/hilan-/, PORTA-la-na-
‘gate, palace’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- subst, n.
- ID
- 3683
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/hilan-/, PORTA-la-na-
‘gate, palace’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is attested 16 times in the HLuw. corpus, and the relevant inscriptions can be found in the centre, the south and the south-east of the HLuw. area. Datings range between the 12th and the early 7th centuries BCE.
[AH.B.]
1.1.2Forms
| nom./acc. sg. | /hilan=za/ | “PORTA” | KARATEPE 4, §1 (Cilicia) |
| dat./loc. sg. | /hilani/ | hi+ra/i-ni | KULULU lead fragment 3, l. 2 (Tabal) |
| KULULU lead fragment 3, l. 3 (Tabal) | |||
| abl./instr. sg. | /hilanadi/ | PORTA-la-na-ri+i | KARATEPE 1 Hu., §63 (Cilicia) |
| “PORTA”-na-<ri+i> | KARATEPE 1 Ho., §63 (Cilicia) | ||
| nom./acc. pl. | /hilana/ | “PORTA”-la-na | KARATEPE 1 Hu., §66 (Cilicia) |
| KARATEPE 1 Hu., §69 (Cilicia) | |||
| KARATEPE 1 Hu., §72b (Cilicia) | |||
| KARATEPE 1 Ho., §72b (Cilicia) | |||
| “PORTA”-la/i/u-na | KARKAMIŠ A11a, §13 (Karkamiš) | ||
| “PORTA”-na | KARKAMIŠ A11a, §16 (Karkamiš) | ||
| PORTA | MARAŞ 8, §11 (Maraş) | ||
| PO[RTA]-la/i/u-n[a ...] | KARKAMIŠ A14b, §2 (Karkamiš) | ||
| dat./loc. pl. | /hilananz/ | PORTA-na-za | KARKAMIŠ A11a, §20 (Karkamiš) |
| PORTA?-zi/a | KARAHÖYÜK (ELBİSTAN), §21 (Malatya) | ||
| poss. adj. acc. pl. c. | /hilanissinzi/ | “PORTA”-la/i/u-ni-si-i-zi | KARKAMIŠ A11b+c, §34 (Karkamiš) |
KULULU lead frag. 3, l. 1 features another possible attestation of this word or a derived form: hi+ra/i-na-ia?. However, the lead strip is partially destroyed in this spot, and in addition to that the reading itself is not assured, because the signs appear in unclear positioning and may therefore require a different reading order. Hawkins 2000a:511 reads 〈CUM-ni [x?]na hi+ra/i ia ?〉, without attempting a translation.
[AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The attestations of this lexeme offer a variety of spellings that grant valuable insight into its phonological form. They are tied together by the sign PORTA (*237), which is exclusive to the present lexeme and frequently amended by syllabic signs, with the only fully syllabic spelling found in the KULULU lead fragment. A connection with Hittite Éḫilammar ‘gate-house, gate building, portal’ and the reading /hilan-/ had already been proposed by Bossert 1933a:127 and followed by Meriggi 1962b:212f., yet it did not find general acceptance at first, cf. the literature review in Singer 1975a:70, 97f., but Bossert’s proposal is, concerning the derivational base, generally accepted today, cf. Rieken 1999a:372 and Melchert 2003b:196. Several of the attested forms show rhotacism of intervocalic /l/ and /d/ (see Rieken & Yakubovich 2010a:216f.), both in the stem as well as in the ending.
The sign PORTA (*237) itself proved a challenge for scholars to identify in all its occurrences because of its quite disparate renditions even within the same text. Initially considered distinct signs, the sign forms *237 and *238 were eventually unified under *237, with only *239 kept separate as PORTA2, cf. the collection of the different sign forms in Singer 1975a:98 and the logogram listings in Marazzi 1990b:178-180 and Payne 2010a:178.
The possessive adjective in KARKAMIŠ A11b+c, §34 is attested as 〈“PORTA”-la/i/u-ni-si-i-zi〉, i.e. spelt with the sign 〈ni〉; this is unexpected, because the predicted form would be */hilanassa/i-/, a combination of /hilan-/ and the well-known suffix /-assa/i-/. Yet 〈ni〉 is clearly legible on the stone as well as on the photograph and not easily confused with 〈na〉, rendering an accidental spelling mistake unlikely. It is not clear at this point why the attested form shows /i/ instead of /a/, as the initial vowel of the suffix only changes to /i/ when attached to i-stems or common gender i-mutated stems.Cf. e.g. /massan(i)-/ ‘god’ and /massanissa/i-/ ‘divine, of the god(s)’ as attested in KARKAMIŠ A1a, §25: 〈DEUS-ní-si-i-na〉.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The basic meaning ‘portal’ was first suggested by Bossert 1933a:127 on the basis of the KARKAMIŠ A11a inscription, and it soon received further textual support. With several occurrences in the KARATEPE bilingual, /hilan-/ was quickly identified as corresponding to Phoenician šʽr ‘gate’, see also the detailed semantic assessment in Singer 1975a:98-103. There Singer (later followed by Marazzi 1990b:179f.) shows that the exact meaning is difficult to tie down, as it cannot be the exact same in all contexts, denoting ‘gate, portal’ in some cases, ‘palace’ in others.
Regarding the architectural reality of what /hilan-/ can denote, see Aro 2003a:302-304.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
Derived from a base such as */hila-/, which is unattested in HLuw. but present in Hittite ḫīla- ‘court’, the lexeme is a neuter noun in /-an-/, cf. partially Melchert 2003b:195-197.
[AH.B.]
2. Reconstruction
2.1Reconstruction
As per Rieken 1999a:248f., Hitt. ḫīla- (HW 2nd ed. Ḫ:581-585) must go back to a lengthened e-grade, i.e. *h2ēl-, which prevented the colouring of the vowel next to the laryngeal. The etymological connection with the root of Hitt. ḫāli- is beyond doubt (contra EDHIL:343). However, the connection with Lyc. qla- is outdated (pace Rieken ibid., see under lemma). Rieken assumes a vṛddhi-formation to account for the lengthened grade as well as an eh2-stem based on the Lycian cognate, which is no longer cogent. A thematic formation in *-o- is equally possible. HLuw. /hilan-/ n. has a neuter n-stem built on the stem lengthened e-grade of the root.
[D.S.]
For the lemma head see [X] HLuw. */hal-/.