa/i-/ with i-mutation. On the other hand, the spelling can represent a neuter gender noun in /-w-id-/. Either option is possible, and more data are necessary for further analysis.
[AH.B.]