muxssa-

This lexeme is attested on the Xanthian Obelisk, which was inscribed shortly after the ascension of Artaxerxes II in 405-404 BCE.

[D.S.]

nom./acc. coll.

muxssa

TL 44.d39 (Xanthos)

For the grammatical analysis see DLL:122.

[D.S.]

The word muxssa occurs in a religious context and appears to be the direct object of the verb pijelu ‘I must give’. Shevoroshkin 1968b:507 suggests with hesitation an etymological connection with Hitt. mugeššar ‘invocation ritual, materials of invocation ritual’ based on its phonetic similarity (cf. Neumann 2007a:225). Furthermore, the phrase muxssa pijelu ‘I must give a muxssa’ can be compared with Hitt. mukeššar… pāi (KUB 32.130 7) ‘he gives an invocation ritual’ (CHD L-N:325). The fact that both lexemes can be the direct object of the verb ‘to give’ does not prove, but brings further support to the semantic assignment.

[D.S.]

If the comparison of muxssa with Hitt. mugeššar is correct, then the Lycian word must be considered a loanword from Hittite. Just like HLuw. /mugissar/, Lyc. B muxssa cannot be genuinely Lycian. First, the suffix -ssa (< *-essar is not Luwic, but instead, it reflects the Hittite suffix -eššar (cf. Starke 1990a:109f., CLL:110, Rieken 1999a:387). Second, the presence of the velar in muxssa cannot be Lycian in origin, since *g or *ĝ develops to *i̯ before front vowel in Lycian (see Melchert 1994a:303). It remains open, whether Lyc. B muxssa was borrowed directly from Hittite or intermediately through Luwian.

The Lycian word muxssa has undergone further phonological developments. First, the lenited velar consonant /g/ in Hitt. mugissar was probably rendered by the voiced fricative <g> = /γ/ in Lycian, which, when inherited, etymologically comes from a lenited laryngeal. Then, the final -r was dropped, which is regular, since Lycian does not tolerate consonants in final position (Melchert 1994a:297), i.e. *mugessar > *mugessa. Afterwards, the vowel in the mid-syllable was syncopated, i.e. *mugessa > *mugssa. Finally, by assimilation to the following /s/, the voiced fricative <g> = /γ/ was devoiced to /χ/ and, then, this voiceless fricative /χ/ turned into a velar stop /k/, i.e. *mugssa > muxssa. For the phonetic value of <x> = /k/, see Kloekhorst 2008a:125; cf. Kümmel 2007a:429, Wagner 2011a:166f.

[D.S.]