/taTum(m)assa-/, tá-tu-ma-sa-
‘(unknown)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- verb
- ID
- 2527
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/taTum(m)assa-/, tá-tu-ma-sa-
‘(unknown)’1.1.1Transmission
This hapax is attested in a single inscription from the Amuq, possibly dating to the 8th century BCE.
[A.P.]
1.1.2Forms
| unclear | /taTum(m)assa-.../ | tá-tu-ma-sa-˹x˺ | TELL TAYINAT 2, l. 1, 2a§ii (Amuq) |
The form is likely a verb, but it cannot be said even on the basis of the context what its inflection might be. Hawkins 2000a:372 suggests a 3pl. pres. act., but this cannot be verified.
[A.P.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of this word is somewhat unclear despite the fully syllabic attestation, because while probably cognate with HLuw. /taTu-/ ‘compensation’, it has yet to be connected to any other related words in the Anatolian languages. Based on the spelling, it is impossible to assess the precise quality of the medial dental and nasal, and even the rendering of the sibilant is only based on the assumption that it may be a verb in /-ssa-/, cf. the discussion of the stem below.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
Attested only once, the meaning of this verb remains unknown, cf. Hawkins 2000a:372. The context at TELL TAYINAT 2, l. 1, 2a§ii is largely fragmented: wa/i-t[à] á-pi-zi tá-tu-ma-sa-˹x˺, approx. /wa=ada abinzi taTumassa-…/, only partially translatable as ‘Those (scil. the latter) / They taTum(m)assa- them / those’ (cf. Hawkins 2000a:370), where the roles of subject and object can be assigned to either pronoun. The passage only shows that the verb appears to be transitive and that it may denote a benevolent action given the context, although that, too, remains speculative. The putative connection with /taTu-/ ‘compensation’ leaves room for a negative as well as a positive meaning.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
If the phonological interpretation of the attested form is at least partly correct, it appears to be a verb stem in /-ssa-(i)/ and would hence take the endings of the ḫi-conjugation, see Sasseville 2021a:489f. If the cognate link with /taTu-/ ‘compensation’ should prove correct, the derivational base for the verb may be an otherwise unattested */taTumma/i-/ ‘having/possessing compensation’ vel sim. (cf. Melchert 2003b:195).
[AH.B.]