lappi-^(ti)

The root of the Hittite verb lāpp-^(mi) ‘to glow’, a root verb of the mi-conjugation (pace Oettinger 1979a:443; see EDHIL:520), its causative lap(pa)nu-^(mi), and CLuw. lappi-^(ti), a deradical formation in *-i̯é/ó-, has been connected with the one of Greek λάμπω ‘to shine’ (see Oettinger 1979a:443, EDHIL:520 with further literature), which prompted the scholars to reconstruct the root as *leh₂p- (cf. laḫpa-). This is formally possible but not cogent, since the root could also be reconstructed with a-vocalism, i.e. *lap-.

An action noun in *-eh₂- that is derived from the verbal formation in *-i̯é/ó- can be posited for Luwian lappiya- c. (see under Derivative) and for Hitt. lappiya-, unless it was borrowed from Luwian.

[D.S.]

Based on the material listed in the table above, the meaning of the root *leh₂p- or *lap- can be reconstructed as ‘to glow, shine (as from heat or combustion); to burn (intr.)’ (cf. IEW:652 “leuchten, brennen”; LIV²:402 “aufleuchten”).

Concerning the shape of the root, Anatolian, Greek, and Celtic are compatible with either *leh₂p- or *lap-, while the Baltic evidence clearly points to *leh₂p-. For Greek, the development of *l̥h₂C- > *laC- (cf. λανθάνω, λήθω, aor. λαθεῖν, λελαθεῖν, perf. λέληθα ‘escape notice’ from *leh₂d^h-) renders λάμπω compatible with *leh₂p-, irrespective of whether this reflects regular sound change (as per Beekes 1988c:27f.) or analogical restructuring (as per LIV²:402 s.v. ?*leh₂d^h- note 1).Under the latter view the *lăC- allomorphs are secondary zero grades based on the full grade *lāC- < *leh₂C- in analogy to roots with a shape *TeHC- (T = any plosive) such as *teh₂k- : *th₂k- ‘melt’ > prs. τήκομαι, aor. ἐτάκην.

The Celtic evidence is most readily compatible with a root *lap-, with o-grade *lop-. The allomorphs *lap- (e.g., *lapsar-o-/-eh₂- > Middle Welsh llachar, Old Irish lassar) and *lop- (e.g., *lopsk̑-ei̯e/o- > Old Irish loiscid, Welsh llosgaf, llosgi) may, however, reflect *leh₂p- and *loh₂p- under Dybo-shortening (i.e., in an unstressed syllable), though this sound law is not universally accepted. Alternatively, *lap- may represent the regular Celtic outcome of *l̥h₂p- (as per Schumacher 2004a:136), with *lop- as a neo-o-grade.

The Baltic evidence, by contrast, clearly favors *leh₂p-. The full grade is reflected in Lithuanian lópė f. ‘torch; splint’, Latvian lãpa f. ‘torch’, and Old Prussian lopis ‘flame’. If the root were *lap-, these forms would have to continue a neo-lengthened grade *lāp-, yet their acute intonation would remain unexplained, since inner-Baltic neo-lengthened grades normally inherit the accentuation of their base (cf. Lithuanian lãbas → lõbis ‘treasure, wealth’, máuti ‘to pull on, put on’ → móviau ‘I pulled on’; cf. Smoczyński 2018a:XLVIII); PIE *lap- would have resulted in a circumflexed *lãp-.

Latvian lipt, lìpu, lipu ‘light up, glow’ and Old Lithuanian pa-lipai ‘splint’ reflect a zero grade *l̥h₂p- > *ìlp-, subsequently reshaped to *lip- under the influence of the full grade. From this neo-zero grade, a new full grade *liep- is attested in Lithuanian liepsnà f. ‘flame, blaze’, following a well-known pattern (cf. Smoczyński 2018a:XLVIf.).

Taken together, the evidence favors a reconstruction *leh₂p- for the root.

[S.H.]

Hittite verb lāpp-^(mi) ‘to glow’, Cuneiform Luwian lappi-^(ti) ‘to glow (?)’, Hittite lappiya- c. ‘glow, fever’, Cuneiform Luwian lappiya- ‘fever (?)’.See EDHIL:519f. s.v. lāpp-^zi / lapp-.

Ancient Greek λάμπω (Il.+), aor. λάμψαι, fut. λάμψω (Att.-Ion.), perf. 3rd sg. λέλαμπε (with present meaning), aor. pass. λαμφθῆναι (J.), ‘to shine, gleam’, in the active also ‘to make shine’, λαμπρός ‘bright, radiant’ (Il.+), (?) λοφνίς, -ίδος f. ‘torch made of vine bark’ (Lyc., AP) < *lop-sni-(d-).Cf., e.g., GEW II:79f. s.v. λάμπω, GEW II:139 s.v. λοφνίς, EDG:829f. s.v. λάμπω, EDG:873 s.v. λοφνίς.

*lop-sk̑o- > Middle Welsh llosc, Modern Welsh llosg ‘burning, hot’, subst. ‘burn(ing), fire’, Old Cornish losc (gl. arsura vel ustulatio ‘burning or scorching’), Breton losk ‘burning’, subst. ‘burn(ing)’, *lopsk̑-ei̯e/o- > Old Irish loiscid ‘burns, consumes by fire, lays waste by fire’, Welsh llosgaf, llosgi ‘to burn (itr.)’, etc., *lapsā-i̯e/o- > Old Irish lassaid ‘takes fire, lights up, shines’, *lapsar-o-/-eh₂- > Middle Welsh llachar ‘(extremely) bright, brilliant, refulgent’, Old Irish lassar f. ‘flame, fire’.Cf., e.g., IEW:652f., Klingenschmitt 1982a:194 note 40, Schulze-Thulin 2001a:151.

Lithuanian lópė f. ‘torch; splint’, Latvian lãpa f. ‘torch’, Old Prussian lopis ‘flame’; Latvian lipt, lìpu, lipu ‘light up’, intr. ‘glow, shine’, Old Lithuanian (hapax) pa-lipai ‘splint’; liepsnà f. ‘flame, blaze’.Cf., e.g.,ALEW 2.0:692 s.v. lópė, Smoczyński 2018a:723f. s.v. lópė.