ḫuramma/i- (?)

Attested only in a Hittite land deed (in NS).

[Zs.S.]

Participle (?):

abl.

ḫu-ra-am-ma-ti

KUB 26.43 obv. 12

(CTH 225, NS)

The same word is attested with a Hittite ablative ending as ḫu-ra-[(am-ma-az)] in KUB 26.43 obv. 17 with duplicate KUB 26.50 obv. 7, see the attestations in HW (2nd ed.) Ḫ:751 (cf. also Laroche 1959a:48; HED H:397; CLL:76; Cotticelli Kurras 2012a:81), checked against the photo of the Konkordanz.

This form is generally assumed to be a participle (Laroche 1959a:48 [“peut-être”]; Imparati 1974a:50 [“forse”]; HED H:397; Taracha 2000a:102; Cotticelli Kurras 2012a:81 [although, confusingly, she reconstructs a verbal substantive ḫuramman- too, cf. below]; HW (2nd ed.) Ḫ:751; implicitly Ünal 2007a:235, Ünal 2016a:205), although CLL:76 and Tischler 2008a:61 identify it as a verbal substantive in -mman-. Without restored -mmn- -mman-stems can be distinguished from -mma/i-participles only with the help of semantics (they are action nouns, cf. Starke 1990a:247f.; Melchert 2003b:197), but this is not helpful here due to the lack of established meaning (see under Meaning). Since participles are more widespread than -mman-stems and this word might be rather an adjective than a substantive (see under Meaning), this word is provisionally treated here as a participle.

[Zs.S.]

Laroche 1959a:48 and Imparati 1974a:50, 174 booked it with unknown meaning (as did Tischler 2016a:106 now), and this was followed by some scholars, who, however, added that this word is derived from the verb ḫū(wa)rā(i)- (HW (2nd ed.) Ḫ:751; Ünal 2007a:235, Ünal 2016a:205, 959). Other scholars opted for a meaning ‘watered’ (HED H:397, K:178; similarly Cotticelli Kurras 2012a:81 [“spruzzato, irrigato”]; contra HW (2nd ed.) Ḫ:751 Taracha 2000a:102 with n. 9 did not assume this meaning) or even ‘watered pasture’ (CLL:76; HEG L-S:927 [with question mark], Tischler 2008a:61 [but cf. above]).

The meaning ‘watered (pasture)’ is based on the derivation from the verb ḫū(wa)rā(i)- with the alleged meaning ‘spray, sprinkle’ (HED H:397; CLL:76 [referring to the Luwian verb ḫur- as the base of both, its meaning is, however, unknown, see s.v.] ; cf. also Cotticelli Kurras 2012a:81), which, however, means “schmücken, verzieren” (HW (2nd ed.) Ḫ:750 and here s.v.). This meaning does not fit the context either, cf. KUB 26.43 obv. 17-18 (with duplicate KUB 26.50 obv. 7-8, following Imparati 1974a:24, 26 and HW (2nd ed.) Ḫ:751 slightly modified based on the photos of the Konkordanz):

“nu=šši ḫura[(ammaz gimraz IŠTU)] ⁽¹⁸⁾[(RĪ)]TI ANŠE.KUR.[RA] GU₄ UDU ANŠE.KUR.RA ^LÚEN[.N]U.UN ^ḪUR.SAGAriyatti[(n le kuiški e)pzi”

‘No watchman of Mountain Ariyattin shall take cattle, sheep (or) horse from the ḫ.-field / from the ḫ. and the field and from the horse pasture”.

Independently from the question whether ḫuramma- is only qualifying gimra- or represents an independent noun (the other, fragmentary passage [KUB 26.43 obv. 11-12] has an almost identical phrase: “[IŠTU^?] (12)RĪTI ANŠE.KUR.RA ḫurammati gimraz”, but nothing more can be inferred), it is clear from the context that it refers to the pasture of sheep and cattle, and not to an irrigated land (irrigation was used to make a land fertile for agriculture and not for grazing). HW (2nd ed.) Ḫ:751 rightly points out that it can be both an adjective (qualifying gimra-) and a substantive (so does Tischler 2016a:106) and it is “am ehesten” the former one, but a more concrete meaning cannot be determined.

[Zs.S.]

It is generally identified as a Luwian form (Laroche 1959a:48; Imparati 1974a:50; HED H:397 [“Luwoid”]; CLL:76; Taracha 2000a:102; Ünal 2007a:235, Ünal 2016a:305, 959; van den Hout 2007a:248; Tischler 2008a:61, Tischler 2016a:106; Cotticelli Kurras 2012a:81), without doubt correctly due to its Luwian ending (although not included in the list of Luwianisms of Melchert 2005a).

[Zs.S.]