*C(u̯)énsu-/C(u̯)n̥su-´
‘heavy’
- Language
- Proto-Anatolian
- Class
- Derivative
- Grammar
- adj
- ID
- 4110
1. Individual Anatolian Languages
1.1 Hieroglyphic Luwian
/kwanzu-/, GRAVIS-zú-
‘heavy, important’1.1.1Transmission
This lexeme is attested twice in inscriptions from Karkamiš, the Amuq, and in the letters found in Assur, dating from the mid-9th to the late 8th century BCE.
[A.P.]
1.1.2Forms
| acc. sg. c. | /kwanzun/ | GRAVIS-zú | TELL TAYINAT 1, frag. 3-5, l.5 (Amuq) |
| nom. pl. c. | /kwanzuwinzi/ | GRAVIS-wa/i-zi | KARKAMIŠ A31+, §8 (Karkamiš) |
| unclear | /kwanzu[...]/ | (“GRAVIS”)˹kwa/i-zú˺[-?…] | ASSUR letter f+g, §15 (Assur) |
The attestation in TELL TAYINAT 1, frag. 3-5, l.5 is followed by the particle /=ha/ ‘and’, and the preceding /n/ of the case ending is therefore expected to be omitted in writing, cf. Melchert 2003b:182.
It cannot be said with certainty whether or not the attestation in ASSUR letter f+g, §15 actually belongs to the present lexeme, because in the clause it appears to occur in the position of the verb, following immediately after the phrase /ni manuhha/ ‘in no way’, cf. Hawkins 2000a:550. However, the passage breaks off at that point, and in the absence of further evidence, the form is included in the above table for the moment on economic grounds; future finds may necessitate a reappraisal.
[A.P.] [AH.B.]
1.1.3Graphic Features
The phonological interpretation of this lexeme is relatively certain, because the word belongs to a family with several other members in HLuw. and CLuw., and it is a direct cognate of CLuw. kuwanzu- ‘heavy’. In HLuw., the logogram GRAVIS (sign *356) is limited to this lexeme, and it was identified quite late due to its scarcity and relative pictographic obscurity. The value GRAVIS has been assigned to sign *356 based on the observation of Melchert (pers. comm.) of the use in KARKAMIŠ A 31+ (see the discussion of the meaning below), comparing CLuw. kuwanzuinzi DINGIRMEŠ-[zi] ‘the important gods’ and kuwanzu GUN-an ‘heavy burden’ with the uses of Hittite nakkī- ‘heavy, important’. As is typical for HLuw., the pre-consonantal /n/ is dropped on the graphemic level, resulting in the spelling 〈kwa/i-zú〉 for the sequence /kwanzu-/ (see also Forms above; cf. Melchert 2003a:182).
[AH.B.]
1.1.4Meaning
The semantic interpretation of this lexeme is certain insofar as the CLuw. evidence (also in Hittite contexts) can be relied upon (Weitenberg 1984a:292). For HLuw., the only usable context is found in KARKAMIŠ A31+, §8 and runs: wa/i-tú REX-zi GRAVIS-wa/i-zi-ha DOMINUS-zi “ADORARE”-su-na a-ta-na PES2.PES2-ti, approx. /wa=du hantawattinzi kwanzuwinzi=ha nanninzi …-suna antan …-danti/, which probably translates as ‘Kings and “heavy” (i.e. important) masters go to worship her (scil. the goddess Kubaba)’ (cf. Hawkins 2000a:142). The other attestations appear in contexts too broken to contribute to its understanding.
Outdated are earlier interpretations linking /kwanzu-/ to the words for ‘copper’ and ‘lead’, cf. the comments in Weitenberg 1984a:474 n. 765.
[AH.B.]
1.1.5Stem
This adjective is a u-stem, as becomes apparent from the attested inflection. The nom. pl. c. proves that the endings show i-mutation, i.e. /-inzi/, even though the u-stem is kept intact (cf. Weitenberg 1984a:392f.). The supposed derivative HLuw. */kwanzuni-(ti)/ is not attested; see instead CLuw. kuwanzuni-(ti) and cf. HLuw. /zunni-(ti)/ ‘to put right’.
[AH.B.]
1.2 Cuneiform Luwian
kuwanzu-
‘heavy, important’1.2.1Transmission
The attestations of the lexeme come from the Ištanuwa festival and from fragments belonging to the Kuwattalla tradition (from MS onwards).
[E.R.]
1.2.2Forms
| nom. sg. c. | [ku-wa-a]n-zu-uš | KBo 9.143 ii! 9’ | (CTH 762, MS) |
| nom./acc. sg. n. | ku-wa-an-zu | KUB 35.48 iii 12’ | (CTH 760, MS) |
| [ku-w]a-a[n]-zu | KUB 35.58 ii 9’ | (CTH 760, MS) | |
| nom. pl. c. | ku-wa-an-zu-in-zi | KUB 35.132 ii 4’ | (CTH 771, NS) |
| nom./acc. pl. n. | ku-wa-an-z[u-wa] | KBo 29.6 obv. 27 | (CTH 763, NS) |
| unknown | ku-wa-a[n-zu? | KBo 9.141 i 7 | (CTH 762, NS) |
The restoration of ku-wa-an-z[u-wa] at KBo 29.6 obv. 27 follows Starke 1990a:547. – On the expansion of the nom. pl. c. in -inzi to the u-stems, see recently Norbruis 2021a:34f.
[E.R.]
1.2.3Graphic Features
Checked against the photographs in the Mainzer Fotoarchiv.
[E.R.]
1.2.4Meaning
It was Starke 1990a:547 n. 2027 who elucidated the semantics of the adjective kuwanzu-, matching kuwanzu gun-an (KUB 35.48 iii 12’) with Hitt. daššu gun-an ‘heavy burden’ (KBo 1.42 iii 26) and kuwanzinzi dingirMEŠ-[zi] (KUB 35.132 ii 4’) with Hitt. dingirMEŠ-iš daššawēš ‘important gods’. The proposal was accepted in CLL:115, HHw:88, Melchert 2005a:452 (implicit), and Yakubovich 2017d.Outdated attempts in Meriggi 1957a:223 “of copper” and Meriggi 1980a:303 “leaden”; no meaning is offered in DLL:59.
[E.R.]
1.2.5Stem
CLuw. kuwanzu- has the full appearance of a primary u-stem adjective.
[E.R.]
1.2.6Compounds
1.2.6.16.1 Rejected Compounds
Contra Starke 1990a:547f. n. 2027, the personal name fMana-DUGUD-iš cannot contain kuwanzu- as its second member, since we do not expect i-mutation in u-stems outside the nom. pl. c.
[E.R.]
1.2.7Derivatives
1.3 Lydian
taso-
‘heavy, important (?)’1.3.1Transmission
The form hiding behind taso=k in the table below could be verbal (see under Derivative) or represent an adjective taso- from which the verb would have been derived (for the derivational relationship, see Sasseville 2021a:182).
[D.S.]
1.3.2Forms
| nom. sg. c. (?) | taso(s?) | LW 14.2 (Sardis) |
Although this attestation was generally taken as a verbal form of taso-(d) ‘to impose (vel sim.)’ (see under Derivative), it was rightly pointed out that taso=k is not coordinated with another verb. Moreover, the sentence already knows the predicate factot. Therefore, Sasseville 2021a:185, 311 take it as an attribute of one of the subjects, translating it with ‘weighty (?)’ on etymological grounds with Hitt. daššu- ‘heavy’ (on page 181). Nonetheless, the poor understanding of the context demands caution.
[D.S.]
1.3.3Stem
According to Sasseville 2021a:181f., taso- would be an adjectival o-stem (going back to PIE u-stems).
[D.S.]
1.3.4Derivatives
I. taso-(d)
1.4 Hittite
daššu-
‘heavy, powerful’1.4.1Literature / Comments
Lit.: HEG T, D:259-266
2. Reconstruction
2.1Reconstruction ‘heavy’
Hittite daššu- ‘heavy’ has been traditionally connected with Gk. δασύς and Lat. densus (see HEG T, D:262f.) and reconstructed accordingly, which has always been highly attractive especially due to the u-stem common to all three cognates. However, if CLuw. kwanzu- ‘heavy’ belongs here (suggested by Yakubovich pers. comm.), which could be supported by the morphology and the semantics, we are facing a problem with the original reconstruction. The comparison between Luwian kw- and Hittite d- implies a pre-form *du̯-, i.e. *du̯ensu-. Moreover, the sequence -nz- in CLuw. vis-à-vis -šš- in Hittite implies both an original sequence *-ns- (not *-ms-; cf. CLuw. ḫamš(i)-) and a proterokinetic paradigm, i.e. PAnat. *du̯énsu-/du̯n̥su-´. Whereas Hittite generalized the strong stem, i.e. *du̯énsu- > daššu- (Melchert 1994a:135, Kimball 1999a:329), Luwian leveled out the paradigm in favor of the weak stem, i.e. du̯n̥su-´ > kwanzu-. The etymological connection of Lydian taso- with Hittite daššu- and CLuw. kwanzu- would not change anything, but would simply indicate that Lydian had the same development as Hittite: The cluster *du̯- became t- (which is a late development anyway; cf. the different outcome of this cluster in the dialects of Lyc. A and B) and the strong grade was generalized. On the other hand, if the Indo-European reconstruction was indeed *dens-u-, it is not impossible that the -w- in Luwian was secondarily inserted due to a phenomenon of distance dissimilation, which seems to be common in Luwian; see CLuw. tappaš-, palpati- and tappān(i)-.
In any case, from an Anatolian perspective, the newly suggested reconstruction would be in order, although a new Indo-European perspective might suggest that we are dealing with two different roots for Luwian kwanzu- and Hitt. daššu-; see below.
[D.S.]
3. Proto-Indo-European
3.1Semantic Reconstruction
The correspondence between Luwian kuwanzu- ‘heavy, important’ and Tocharian B kwants* ‘firm’, proposed here for the first time, points to an adjectival meaning of the root *ku̯en- or *ku̯ens- (see below). A plausible common denominator between ‘heavy’ and ‘firm’ would be ‘solid’; however, in the absence of cognates from other branches, this remains tentative.
A connection with *k̑u̯en- ‘whole, holy’, reflected in Avestan spәṇta- ‘bounteous’, Lithuanian šveñtas, and Old Church Slavonic svętŭ ‘holy’, as proposed for Tocharian B kwants* by Adams 1999a s.v. kwants and Imberciadori 2025a:679–683, is no longer tenable, since the Luwian evidence excludes a palatal *k̑-. The Tocharian forms, for their part, point to *ku̯- or *g(h)u̯- (rather than a labiovelar), as argued by Imberciadori 2025a:681.
Despite formal and semantic similarities, Hittite daššu- ‘strong, powerful; heavy; well-fed; difficult; important’ does not belong here (via *du̯énsu-/du̯n̥su- vel sim.), but rather with Latin dēnsus ‘dense’ and Greek δασύς ‘hairy; thick with leaves’ (see Höfler 2015a:228f. note 26).
3.2Morphological Reconstruction
Both Luwian kuwanzu- ‘heavy, important’ and Tocharian B kwants* ‘firm’ can be traced back to a u-stem adjective *ku̯n̥s-u- (or *g(h)u̯n̥s-u-), yielding a perfect formal matchFor the development of *-n̥s- in Anatolian see Proto-Anatolian *h2óns-/h2n̥s-´. The Tocharian adjective could, in theory, also continue an i-stem *Ku̯n̥s-i-, see Imberciadori 2025a:681.. This adjective may either represent a primary u-adjective based on a root *ku̯ens- (or *g(h)u̯ens-) ‘solid (vel sim.)’, or a secondary formation with a more complex derivational prehistory, based on an s-stem *ku̯én-os (namely *ku̯én-os → *ku̯n̥-s-ó- → *ku̯ónsu- → *ku̯n̥s-ú-, along the lines discussed by Höfler 2015a:228f. note 26; or mutatis mutandis with *g(h)u̯én-os, etc.). Another formal possibility would be *ku̯n̥ti̯u- (or *g(h)u̯n̥ti̯-u-). But as long as no other cognates are found, the exact formal analysis must remain open.
[S.H.]
4. Transmission
Cuneiform Luwian kuwanzu- ‘heavy, important’, kuwanzuni-(ti) ‘to be heavy with (?)’, Hieroglyphic Luwian /kwanzu-/ ‘heavy, important’, Luwian in Hittite transmission kuwanzun(i)- ‘heaviness (?)’.
Tocharian B kwants* ‘firm’ (voc. sg. kwaṃs), kwäntsa‐pälsko ‘having firm thoughts’, kwäntsaññe a. ‘firmness’, kwäntsaññeṣ(ṣ)e ‘related to firmness’.Cf., e.g., Adams 1999a s.v. kwants, Imberciadori 2025a:679–683.