/nahhassa-(i)/, (COR)na-ha-sa5-
‘to fear (?)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- verb
- ID
- 3112
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/nahhassa-(i)/, (COR)na-ha-sa5-
‘to fear (?)’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is identified tentatively. If correctly analysed, it is attested twice in a single inscription from Tabal, dating to the mid-8th century BCE.
[A.P.]
1.1.2Forms
| 1sg. pret. act. | /nahhassahha/ | (COR)na-ha-sax-hax | TOPADA, §10 (Tabal) |
| (COR)na-ha-sa5-ha | TOPADA, §12 (Tabal) |
Hawkins 2000a:453 reads the sign before 〈na-ha-SA-HA〉 as 〈ANNUS〉 (sign *336), which can look very similar to COR (sign *342), as both resemble a vase or amphora-shaped vessel closed at the top. ANNUS tends to be elongated in comparison to COR, and the latter usually contains two short vertical strokes at its centre, but the TOPADA inscription is well-known for its unusual signary (see Hawkins 2000a:460f.), both concerning the shapes and the values used. Therefore, the analysis here as COR is certainly within the realm of possibility and should, in light of the verb and its likely etymological link with /nahh(i)-/ ‘fear’, be considered valid until proven otherwise.
[A.P.] [AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of this lexeme is reasonably clear, if its connection to the word family around /nahh(i)-/ ‘fear’ is accepted. That provides it with further cognates in the word 
naḫḫūwa-(i) ‘there is a concern (impers.)’ and Hittite nāḫ-/naḫḫ-(ḫi) ‘to fear, be afraid; to be respectful’ and its word family (cf. e.g. CHD L-N:338). Its spelling is quite transparent, and the use of the logographic determinative COR (sign *341, previously read VAS)It commonly appears with words denoting mental states or the body parts associated with these; see van den Hout 2002a:176, who also suggests the reading COR on p. 182. ties it to other members of its family in HLuw.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The meaning of the word is derived mainly from its putative etymological connection with /nahh(i)-/ ‘fear’ and its likely morphological structure, but also finds support in the contexts of attestation. It occurs twice in a brief passage in TOPADA, §§10-12, part of a narrative about military attacks from an enemy: á-mu-pax-wa/i8-mi-tax ax-mí-ia+ra/i REX+RA/I-ti EQUUS(ANIMA)-wa/i-ti x-zá (COR)na-ha-sax-hax a-wa/i-sa6 2-sú zi/a-lá/í-tax CUM-tax-tax-pa-wa/i-mí-tax (COR)na-ha-sa5-ha, approx. /ammu=ba=wa=mi=tta ammiyadi hantawattiyadi azzuwadi …=za nahhassahha a=wa=as tuwisu? zallaTa zanta=ba=wa=mi=tta nahhassahha/, which may mean ‘(And he (scil. the enemy) went with all his horses and his army and put his frontiers up, and put (it) in the mountains.) And I was in fear with(?) my cavalry. He raided (me?) twice (more?), and I cowered(?) down in fear’. The passage goes on to lay out further exploits by the enemy, and eventually the author of the inscription reacts differently, starting to defend himself and detailing his military success. While an admission of fear and fearful behaviour is unusual in the HLuw. corpus, mostly comprised of heroic inscriptions after all, it likely serves the narrative purpose here of laying the ground for an even more impressive turn of events.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
If the analysis of the verb as /nahhassa-/ is accurate and its cognates correctly identified, it represents a formation in /-ssa-(i)/, derived directly from the root verb */nah(h)a-(i)/ (corresponding to Hitt. nāḫ-/naḫḫ-(ḫi)), cf. Sasseville 2021a:488-490.
[AH.B.]
For the lemma head see HLuw. */nahh(uw)a-(i)/.