km̃me/i-
‘as many (as) (?)’
- Language
- Lycian A
- Grammar
- adj
- ID
- 3549
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Lycian A
km̃me/i-
‘as many (as) (?)’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is found in grave inscriptions.
[D.S.]
1.1.2Forms
| acc. pl. c. | km͂mis | TL 110.2 (Limyra) |
| TL 124.9 (Limyra) | ||
| nom./acc. pl. n. | km͂ma | TL 65.22 (Isinda) |
| TL 149.9 (Rhodiapolis) |
One should take note that the nom./acc. sg. n. would look exactly the same as the one of the derivative km̃mẽt(i), i.e. km̃mẽ (Laroche 1979c:70).
[D.S.]
1.1.3Meaning
The meaning and function of the word km͂me/i- as well as the appurtenance of all listed attestations above to one and the same lexeme is widely debated; cf. Deecke 1889a:216 “ten”, Thomsen 1899a:13f. “(part of a grave)”, Torp 1898b:5 “five” (following an idea of Pedersen, skeptical Meriggi 1936b:267), but “certain” in another context, Neumann 1974a:110 n. 3 “pure” (comparing CLuw. kummai(ya)-), Carruba 1979a:192-195 “everything” (with a secondary sense “five” found in km̃ma (TL 149.9), see Carruba 1999c:152f.), Hajnal 1995a:115 n. 120 “how many” or “(part of a grave)”, Melchert 2000b:60 n. 27 “whole, all” (DLL:32, also followed by Shevoroshkin 2014a:233), Christiansen 2020a:226 “on the whole”, Seyer & Vernet 2023a:226 “all (?)”. In comparison with its derivative km͂mẽt(i)- ‘how many’ (contra DLL:33) and their origin found in the pronominal root *ku̯o- (cf. Laroche 1979c:70, Hajnal 1995a:183), it is tempting to see a pronominal adjective with a similar meaning, perhaps ‘as many (as)’.
ebẽñnẽ : xupã : m(e)=ẽ=ti : prñnawatẽ : medemudi :se lada : ehbi : me=ñtepi=tãti : km͂mis se=ije=ne : hrppi=tadi tike (TL 110.1-3)
‘This grave here, Medemudi and his wife built it and they will lay inside as many (as these two) and no one else on top of (it).’
se ... [ttitti mali] wedrẽñni : am͂mãma : km͂ma : sñta : wawã (TL 149.8-9)
‘(literally) and [he will pay to Malija] of Rhodiapolis(?) full-grown as many as ten bulls.’ (= ten bulls all full-grown)
[D.S.]
1.1.4Stem
The word km̃me/i- belongs to the paradigm of mutated thematic stems.
[D.S.]
1.1.5Derivatives
2. Reconstruction
2.1Reconstruction
Comparing Lyc. A km̃me/i- ‘as many (as) (?)’, HLuw. ku-ma-na /kuman/ ‘when, while’ and Lyd. kẽmẽd (emended to ku!mẽd) ‘when’ (see also Lyd. nikumẽk and Lyc. B nekm̃mẽti), we can reconstruct either a Proto-Luwic temporal conjunction *kumVn, which acquired inflection in Lycian secondarily, or an original adjectival pronoun that was frozen in the nom./acc. sg. n. case in Luwian and Lydian, but kept its adjectival inflection in Lycian. Melchert 1994a:284f., 303 follows Laroche 1979c:69f. in starting from the pronominal root, but then adds an adjectival suffix *-(m)mo- with i-mutation. The first option appears more likely in view of Hitt. kuitman and, i.e. *ku̯o- + mān/mon (cf. LIPP II:521 “kú-mān”). The development of *ku̯o- > ku- in Proto-Luwic can be explained as a syncope due to phonological reduction and vocalization of the labial element. A second syncope must have happened in Pre-Lycian to get *kume/i- > km̃me/i-.
However, based on Lyd. -mẽ-d (with secondary neuter ending -d), it cannot directly reflect a Proto-Indo-European *-ā-, but must rather continue a short vowel; see CLuw. mān under Reconstruction for various possibilities on how to reconstruct this particle.
The reconstruction *kom-ó- proposed by Carruba 1979a:194 (followed by Melchert in DLL:32) is not supported by the comparative data.
For the pronominal root, see *ku̯o-/*ku̯i-/ku̯e-.
[D.S.]