murei(je)-

This lexeme is found in various grave inscriptions as well as on the inscribed pillar of Xanthos, dated contextually to shortly after the ascension of Artaxerxes II in 405-404 BCE and stylistically to around 400 BCE (Borchhardt & Eichner 1997-1999a:19f.).

[D.S.]

acc. sg. (?)

murei

TL 44c.50 (Xanthos)

The ending -i is, as usual, ambiguous regarding its grammatical interpretation (cf. DLL:122). Schürr 2016d:164 takes it as a nominative singular modifying xeriga-, the name of the Lycian king, without further support. Gehrisch 2018a:82 translates it as a locative singular of the place name Myra. For the analysis as accusative singular, see the discussion under Meaning.

[D.S.]

The word murei is found in a sentence uttered by the assembly of gods, whose content is clear enough:

tuwi=p(e)=ene : padrete : xeriga : waxsa : murei : sebe=zriq^!ali : nei=talã (TL 44c.50-51)

‘Gergis padre-ed waxsa murei as an offering and on the acropolis our invocation.’

The ambiguous case ending of murei forces us to rely on its semantics for a formal analysis. In the literature, the word has been compared to the place name Myra, which never led to a proper elucidation of the passage (see Neumann 2007a:228 with further literature, likewise Gehrisch 2018a:82). Relying on its morphology, i.e. an adjective in -ei(je)- derived from mur(i)- translated here as ‘bunch, grape’, the analysis yields the meaning mur-ei(je)- ‘pertaining to grapes’. Since it occurs together with waxssa- ‘bread (?)’, which is offered to the gods, it is likely to represent something made of grapes that the gods typically receive, i.e. ‘wine’ (Sasseville 2021d). Thus, the best grammatical assignment would be to take it as an accusative singular used in asyndetic relation to waxssa, i.e. ‘bread (and) wine’.

tuwi=p(e)=ene : padrete : xeriga : waxsa : murei : sebe=zriq^!ali : nei=talã (TL 44c.50-51)

‘Gergis padre-ed bread (and) wine (?) as an offering and our invocation on the acropolis.’

Further evidence can be adduced from the cognate murẽ(n)-; see under Derivatives.

[D.S.]

Schürr 2016d:165 takes murei convincingly as an adjective in -ei(je)- derived from the noun muri attested in the same context. Based on the tentative analysis given above, the adjectival formation has been substantivized.

[D.S.]

For the derivational base, see Lyc. B mur(i)-.