nutu-

The lexeme is attested three times in a tiny ritual fragment.

[E.R.]

2sg. pres. ind. act.	nu-ú-tu-ši	KUB 35.113, 4’	(CTH 754, NS)
unclear	[nu?-]ú?-du-um-me-ni	KUB 35.113, 7’	(CTH 754, NS)
	nu-du-u[m-…]	KUB 35.113, 5’	(CTH 754, NS)

The spelling variation as well as the Hittite verbal ending -mmeni raise serious doubts regarding the morphological analysis of the latter two forms. Melchert 1994a:127f. interprets [n]ūdummeni as a Hittite verbal form based on a Luwian verb stem within a Luwian context. Because this would be very unusual, Sasseville 2021a:195 opens the possibility of seeing a -man-/-mn- stem in the dative singular, which is possible, but cannot be proven yet. 

[E.R.]

Checked against the photograph in the Konkordanz.

[E.R.]

The verbal stem nūtu- was first recognized by Meriggi 1980a:336, followed by Melchert 1993g:160. Melchert interprets the lexeme in niš ašḫa nudu[mmeni (KUB 35.113, 5’) as ‘to desire, lust after (?)’, with reference to its alleged object ‘blood’ (see Lemma Cluw. ašḫa-), apparently reminded of the Hittite collocation ēšḫar šanḫ- ‘to seek revenge’. At the time, he also considered nūtu- to go back to PIE *neud- ‘to use’ or *neud^h- ‘to desire’, in accordance with that interpretation (pers. comm.). This is highly problematic, since the identification with CLuw. āšḫar/n- ‘blood, blood-deed’ is hardly correct, considering the unexpected loss of final -r, and thus the basis for the semantic interpretation of nūtu- and its etymology is missing.

[E.R.]

Building on an assumed derivational relationship between the noun nū(t)- and the verb nūtu-, Sasseville 2021a:195 tentatively reconstructs a u-stem adjective *nūdu- to explain the stem final of the verb, which, accordingly, must have been built through conversion. Alternatively, he considers a generalization of the denominative -u- suffix to consonantal bases. Neither explanation is credible because of the restricted occurrence of the suffix and its lack of productivity, which would not support any kind of over-generalization. In addition to that, the stem final dental of nū(t)- is probably a late secondary development (Rieken 2006a:287-295), while the u-stems in Luwian are no longer productive. Moreover, the contexts of nū(t)- and nūtu- are entirely different: nū(t)- is a pleasant property to be granted by the gods (Rieken 2006a:284-287 with references), widely diverging from the prohibited active pursuit of some evil. Therefore, it must be left open whether there is any relationship between the two, and if so, what it is.

[E.R.]