armantalli(ya)-

This lexeme is found in the KI.LAM festival text (CTH 627), (thanks to a join by F. Fuscagni) previously assigned to CTH 462 (Ritual for Muršili II), as well as in an itinerary text with an abundance of Luwianisms (CTH 230).

[D.S.]

nom. sg. c. (Hitt.)	ar-ma-an-ta-al-li-ia-aš	VSNF 12.7 iv 15	(CTH 627, NS)
nom./acc. sg. n.	ar-ma-ta-al-li-ia-an-za	KBo 62.5, 6	(CTH 230, MS)
dat. sg. (Hitt.)	ar-ma-an-ta-al-li-ia	VSNF 12.7 i 15’	(CTH 627, NS)

In VSNF 12.7, the Luwian adjective in -i(ya)- inflects like a Hittite adjective in -izzi(ya)-.

[D.S.]

Checked against the photographs in the Konkordanz (Mainzer Fotoarchiv), except for KBo 62.5.

[D.S.]

On the one hand, armantalli(ya)- is an attribute of the king Muršili II. after having been struck by fear at the sound of thunder, but on the other, an attribute of a fountain.The word is often missing in dictionaries, see e.g. HED L:134.There are two competing theories regarding the etymology and therefore the meaning of armantalli(ya)-. The first one is largely explained by Pecchioli Daddi 2000a:350f. and uses the noun arma- ‘moon’ as the ultimate base, suggesting the meaning ‘struck by a bad moon omen’ (cf. Groddek 2002e:86 ‘ill-fated’). The second perspective arose after the publication of the text KBo 62.5, which brought to light a new attestation of armantalli(ya)- as an epithet of a fountain, and thus Lorenz & Rieken 2007a:474f. suggest an etymological connection with Hitt. erman-/arman- n. ‘sickness’, translating the word with ‘having/causing a disease’, applicable to both the king and a contaminated fountain (followed by Simon 2020g, but rejected by Melchert in DCL:s.v. as “not credible”). Considering the various suffixes as well as the fact that the moon can be used to describe ill things, it is difficult to argue on semantic or even contextual grounds.

From a morphological perspective, it would be easier and more economical to assume a connection with ^NINDAarmantallann(i)-, i.e. both sharing the same base *armantalla/i-, ‘(related to being moon-like)’. Nonetheless, further evidence is needed to take a stand on the etymology and also to determine the exact meaning of the adjective armantalli(ya)-.

[D.S.]

The adjectival stem in -i(ya)-, a productive suffix in Luwian, implies that the derivational base in -alla/i- must have been substantivized. For further morphological information, which depends on the etymology of the word, see Lorenz & Rieken 2007a:475.

[D.S.]

The new attestation with the Luwian neuter ending in -an=za brought decisive evidence for a Luwian origin of the adjective (thus Lorenz & Rieken 2007a:474f., DCL:s.v.). The root etymology remains debated, for one of the two possibilities, see CLuw. *arma-.

[D.S.]