qaλm(λ)u-
‘king’
- Language
- Lydian
- Grammar
- subst, c.
- ID
- 3539
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Lydian
qaλm(λ)u-
‘king’1.1.1Transmission
The attestations of this lexeme are found in various parts of Lydia, including Sardis, Maeonia, Hermos and Kaystros valleys. All of them fall within the broad range of 5th - 4th century BCE, but some, like LW 2 or LW 41, can be dated more precisely to the 4th century BCE.
[I.Y.]
1.1.2Forms
| dat. sg. | qaλmλuλ | LW 41.2 (Falaka) | |
| LW 42.2 (Emre) | |||
| LW/N 110.2 (Koloe) | |||
| [q]aλmλuλ | LW 2.2 (Sardis) | ||
| LW 50.3 (Tire) | |||
| [qa]λmλuλ | LW 16.3 (Sardis) | ||
| qaλmλ[uλ] | LW 59.2 (Sardis) | ||
| qaλmλ(=) | LW 11.8 (Sardis) | ||
| poss. adj. nom. sg. c. | [qa]λmliš | LW 16.2 (Sardis) | |
| case unknown, sg. | qaλmu(=) | LW 62.2 (Tire) | |
| unknown | qaλm(=) | LW 14.13 (Sardis) | |
| qaλem[ | LW 41.7 (Falaka) |
The form qalmλad is evaluated as unclear and tentatively analyzed as instrumental in Gusmani 1964a:179f. But the best motivation for the appearance of the second λ in this form would be the dat. sg. ending. Therefore, I prefer the segmentation qaλmλ=ad and the analysis of qaλmλ as a shorter variant of qaλmλuλ in a poetic text. Note the parallel shortening in LW 14.13 qaλm=k vs. LW 62.2 qaλmu(=k), which is likewise possibly conditioned by the poetic genre of the relevant text. The appurtenance of the form qaλem[ to the lexeme under discussion remains questionable.
[I.Y.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The basic form of the stem is qaλmu-, which is supported by the local Greek loanword πάλμυ- ‘ruler’, on which see Gusmani 1964a:276f. One must agree with Gérard 2005a:77f. that the variant qaλmλuλ is conditioned, at least in part, by the dative singular ending -λ, since the variant qaλmλu- does not occur outside dat.sg, and since the partial assimilation of stem-final consonant before -λ has numerous parallels within Lydian (cf. e.g. the paradigms of niwisw(i)- or prwãν). Nevertheless, the contrast between qaλmλuλ and artimuλ suggests that the process of assimilation was not automatic and perhaps the additional λ in the root of qaλmλuλ played a role in its implementation.
Differently Sh. Hawkins 2013a:190, where the stem variant qaλmλu- is tentatively reconstructed as the older one, while qaλmu- is attributed to the simplification of an unusual cluster. According to Carruba 2006a:404, the variant qaλmλu- is younger, but its formation apparently does not involve assimilation. For Oettinger 1994a:310 n. 11, the assimilation qaλmu- > qaλmλu- is conditioned by the λ of the root.
[I.Y.]
1.1.4Meaning
The meaning of qaλmu- was basically identified in Danielsson 1917a:22f based on the comparison with Gk. πάλμυ- ‘ruler’. The Greek noun, preserved apud Hipponax and certain other sources, represents an early dialectal loanword going back to the time when the Greek labiovelars were still in place in the respective dialect (Schürr 2002a:171 n. 13). In the available Lydian texts the title qaλmu- is attached to the names of Artaxerxes and Alexander.
[I.Y.]
1.1.5Stem
Synchronically, this is a u-stem. The Luwian title qaλmu- appears to represent an adaptation of the Luwian princely name Kuwalanamuwa-, literally meaning “(Having) the strength of (the Storm-god) of the Army”. The Prince Kuwalanamuwa- is attested on a number of thirteenth century inscriptions, but at least one of them, namely AKPINAR, comes from Western Anatolia. His name is spelled there as EXERCITUS-mu (Ehringhaus 2005a:87). The proposed hypothesis implies that Kuwalanamuwa- ruled a territory populated by the ancestors of the Lydians at some point in his career, and so his name was borrowed as a generic word for a ruler. For massive syncope in Lydian compounds cf. cẽqra-.
This etymology essentially continues the idea of Carruba 2006a:404, except that Carruba treated *kuwála(n)muwa- as an inherited formation in Lydian. The weakness of this suggestion is that compounds in *muwa- do not appear to function as titles in any Anatolian language. According to Oreshko 2013c:91, Lyd. qaλmλu- ‘king’ has a non-Anatolian origin, but no specific source is indicated.
[I.Y.]
For the first member of the compound see CLuw. kwal- and for the second member, see Lyd. *mu-.