h₂ol-éh₂-i̯e/o-

This lexeme is attested in the inscription of 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.). It is also attested in dedicatory inscription from Arbinas (N 324), datable to the beginning of the 4^th c. BCE.

[D.S.]

3sg. pres. act.	xladi	N 324.28 (Xanthos)
3sg. pret. act.	xalle	TL 44a.11 (Xanthos)
	xal[le?]	TL 44a.6 (Xanthos)
inf.	xlaina	TL 44a.50 (Xanthos)
unknown	xla[	TL 44c.16 (Xanthos)

The word erixalle is interpreted as preverb eri and verbal form xalle (Eichner 2007a:107 n. 20). The double -ll- implies a recent assimilation with a -d-, i.e. *-ld- or *-dl- > -ll- (cf. Lyc. B *kille-). Therefore, the pre-form may be reconstructed as *xalde, which would give us a metathesized form of the expected 3sg. pret. *xlade.

[D.S.]

Christiansen 2020a:254f. reads hri x̣^?lạḍị at TL 134.3, which would yield an additional attestation. However, since the first letter could be something different (cf. hla(i)-^(di)), the attribution of the word to the current lexeme is highly dubious.

There is also another attestation at line 14 that surely belongs to the same root, although the debated reading makes it impossible to attribute it to any lexeme; cf. Friedrich 1932a:60 “xlate”, Neumann 2007a:124 (and DLL:83) “xlaste”, Tekoğlu 2006a “xlame” (cf. Serangeli 2015b:167 n. 6).

[D.S.]

The infinitive xlaina appears in a military context (Schürr 1998a:152, Neumann 2007a:124) with the preverb ñtepi and the object ul[e]. Meriggi 1936b:275, 279 suggests the meaning ‘to kill’, which is not supported in any way. Schürr 2004b:184 n. 6 posits an etymological connection with Hitt. ḫulle/a-^(mi) ‘to defeat’, which is not adequate either for the semantics of the root xal-/xla-. Taking into account the broader word family, Melchert (DLL:83) prefers the semantics of ‘to take control of, dominate’ based on the compound asaxlaza- ‘governor’ (followed by Gehrisch 2018a:62; cf. Serangeli 2015b:166, 172 ‘(+ ñtepi) to incorporate’). Sasseville 2021c:165 provides an in-depth analysis of the context of TL 44a.41-55 and argues that the complement 12^? ul[e] ñtepi means ‘over twelve ships’, translating xlaina with Germ. ‘die Oberhand haben’ (i.e. to have the upper hand) and thus bringing further confirmation to Melchert’s suggested semantics.

The contexts of the other attestations are too fragmentary to be of any help narrowing the semantics down.

[D.S.]

The Lycian verb xla(i)-^(di) is a denominative verb in -a(i)-^(di) derived from a non-attested base *xla- c. (or *xala- c.) (Sasseville 2021a:103f.).

[D.S.]

HW 2nd ed. Ḫ:16f.