MAGNUS+RA/I.FONS.*311-
‘large marsh (?)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- subst, c.
- ID
- 3277
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
MAGNUS+RA/I.FONS.*311-
‘large marsh (?)’1.1.1Transmission
This hapax is attested in a single inscription from Cilicia, dating to the late 8th century BCE.
[A.P.]
1.1.2Forms
| nom. pl. | /…/ | MAGNUS+RA/I.FONS.*311-zi! | ÇİNEKÖY, §8 (Cilicia) |
It is not entirely clear if 〈MAGNUS+RA/I〉 should be considered part of the word or a separate word, cf. Oreshko 2019b:228 who opts for the latter. In fact, the photo of the squeeze provided by Tekoğlu & Lemaire 2000a:979 seems to show a word divider (*386) after the first two signs, i.e. 〈MAGNUS+RA/I | FONS.*311-zi!〉, that has so far gone unrecorded in the literature, cf. the discussion below.
The final sign of the word is read 〈-zi!〉 with Hawkins 2017c:213. The reading as listed above is suggested by Oreshko 2019b:226; the previous reading had identified the fourth sign as *268 (SCALPRUM) instead of *311, viz. 〈MAGNUS+RA/I.FONS.SCALPRUM-zi!〉.
[A.P.] [AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of this noun is not clear, since it is spelt almost entirely logographically. Perhaps the string of signs should actually be read as two separate words, cf. the discussion under Forms, in which case the word under discussion would be 〈FONS.*311-zi!〉.
The logogram MAGNUS (sign *363, a volute) is fixed with 〈+ra/i〉 (*383) as a reading aid and likely stands for /ura(/i)-/ ‘great’. For the remainder of the word, Oreshko 2019b:229 suggest the reading /luliyasha-/ vel. sim., based on Hittite luliyašḫa- ‘marsh(land)’. If the string of signs should indeed be read as suggested here, a resulting interpretation of the full word may hence be /uraluliyasha-/, though further proof is needed. In case the word divider mentioned above should exist after all, splitting the string into two items, it would not be unusual for the adjective /ura(/i)-/ ‘great’ to remain uninflected, although it appears together with the reading aid 〈+ra/i〉 only in compound and derivational contexts such as some personal names (/Uramuwa-/) and /uranu(wa)-(i)/ ‘to magnify’.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The meaning of this word has seen some scholarly debate, not least because it constitutes a hapax legomenon in an inscription difficult to understand. Still, the choice of the logogram FONS (*215) and the context strongly suggest a connection to water, and Hawkins 2017c:213 hence proposes a meaning ‘dam, barrage’, whereas Oreshko 2019b:226-229 opts for ‘marsh’. The passage at ÇİNEKÖY, §8 reads: kwa/i-pa-wa/i “LOCUS”-tà-tà-za za-ia (“FLUMEN”)sa-pa+ra/i-wa/i-ni-zi MAGNUS+RA/I.FONS.SCALPRUM-zi! á-sa-tá,The reading of this clause follows the revisions by Hawkins 2005b:156, Hawkins 2017c:212f., and Oreshko 2019b:226 made to the editio princeps by Tekoğlu & Lemaire 2000a:970. approx. /kwippa=wa alladanz zaya Sabariwanninzi …-nzi asta/, perhaps translating as ‘Indeed, in the places, these were large marshes of the river Sabari’ (cf. Hawkins 2017c:212f. and Oreshko 2019b:226-229).
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
The word is evidently a common gender noun. If the interpretation suggested above should be correct, it could be analysed as a compound with /ura(/i)-/ ‘great’. If /ura(/i)-/ is to be understood as a separate word, the remainder may be /luliyasha-/ vel. sim. (following Oreshko 2019b:226-229), a derivation in /-asha-/ from a stem */luli-/, otherwise unattested in Luwian, but proposed by Oreshko on the basis of Hittite luliyašḫa- ‘marsh(land)’.
[AH.B.]