PUGNUS.PUGNUS-li-^(ti)

This lexeme is attested 15 times in inscriptions from Tabal, Assur, Boğazköy and Cilicia, dating from the from the 13^th to the early 7^th century BCE.

[A.P.]

At KARATEPE 1 (Ho.), §21, the spelling is different. Instead of PUGNUS (sign *39), the Ho. version uses 〈tà〉, while the Hu. version relies on PUGNUS. Both signs are very similar in shape, in fact, 〈tà〉 could almost be a cursive version of PUGNUS in that instance, even though it is otherwise securely linked with CAPERE (*41).

The table does not contain the form 〈PUGNUS.PUGNUS-la〉 found at HİSARCIK 1, §5Previously, this form has been regarded as nominal with a dat./loc. sg. inflection, cf. e.g. Hawkins 2000a:484. because it likely has a different stem formation, see HLuw. PUGNUS.PUGNUS-la- ‘to hold, stay’. Its 2sg. impv. act. ends in /-a/, whereas the same paradigmatic slot in the present lexeme evidently ends in /-i/.

[A.P.] [AH.B.]

Similar to the phonological interpretation, the semantics of the word have proved challenging. Previous interpretations include Rieken & Yakubovich 2010a:206-208 assigning the meaning ‘to serve; to subdue’ to it, while connecting it to the word family around /hudarl(i)-/ ‘servant’. Their suggestion was based on the fact that the HLuw. version of the clauses at KARATEPE Hu. and Ho., §21 is paralleled by Phoenician ʿbd kn ‘was a servant’. In the same vein, albeit with a different interpretation of the signs used, Bossert 1949a:90, 113 suggested ‘to serve’ (“dienen, untertänig sein”), which was followed with corrections by Hawkins 1975a:132 and Morpurgo Davies 1980b:102.

However, as Melchert 2014a:134f. points out, these interpretations face a number of challenges. Not only is the verb intransitive in some contexts (already Melchert 2002a:138, 141), but a number of contexts do not accommodate the alleged meanings. Instead, Melchert 2014a:135-137 proposes a meaning ‘to hold, grasp, possess’ for the transitive contexts, which also gave rise to the intransitive use as ‘to stay’ as seen in the repeatedly attested ASSUR letter phrase /sannawi=di PUGNUS.PUGNUS-si/ ‘May you stay in health!’ (see Melchert 2014a:136, Waal 2021a:267). The transitive use can be observed e.g. at SULTANHAN, §43: a-wa/i-a kwa/i-sá kwa/i-sá za LOCUS-lá/í-za PUGNUS.PUGNUS-ta-^i, approx. /a=wa kwis kwis za allant=za …-litta/, meaning ‘Whoever held/owned this place, (no one strengthened it)’ (see e.g. Goedegebuure 2017a:180, cf. Hawkins 2000a:467).

[AH.B.]

The attestations permit a glimpse at the stem of the verb, showing that it belongs to the class in /-i-^(ti)/, see Sasseville 2021a:152f. building on Melchert 2014a:136.

[AH.B.]

1. PUGNUS.PUGNUS-nu(wa)-⁽ⁱ⁾