xupelija-

This lexeme is attested on the Xanthos stele, which was inscribed shortly after the ascension of Artaxerxes II in 405-404 BCE.

[D.S.]

There is a consensus that the word xupeliju is derived from xupa- c. ‘grave’; cf. Schmidt 1876a:9, Meriggi 1980b:260, Schürr 1997c:135, Shevoroshkin 2002c:411. The noun xupelija- is modified by the adjective qli(je)- ‘of the precinct’ (with secondary agreement) and, therefore, it should refer to the sepulchral complex belonging to the sacred precinct, i.e. the one of the acropolis in Xanthos, where the dynastic family is buried. The meaning ‘sepulchral complex’ for xupelija- is here tentatively adopted (cf. Shevoroshkin 2002c:220) and the passage translated as follows:
me qliju xupeliju sebe lijeiz ddelupeliz ni=uwe lugãtu sm͂mẽte klleime qñtili=uwe plluwi mlu xr!ãti tunewñni (TL 44d.59-62)
‘For the binding payments, they must neither luga the sepulchral complex of the precinct and the ddelupeliz nymphs nor offer a Pinarean votive offering to Qñtili of (the city) Tuna.’

[D.S.]

Pace Meriggi 1980b:260, the word xupeliju is more likely to be a substantive rather than an adjective. Since qliju is a derivative of qla- c. ‘precinct’ built with the adjectival suffix -i(je)-, xupeliju is better taken as a substantive with the suffix chain -el-ija- c. (cf. nom. sg. c. ñtelija (TL 44c.56), acc. sg. c. tupelijã (TL 44a.38, 39), acc. coll. qelelija (TL 44d.63)) (likewise DLL:136, Neumann 2007a:141) and not as an adjective in -el-i(je)- (cf. nom./acc. pl. n. qebelija (TL 102.3), nom./acc. pl. n. lusalija (TL 44d.54).

[D.S.]