awλa-

This lexeme is found in a funerary inscription datable to the 15^th year of the reign of Artaxerxes I., II. or III. (Buckler 1924a:4).

[D.S.]

dat. pl.

awλãν

LW 2.8 (Sardis)

Two more attestations, i.e. dat. sg. awλολ and dat. pl. awλãν, are found in a newly published inscription from Denizli by Rojas & Akıncı Öztürk 2022a.

[D.S.]

This lexeme has long been translated as ‘object, part of a grave (?)’ (Gusmani 1964a:71, Dusinberre 2003a:229, Gérard 2005a:127, Probert 2018a:375), especially because of the modifying adjective aλẽν ‘other’. Hajnal 2004a:199 offers no translation. Despite the doubts expressed by Gusmani 1975b:18, awλa- is surely related to awlad(i)-. It is possible that both nouns have the stem *awla(/i)- as derivational bases and that a suffixal glide hides behind the palatalization of awλa- (< *awla- + *-i̯ā-). From a comparative perspective with Greek, it seems difficult to keep this word separate from αὐλή ‘open court before the house, courtyard (with colonnades)’, which may have been borrowed from Lydian, considering the influence Lydia had on its western neighbor especially during the Mermnad dynasty.Contra EDG:169, the etymology with the root *h₂eu̯s- ‘to spend the night’ would have to be given up for phonological reasons. An etymological connection with Hittite (and Luwian) auli- ‘(tube-shaped organ)’ is highly probable, except that one would have to justify how the meaning ‘tube-shaped’ could have to come to apply to this ancient type of courtyard. If it had colonnades in the manner of a peristyle, the word awλa- or rather its derivational base may have first applied to the “tube-shaped columns” surrounding the courtyard, like a peristyle or just to the rounded shape of the courtyard (as a peristyle).

Therefore, aλẽν awλãν is more likely to mean ‘to other parts of the courtyard (before the funerary house)’; cf. Lyd. awlad(i)-, Lyd. mλwẽndaν.

[D.S.]

The Lydian noun features an oxytone stem in -a- with -ã- before nasal, i.e. from *-ā- < *-eh₂-.

[D.S.]

For the lemma head, see CLuw. aul(i)-.