uwai-

The stem marked with gloss wedge is attested twice in the same fragment of a NH prayer. The other occurrences are found in NS copies of a MH instruction, and in the NH Apology of Ḫattušili III.

[E.R.]

3sg. pres. ind. med.	u-wa-[it-ta-ri]	Bo 6590, 4’	(CTH 389, NS)
	u-wa-it-ta-ri	Bo 6590, 10’	(CTH 389, NS)
	ú-wa-it-ta	KUB 13.4 iii 81	(CTH 264, NS)
	u-wa-it-ta-ri	KUB 13.4 ii 64, 66	(CTH 264, NS)
3sg. pret. ind. med.	ú-wa-[i]a?-at-ta-at	1573/u + KUB 19.67 i 20	(CTH 81, NS)
	u-wa-it-ta-at	KUB 23.103 obv. 24’	(CTH 178, NS)

The infinitive ú-wa-ia-u-wa-an-zi in KBo 26.65 rev. 20’ is not listed here, because its meaning ‘to howl (like an animal)’ (contra HEG U:172 with references) shows that it belongs to a different derivative of (u)wāi- ‘woe’. There is no indication that it is of Luwian origin.

[E.R.]

Checked against the photographs in the Konkordanz, except for the attestations in Bo 6590, which are cited after Neu 1968a:185f. – The reading of -[i]a^?- in 1573/u + KUB 19.67 i 20, marked with a question mark also in Otten 1981a:18, is not absolutely assured, because the space for -ia- available in the break is very small. – The inconsistency regarding the spelling of initial /wa-/, with either ú-wa- or u-wa-, is remarkable. According to Melchert 1984a:13, initial u-wa- and ú-wa- are extremely rare in Hittite words. Exceptions with ú- concern mainly forms of au(š)-/uwa- ‘to see’ and verbs with preverb u- such as we-/uwa- ‘to come’ and uwate- ‘to bring’. An interpretation for u-wa-i- regarding the spelling is offered under Origin.

[E.R.]

The meaning of the middle forms was established by Neu 1968a:185f. and accepted in HEG U:171f. (with references), Miller 2013a:254f., 260, 393, and others. Doubts raised by Starke 1990a:266 n. 909 are based on his erroneous semantic interpretation of alleged †uwai(t)- ‘slander’.

[E.R.]

The forms of the gloss wedge word and several other attestations belong undoubtedly to a root verb, but a single form seems to attest to an enlarged stem uwaya- or uwayā(i)-, possibly a denominative verb (cf. HEG U:171f.). The duplicity of stems is confirmed by the causative verbs (u)way(a)-/(u)way(a)nu-, see Neu 1968a:185f., HEG U:171f., HW 2nd ed.:239f., Tischler 2008a:190, Ünal 2007a:772f., 775.

[E.R.]

The root (u)wāi- is known from both Hittite and Luwian. Consequently, a denominative verb is possible for either language. Two arguments can be advanced in favor of a Luwian origin of at least some instances of (u)way(a)-. The first one is the use of the gloss wedge in Bo 6590, following the transliteration by Neu 1968a:185f. Alternatively, one may entertain the idea that also in KUB 13.4 ii 64, 66 and KUB 23.103 obv. 24’ the winkelhaken is to be read as gloss wedge rather than u-. This would indicate that the scribes at least closely associated (u)wāi- with Luwian. If this view should be eventually refuted, the spelling with initial u-wa-, extremely rare in Hittite, might be taken to point to foreign origin and support the Luwian hypothesis. In either case, a Luwian verb (u)way(a)- can be posited.

[E.R.]

For the lemma head, see CLuw. (u)wāi-.