/saman-/, sà-ma-
‘compact (?), sealed document (?)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- subst
- ID
- 3802
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/saman-/, sà-ma-
‘compact (?), sealed document (?)’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is attested twice in inscriptions from Tabal, both dating to the mid- to late 8th century BCE.
[AH.B.]
1.1.2Forms
| nom./acc. sg. | /saman=za/ | sà-ma-za | KARABURUN, §5 (Tabal) KULULU 2, §2 (Tabal) |
Hawkins 2000a:479 tentatively connects the form 〈sà-ma-ia〉 from BOHÇA, §5, i.e. probably /sam(m)aya/, to the present lexeme, but this is unlikely because of the context as well as the morphology; the expected form for a nom./acc. pl. of /saman-/ would be */samana/, not /sam(m)aya/.
[AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation of the present lexeme is somewhat tentative, because the spelling also permits a reading as /sman-/. Hawkins 1980c:221 and Starke 1990a:294 connect the word to /sas(a)-/ ‘seal’ and Hittite šāi-/šiya-(ḫi) ‘to seal’, which is probable, but not fully provable on the basis of the available data. In fact, the spelling of /saman-/ involves the use of 〈sà〉 (sign *104) in both attestations, whereas the putative cognate /sas(a)-/ ‘seal’ relies fully on 〈sa〉 (sign *415) and SIGILLUM / 〈sa5〉 (sign *327), i.e. the etymological link, if extant, is not realised on the graphemic level.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The translation given is assigned based on the tentative suggestion by Hawkins 1980c:221 and Starke 1990a:294, which mostly relies on the putative etymological link with the noun /sas(a)-/ ‘seal’ and the Hittite verb šāi-/šiya-(ḫi) ‘to seal’. Yet, the two attestations of the word are not fully understood in their respective contexts, and the contextual proof is therefore not beyond doubt. In KARABURUN, §5, /saman=za/ evidently fulfils the functions of a noun:Hawkins 1980c:221 had originally identified the word as attested in KULULU 2, §2 as an adjective modifying the following noun in this funerary inscription: wa/i-mu-u á-mi-zi-i INFANS-ni-zi-i za-ti-i sà-ma-za CAPERE-ma-za-a i-zi-ia-ta, approx. /wa=mu amminzi niwaranninzi zadi saman=za lalamman=za izziyanta/, translating as ‘For me my children made a sealed? contract here’. In light of the fact that /saman-/ must be a noun in its own right, the translation should be altered to ‘For me my children made a compact? (as) a contract here’ vel sim.wa/i-ra+a za-ti sà-ma-za i-zi-ia-ta, approx. /wa=ada zadi saman=za izziyanta/, ‘They made it (scil. the aforementioned fortress) as a compact? here’.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
The form is analysed as a stem in /-man-/ n. from a root that is cognate with the noun /sas(a)-/ ‘seal’ and the Hittite verb šāi-/šiya-(ḫi) ‘to seal’ (Starke 1990a:294). The suffix is typically used to derive action nouns from verbs, cf. also Melchert 2003b:197.
[AH.B.]