tāpāru-

The lexeme is found exclusively yet frequently in the rituals of the Kuwattalla tradition (from MS onwards).

[E.R.]

nom./acc. sg.	ta-pa-ru	KUB 32.9 i 13	(CTH 761, MS)
		KUB 32.9 i 16	(CTH 761, MS)
		KUB 35.21 i 16’	(CTH 770, MS)
		KUB 35.48 iii 10’	(CTH 760, NS)
	[t]a-pa-ru	KUB 35.21 ii 7’	(CTH 770, MS)
		KUB 35.21 ii 26’	(CTH 770, MS)
		KUB 32.9 ii 30’	(CTH 761, MS)
	ta-p[a-r]u	KUB 35.51 ii 15’	(CTH 760, NS)
	[ta-p]a?-ru	KBo 47.136, 11’	(CTH 763, MS?)
	[ta-pa-r]u	KUB 35.21 i 31’	(CTH 770, MS)
	t[a?-pa-ru]	KUB 35.20 i 22’	(CTH 761, MS)
	ta-pa-a-ru	KUB 32.8 iv 25’	(CTH 759, NS)
		KUB 35.28 i 9’	(CTH 761, NS)
		KUB 35.29 i 13’	(CTH 761, NS)
		KUB 35.58 iii 10’	(CTH 759, NS)
	ta-pa-a-r[u]	KUB 35.70 ii 17	(CTH 762, NS)
	⸢ta-pa⸣-a-ru	KBo 22.254 i 9	(CTH 762, NS)
	⸢ta-pa-a-ru⸣	KUB 35.43 iii 28’	(CTH 761, NS)
	[t]a-pa-a-⸢ru⸣	KUB 35.45 iii 9’	(CTH 760, NS)
		KUB 35.63 l.col. 7’	(CTH 763, NS)
	[ta-p]a-a-ru	KUB 35.70 ii 5	(CTH 762, NS)
	t[a-a-pa-ru]	KUB 35.46 iv 11’	(CTH 761, NS)
	ta-a-pa-ru	KUB 32.14 iii 9’	(CTH 761, NS)
		KUB 35.43 ii 29	(CTH 761, NS)
		KUB 35.43 iii 36’	(CTH 761, NS)
		KUB 35.45 iii 24’	(CTH 760, NS)
nom./acc. pl.	ta-pa-a-ru-wa	KUB 9.6 i 26	(CTH 759, LNS)
		KUB 9.6 ii 13	(CTH 759, LNS)
	ta-pa-a-ru-w[a]	KUB 9.6 ii 29	(CTH 759, LNS)
instr.	ta-pa-ru-wa-ti	KUB 27.26 r.col 7’	(CTH 763, NS)
gen. adj. nom. sg. c.	ta-pa-ru-wa-aš-⸢ši⸣-iš	KUB 35.21 ii 22’	(CTH 770, MS)
	ta-pa-ru-*wa*-aš-si-i[š	KUB 35.46 iv 3’	(CTH 761, NS)
	[ta-pa-ru-w]a-aš-ši-iš	KUB 35.28 i 4’	(CTH 761, NS)
	[ta-pa-ru-wa]-⸢a⸣-aš-ši- ⸢iš⸣	KUB 35.49 iv 11’	(CTH 761, MS)
	[ta-pa-a-ru-wa-aš-š]i?[-iš]	KUB 35.29 i 1’	(CTH 761, NS)
gen. adj. acc. sg. c.	ta-pa-ru-wa<-aš>-ši-in	KUB 35.48 ii 22’	(CTH 760, NS)
	ta-pa-ru-wa-aš-ši-i[n]	KBo 22.254 i 7	(CTH 762, NS)
gen. adj. acc. pl. c.	ta-pa-ru-wa-aš-⸢ši-in⸣-za	KUB 35.45 ii 20	(CTH 760, NS)
	[ta-pa-ru-w]a-aš-ši-in-za	KUB 35.48 ii 13’	(CTH 760, NS)
gen. adj. instr. c.	ta-pa-ru-wa-aš-⸢ša⸣-an-za-t[i]	KUB 32.9 ii 33’	(CTH 761, MS)
	[t]a-pa-ru-wa-aš-ša[-an-za-ti]	KUB 35.24 i 2’	(CTH 761, MS)
	[ta-pa-ru]-wa-aš-ša-an-za-ti	KUB 35.26 l.col. 7’	(CTH 763, NS)
		KUB 35.51 iii 3’	(CTH 760, NS)
	[ta-pa-ru-w]a-aš-ša-an-za-ti	KBo 29.21, 3’	(CTH 763, N/A)
	[ta-pa-ru-wa-aš-ša-a]n-⸢za⸣-ti	KUB 35.58 ii 4’	(CTH 759, NS)
	[ta-pa-ru-wa-aš-š]a-[an-za-t]i	KUB 35.48 iii 7’	(CTH 760, NS)

The lexeme occurs always in the triad of tāpāru- tatariyam(ma)n- ḫīrū(t)- ‘taparu-, curse, perjury’, often followed by mayaššiš eme-iš “slander of the multitude” and sometimes by āššiwantattar/-tt(a)n- ‘poverty’. Starke 1990a:448 suspects āššiwantattar/-tt(a)n- to be a later addition, since it is frequently left out. Moreover, it does not conform to the other lexical items, which consist of abstract nouns for damaging speech acts. Regarding tāpāru-, the last circumstance points to another term for a negative speech act, or at least for a negative action of an evil-doer.

While some authors refrain from any attempt to translate the item (Otten 1953a:93f., DLL:91, Starke 1990a:448) or resort to a generic meaning (CLL:207 and DCL:s.v. [something evil, but also ‘torpor’ in the notes], HHw:165 [etwas Schlimmes, eine Krankheit?], Weitenberg 1971-1972a:169f.: [etwas Böses]), Weitenberg 1984a:293: [etwas Böses]), Meriggi 1957b:57 and Meriggi 1957a:207 n. 40, followed by Stefanini 1969a:160) connects the word with tappā- ‘to spit’. This idea must, however, be rejected on account of the geminate spelling in the verb contrasting with tāpāru-. Likewise, the proposal by Mouton and Yakubovich to connect the word tentatively with tapar- ‘to rule’ and to translate it as ‘manipulation’ (Mouton & Yakubovich 2019a:212f. n. 6) or ‘judgment’ (Yakubovich & Mouton 2023a:231) fails to convince because of the lack of plene spellings in the latter. Alternatively, one may entertain the idea that the lexeme represents a derivative of tāpa/i-. If the latter indeed means ‘bad, shoddy, of minor value’ (see under Stem), in view of the assumed Hittite cognate tēpu- ‘little, few’ and tepnu- ‘to diminish, to despise’, this could lead to a tentative translation ‘insult, (verbal) humiliation’ vel sim. for tāpāru-.

[E.R.]

Modifying Weitenberg’s (Weitenberg 1984a:220) comparison with the stem formation of šuwāru- ‘full’, Melchert (DCL:s.v.) assumes a suffix -(a)ru- < *-ó-ru- attaching to the base tapa/i- (translated by him as ‘firm, solid’). While the identification of the base tāpa/i- is plausible, its meaning ‘bad, shoddy, of minor value’ assumed here leads to a different semantic interpretation (see under Meaning). For the derivational chain, an alternative should also be considered, viz. tāpa/i- ‘of minor value’ (adj.) → *tāpā- ‘minor value’ (non-mutated -a- abstract noun) → *tāpā-ra- (adj.) ‘featuring minor value, diminished’ → tāpār-u- ‘diminishing’ (-u- abstract noun, with replacement of the thematic vowel of the base, for which see Rieken 2012a).

[E.R.]

For the lemma head, see CLuw. tāpa/i-.