naz

Hapax in a graffito in Abu Simbel, c. 593/592 (Adiego 2007a:31 with ref.).

[Zs.S.]

unknown

naz

E.AS 7

The attestation follows Adiego 2007a:387, checked against the photograph of O. Masson 1979a:Pl.IV.3. Although word dividers are used in this inscription, naz is not separated from the following sequence k̑ik̑ and thus, strictly speaking, its segmentation is not assured. However, there are arguments that k̑ik̑ is an indefinite pronoun (see s.v.[939]) and since pronouns were normally treated as enclitics in Egyptian Carian inscriptions, they were not separated (Simon forthcoming). Accordingly, the segmentation of naz is plausible.

[Zs.S.]

Since the Carian letter <z> phonetically reflects [st], Schürr 1996a:66, 70 suggested that we are dealing with a verb nas-t, a 3rd sg. pret. verb with the meaning ‘bewundern’ or (in Schürr 2001d:98) ‘mißachten o.ä.’, a cognate of the Lycian B verb nestte (Adiego 2007a:387 did not mention the hypothesis of Schürr in his glossary). This is a formally fitting solution (for the Carian ending cf. ýb-t, see s.v.), but there are some problematic circumstances: First, the exact definition of the Lycian B word is debated (see s.v.); second, not independently from this fact, there is no hint for the meaning of naz; and, third, since naz is placed at the very beginning of the inscription (presumably followed by an indefinite pronoun, see under Form), many other forms are theoretically possible, e.g. a sentence initial particle chain typical in Anatolian languages (but still unidentified in Carian) or any left-dislocated element.

[Zs.S.]