/zarumada-^(ti)?/, za-ru-ma-tà-

This hapax legomenon occurs once in one of the inscriptions from Tabal and is dated to the mid-8^th century BCE.

[AH.B.]

3pl. pret. act.?

/zarumadanta?/

za-ru-ma-tà-ta

KULULU 2, §4 (Tabal)

An alternative analysis for the form in KULULU 2, §4 could be 3pl. pret. med., in which /-danta/ serves as the medio-passive ending newly fashioned by proportional analogy, as proposed in Yakubovich 2016a:81.

[AH.B.] [I.Y.]

The lexeme occurs on a funerary stele in KULULU 2, §4 in the last brief clause before an elaborate curse formula begins: wa/i-mu-ta ka-wa/i+ra/i-zi-i za-ru-ma-tà-ta, i.e. /wa=mu=tta kawarinzi^? zarumadanta^?/. The interpretation of this clause is hampered by the fact that neither the verb /zarumadanta^?/ is clear, nor the meaning of the noun /kawar(i)-^?/ preceding it. Hawkins 1980b:222 (repeated in Hawkins 2000a:489) hypothesises that both words describe an action that has to do with funerary practices. Regarding the syntax of the clause, the form /zarumadanta^?/ may either be 3pl. pret. active, in which case the subject could be the children of the person in whose name the stele was put into place and who are mentioned two clauses earlier. In that case, it could possibly denote ‘to erect’ vel sim., contrasting with the following curse formula, which starts with a verb of inflicting damage on the stele. Alternatively, the form may be 3pl. pret. medio-passive, resulting in an intransitive interpretation with the unknown plural /kawarinzi^?/ as the subject, but without further evidence a suitable meaning will continue to prove elusive.

[AH.B.] [I.Y.]

The shape of the stem depends on how the attested form is analysed. One possibility sees the verb as a denominal formation in /-a-/, built from a noun in /-ad(i)-/ (Rieken 2008b:645; cf. Sasseville 2021a:16-21 for the verbal stem class). Another possibility regards /-danta/ as the new ending for the medio-passive (Yakubovich 2016a:81), resulting in a stem /zaruma-/, which could belong instead to the class in /-a(i)-^(di)/ (cf. Sasseville 2021a:80-83).

[AH.B.]