zammitāti-

Hapax in a Luwian spell (NS).

[Zs.S.]

nom. sg. c.

za-am-mi-ta-a-ti-iš

KBo 29.6 obv. 22’

CTH 762, NS

Attestation follows CLL:276 (not published yet at the time of Laroche 1959a; cf. also HEG U-Z:730) checked against the photo of the Konkordanz.

[Zs.S.]

Starke 1990a:445 n. 1601 proposed a meaning ‘flour’, which is generally followed (CLL:276; Tischler 2008a:205 [but see below]; Jasanoff 2010a:168; Sideltsev 2014a:865; only Ünal 2016a:977 leaves it without meaning), although HEG U-Z:730 (similarly Tischler 2016a:449) translates it as ‘groats’. Starke’s suggestion was based on the context, in which z. is something that “aus der Mühle gekommen (ist)” (see s.v. ^NA4ḫarra-). The two meanings are, however, not mutually exclusive and this single context is not decisive. Thus, here both meanings are assumed for the time being (the etymology is not conducive either, since the source word has the same problem, see under Origin).

[Zs.S.]

Rejected loanword:

1. σεμίδᾱλις

Neu apud Starke 1990a:445 n. 1601 cautiously suggested a borrowing from Akkadian sam(m)īdātu (pl.) ‘a type of groats’ (CAD S:115f.) or ‘a type of flour’ (AHw:1018), which is generally accepted (CLL:276; Dardano 2018a:367; HEG U-Z:730, Tischler 2016a:449 [implicitly already Tischler 2008a:275]). Since the Akkadian word has an internal etymology (samādu ‘to grind into groats’, CAD S:107, ‘mahlen’, AHw:1016), there is no doubt regarding the direction of the borrowing. While the borrowing of a plural form with collective semantics as singular does not need any comment, there are some interesting details which remained unaddressed in the previous literature (note that the expected but lacking plene spelling in the second syllable has no consequences, since we are dealing with a hapax).

First, the second dental is voiced. This is unexpected, since intervocalic voicing of dentals happened only in the prehistory of Luwian, in fact in Proto-Anatolian, i.e. well before the borrowing (as there is no reason to project back this borrowing into Proto-Anatolian times) and there is neither phonological nor morphological reason for substituting the voiceless consonant in the Akkadian form (intervocalic voiceless dentals are regular in Luwian and there is a suffix -tti- in Luwian [Melchert 2003b:197] and therefore no morphological analogy is expected). One may ask, however, if this word represents a direct borrowing at all, since for obvious reasons one would rather expect a borrowing via a transmitting language and indeed most of the Akkadian loanwords of second-millennium Luwian arrived via Hurrian (see most recently Dardano 2018a:367f.). It is the Hurrian transmission that provides an explanation for the dental, since in Hurrian intervocalic single stops can only be voiced (Wilhelm 2004a:98; Hazenbos 2006a:138; Wegner 2007a:45).

Second, while the spelling with ‹za› might be phonologically problematic at first glance, it is in fact the expected spelling considering that Akkadian “/s/” was in fact a voiceless dental affricate (Kogan 2011a:66f. with refs.), cf. also the Luwian loanword in Hittite transmission ḫazizit- ‘ear, wisdom’ from Akk. ḫasīsu ‘ear; hearing; understanding’ (see most recently Dardano 2018a:356 with refs. and here s.v.).

Third, zammitāti- is an i-stem, although Hurrian substantives are normally adopted as id-stems in Luwian (cf. Simon forthcoming, for the alleged counterexamples see there and here s.vv. nišḫi-, šinapši(t)-, and šūntinna-; this word does not contain the -id-suffix, contra Dardano 2018a:367). Since Hurrian loanwords are adopted as i-stems in Hittite (Hoffner & Melchert 2008a:86), this may point to a Hittite loanword in Luwian; note, however, that this is not necessary, since an analogical influence of the Luwian -ti- nominal suffix (Melchert 2003b:197) explains the stem equally well.

All in all, we are dealing with an Akkadian loanword in Luwian via Hurrian mediation. Thus, we are dealing with one of those extremely rare Hurrian loanwords (Simon forthcoming could identify only two lexemes) that are attested in Luwian passages and it belongs to those very few Hurrian loanwords in Luwian that are not termini technici but typical Kultur- and Wanderwörter (cf. in detail Simon forthcoming).

[Zs.S.]

Last updated: 19 February 2020