/wiyani-(ti)/, wa/i-ia-ni-
‘to send (?)’
- Language
- Hieroglyphic Luwian
- Grammar
- verb
- ID
- 3825
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/wiyani-(ti)/, wa/i-ia-ni-
‘to send (?)’1.1.1Transmission
Attested only once, this hapax legomenon occurs in one of the letters excavated at Assur but likely originating elsewhere. The text is dated to the late 8th century BCE.
[AH.B.]
1.1.2Forms
| 3pl.(?) impv. act. | /wiyanintu/ | wa/i-ia-ni-tu | ASSUR letter e, §20 |
1.1.3Graphic Features
1.1.3.1Phonological Interpretation
The phonological interpretation for the present verb is somewhat tentative concerning the shape of the stem, and another possible reading for the attested form is /wayani-/. If, however, the connection with the element /wiya-/ as found in personal names should hold true, then the suggested shape /wiyani-/ is to be given preference and further supported by the Hittite cognate wiye/a-(mi) ‘to send’ (see Yakubovich 2013a:94-98 and Yakubovich 2016a:71f.). As the HLuw. writing system does not permit to distinguish reliably between a 3sg. and 3pl. impv. act., the attested form may represent either, although the latter is more likely in the context of the letters.
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The meaning assigned to the present verb is suggested on the basis of its likely etymological connection with Hittite wiye/a-(mi) ‘to send’. It is quite possible that HLuw. /wiyani-/ should be understood to have a more specific meaning, but this cannot be gleaned from the data currently available. The verb is attested only once in the HLuw. corpus, and the context of ASSUR letter e, §§18-20 has remained rather ill-understood to this day: (*179.*347.5)wa/i-sà-pa-ha-wa/i-mu FEMINA-ti-na-i VIA-wa/i-ni-i zi-pa-wa/i-na (“*69”)sa-na-tu *a-wa/i-na *187 wa/i-ia-ni-tu, approx. /waspan=ha=wa=mu wanattin harwanni zin=ba=wa=an sanantu a=wa=an hartuwiya wiyanintu/, which may mean ‘Send me a woman’s dress, (so) they shall remove it/her? with this and shall send? it/her? to relatives’. Incidentally, the cited passage offers an example of the verb definitely denoting ‘to send’ common in HLuw. in Iron Age times, viz. /harwanni-(ti)/ spelt 〈VIA-wa/i-ni-〉, see Yakubovich 2013a:96, 107f. It may be considered if /wiyani-/ denotes a more specific type of sending, e.g. ‘to pass on, forward’ vel sim., but this remains speculative until supported by further evidence.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
The present verb is likely derived from the element /wiya-/, which occurs in personal names in Luwian from the 2nd millennium, and ultimately represents a verb itself with a cognate in Hittite wiye/a-(mi) ‘to send’, see Yakubovich 2013a:94-98 and Yakubovich 2016a:71f. However, neither variety of Luwian has a verb of this form any longer (except perhaps in /sarrawiya-(i)/ in case it denotes ‘to send over (?)’), instead a further derivation has taken place. Thus, it is quite possible that the present verb should be counted among the verbs in /-ani-(ti)/, of which the HLuw. lexicon contains a small number, cf. see Sasseville 2021a:148-151.
[AH.B.]