paš[- (or kir[-, piš[-, pùš[-)

This word is only fragmentary attested with gloss markers in a NS Hittite manuscript of the epic of Gilgameš.

[A.B.]

3sg. pret. ind. act.?

pa[š?-

KUB 8.50 rev. iii 23’

(CTH 341, NS)

The attestation follows Friedrich 1929a:24 and Rosenkranz 1950a:198 (not lemmatized in any dictionaries). The transliteration is based on the autograph and the photos of the Konkordanz, furthermore the transliterations of Friedrich 1929a:24 and Rieken et al. 2009b have been taken account of.

The form analyzed here as 3sg. pret. ind. act. is uncertain and assumed only on the basis of the context (the preceding verb) and on the comparison with the Akkadian version of this text passage (cf. under Meaning).

[A.B.]

The form breaks after the first sign of the word, which has the regular values kir, piš, or pùš. According to Rüster & Neu 1989a:216, a reading paš is possible, as well (the reading ḫa₆ only appears as part of the Sumerographic ^lúšu.ḫa₆).

With regard to the present attestation, Friedrich 1929a:24 remains undecided between piš and kir, Rosenkranz 1950a:198 simply lists the form as piš. The context supports the reading paš, cf. under Meaning.

[A.B.]

Although the form is damaged and only the first sign of the word remains, the context as well as the Akkadian version of this text can help to identify the meaning of this fragmentary word.

The context shows the following (the transliteration is based on the autograph and the photo of the Konkordanz, furthermore the transliterations, restorations and translations of Friedrich 1929a:24f.;including the corrections of Ehelolf in the appendix of the same paper Starke 1990a:313, CHD S1:202, Beckman 2001a:79 and Rieken et al. 2009b have been taken account of):

^(22’)nu-kán ˹wi₅˺-na-la^! ša 50 gi-pé-eš-na-aš ^(23’)kar-aš-ta na-at šap-pa-at-ta pa[š^?- …] ^(24’)na-at-kán ˹a˺-na ^gišmá ša-ra-a da-a-i[š …]

 ^{(22’–23’)}and (Gilgamesh) cropped poles of (measuring) 50 gipeššar; he trimmed them and pa/i[š- …] ^(24’)he too[k] them up to the boat […]

The passage refers to the preparation of poles (cf. under the lemma winal-) that Gilgamesh needs to cross the waters of death. While Friedrich left the form untranslated, other authors, who cited this passage, related the pair of Glossenkeilwörter šap-pa-at-ta pa[š^?- to the same process; Beckman 2001a:165 translated ‘stripped and [trimmed]’, Rieken et al. 2009b  ‘schälte (und) r[ieb]’. In the Akkadian version (cf. George 2003a:688f.), this passage says that the poles are trimmed (kapāru) and (similar to modern punting poles) furnished (šakanu) with a funnel-shaped end piece (tulû, cf. CAD T:467–469 – not ‘Handgriffe’ as suggested in HEG U–Z:439). The Hittite version shows the same content with regard to the treatment of the poles, which are trimmed (of branches), cf. under the lemma šappa- or šippa-. The part that follows must contain the furnishing of the poles with the end pieces. Hence, this second Glossenkeilwort is probably (like in the Akkadian version) another verb that describes the process of sticking the poles into the end pieces.

A Glossenkeilwort that would perfectly fit in this context and appears in another Hittite mythological text from Hurrian transmission, is the verb pašk(iya)- ‘to stick in, fasten, plant’ (see pa-aš-ke-[ez-zi] at KUB 8.67, 19’). If this is indeed the lexeme behind the fragmentary form, the ambiguous CVC-sign (cf. under Graphic features) would have to be read as paš (cf. under Origin). Less likely semantically is a link to pašku(wa)-.

[A.B.]

If the form belongs to the verb pašk(iya)-, as suggested under Meaning, it is a Hittite verb due to the -ške-suffix that does not exist in Luwian (cf. under the respective lemma for the details on the Hittite verb and discussion of a possible connection to the Hurrian verb w/paš- ‘to enter’).

The present form is fragmentary and cannot be determined further with certainty, but it is probably a form of the Hittite verb pašk(iya)-.

[A.B.]