*ma

Reconstructed from a personal name widely attested in Caria and Lycia between the 6^th c. BC and 3^rd c. AD (LGPN V.B:275).

[Zs.S.]

Μα-υσσωλλος / -υσσωλος / -υσωλλος / - υσωλος

For the attestations see the entries in LGPN V.B:275 (cf. also Zgusta 1964a:304f. and Blümel 1992a:19). There is no doubt regarding the segmentation (cf. Zahlhaas & Neumann 1994a:165 and Adiego 2007a:330), since we are dealing with a well-known type of Carian compound names with a widely attested second member (see s.v. *u/wśoλ).

[Zs.S.]

Melchert 2013c:41 analysed the element *ma as ‘much’ from PIE *még̑h₂. Although there is no independent evidence for the meaning of this word, it fits the type of the *u/wśoλ compound names, since their first members, if identifiable, are adverbs or adjectives in adverbial usage: kδ ‘first ?’, par(a) ‘forth, away’, p(u)n ‘all’, šar ‘above, up’ (see s.vv.). This formation is certainly Anatolian (cf. Hitt. mēk, EDHIL:572), the only and minor problem is that the Carian reflex of *g̑ in this position is not known yet, but considering that it was lost in initial position (Adiego 2007a:259) and it might have an exact cognate in Hieroglyphic Luwian ma as proposed by Melchert 2013c:41 (but see the discussion s.v.), *ma might be a fully regular continuation (note that although the name strikingly resembles the 1st millennium Anatolian goddess Ma, no theophoric *u/wśoλ-names has been identified yet).

[Zs.S.]