Śdit

Hapax personal name in a Greek-Sidetic bilingual votive inscription from Şıhlar (Lyrbe or Seleukeia) from the end of the 4^th / beginning of the 3^rd c. BCE (Brixhe & Neumann 1988a:36).

[Zs.S.]

gen. sg.

Śditś

S6

Attestation following Pérez Orozco 2008a:128 checked against the photos of Darga 1983a:Lev. I.1 and Brixhe & Neumann 1988a:Tab. Ia. Based on its equivalent Σιδιδος in the Greek version, the first -i- was either syncopated or represents the error of the stone cutter (Brixhe & Neumann 1988a:41). Due to our complete lack of knowledge about syncope in Sidetic, this question must remain open (cf. Nikolaev 2017a:221 with n. 12).

[Zs.S.]

Setting aside Faucounau 1990a:167, 171 (who connects this name with Greek Seleukos in a phonologically irregular way based on his idiosyncratic reading S’δiks / “*Σίλδικης” of the Sidetic word [rejected also by Nollé 2001a:640]) and Woudhuizen 1988-1989a:89f. (who suggests interpreting Σιδιδος as ‘of Side’ – while this would fit from a Greek point of view, it is refuted by the Sidetic version, which is clearly not a derivative of the city name attested as *Sidua, see s.v. siduawn/ñi [he avoids this problem with an idiosyncratic reading of the Sidetic word with alleged Cypro-Minoan values], rejected also by Nollé 2001a:640), there are two groups of interpretations:

Early scholars saw a denasalised form in it and connected it either with the Cilician personal names Σινδης and Σινδιος (Darga 1983a:402) or with the Pisidian toponym Σινδα with a suffix -i(ya)nt-, i.e. *si(n)d-i(n)d- vel sim. (Brixhe & Neumann 1988a:37f., 42, although duly noting that the segment -id- may represent a Greek suffix too). Nevertheless, Darga’s suggestion does not explain the final consonant of the name and the proposal of Brixhe and Neumann is possible only if there was denasalisation in pre-Sidetic. However, there is currently no evidence for this change either pro or contra (for alleged cases of denasalisation see s.vv. maljad(a) and siduawn/ñi). More problematic is that they cannot explain the ↑ sign, the suggestion of Brixhe and Neumann, as a pleonastic spelling (i.e. tś instead of *t) for a dental affricate resulting from the dental stem and the sibilant ending is clearly ad hoc.

The other interpretation goes back to Carruba 1993d:268, who confidently (“certo”) derived this name from Luwian zida/i- ‘man’, and to Pérez Orozco 2008a:128, 133, who also confidently (“debe ser”) proposed the same derivation (without referring to Carruba) adding a -ti- suffix, where the resulting word would have regularly been adopted in Greek as *Σιδις, gen. Σιδιδος (see there for other names derived from this word, followed by HEG U-Z:767 and “plausible” according to Nikolaev 2017a:223 with n. 26 [with formal corrections to Pérez Orozco’s forms], noting, however, that the etymology of this name is “far from certain”, see also 224 on the adaptation in Greek). Schürr 2017a:4 n. 13 with refs. would allow this etymology, but according to him śdit “erinnert an” the Carian personal name Šdτat (E.Me 13) and “falls man eine Metathese annehmen dürfte” Old Phrygian Si↑idos. However, the connection with the Old Phrygian name is obviously impossible phonologically due to the ad hoc assumption of metathesis (cf. also Nikolaev 2017a:223 n. 23) and the Carian name may be derived from Zida/i- (see s.v.).

All in all, Pérez Orozco’s proposal represents a both formally and semantically fitting solution (on the origin of Sidetic t/↑ see now Nikolaev 2017a) and thus can be provisionally accepted, even if it is currently not possible to prove what was the original meaning of this personal name.

[Zs.S.]