/tarPari-^(ti)/, (“*218”)ta+ra/i-pa-ri+i-

This lexeme is attested twice in a single inscription from Hama, dating to the mid-9^th century BCE.

[A.P.]

3sg. pres. act.	/tarParitti/	(“*218”)ta+ra/i-pa-ri+i-ti	HAMA 4, §12 (Hama)
3sg. pret. act.	/tarParitta/	(“*218”)ta+ra/i-pa-ri+i-ta	HAMA 4, §10 (Hama)

The phonological interpretation of this verb is provisional, because it lacks cognates in the other Anatolian languages. The shape assigned here follows the general take since Meriggi 1934a:137, but other interpretations are possible, e.g. /tar(a)pari-/ or /tar(a)bari-/.

On the graphemic level, the semantically opaque logogram *218 is used as a determinative. The sign is also found with three other words, viz./hah(h)atta-/ ‘to annihilate’, /skandal(l)issa-/ ‘to furnish with applications’, and the third is a geographical name.

[AH.B.]

The meaning of this verb is not entirely clear, not least because it is attested only in a single inscription using the same construction. Hawkins 2000a:405f. assumes it to be transitive, taking /arad(i)-/ as the direct object and opting for a tentative translation as ‘to lack income’.This is cautiously followed by Sasseville 2021a:144, although he refrains from assigning any meaning. However, the reinterpretation of /arad(i)-/ as ‘(a kind of disaster)’ has made Hawkins´ suggestion unlikely. Instead, a contextually more appropriate meaning would be ‘to happen, befall’ with an indirect dative object (cf. Yakubovich 2017e). Thus, HAMA 4, §12 reads: EGO-pa-wa/i á-mi-za ara/i-za NEG₂ a-tá (“*218”)ta+ra/i-pa-ri+i-ti ara/i-tà, approx. /ammu=ba=wa amminz aranz na anta tarParitti arada/, meaning ‘In my times, disaster does not happen to me’ (cf. Hawkins 2000a:405).

Outdated are previous suggestions such as ‘to slaughter’ (Meriggi 1934a:137); in fact, Meriggi himself already left the meaning open in HHG:124.

[AH.B.]

While the verbal status of the word is clear, the analysis of its morphology remains somewhat provisional. Sasseville 2021a:144 classifies it as a stem in /-i-^(ti)/ and tentatively assumes an unattested abstract noun */tarpar-/ of unknown meaning as the derivational base, comparing the verb /adari-^(ti)/ ‘to eat’ and its base */adar-/ attested by way of further derivations such as /adrahid-/ ‘nourishment’. Further textual evidence may result in a reappraisal.

[AH.B.]