Luwic *mar-

Abstract

Abstract Lycian mar- ‘authorize’ (in 3sg.pres. martti) and its derivatives, as well as Milyan mara- ‘law’ and possibly Heiroglyphic Luvian marat(i)- ‘order, request’, can be derived from the IE root *smer- ‘receive a portion’ (original active sense ‘divide up, distribute’ or ‘share) seen also in e. g. Greek μείρομαι ‘have a share in’ and Latin mereō, mereor ‘deserve.’ The Lycian verb can continue a root aorist beside a derived *-ye/o- present in Greek μείρομαι and an archaic stative perfect in Homeric ἔμμορε. Alternatively, the Greek present is from an earlier root present that is preserved in Lycian. In either case, the Lycian verb has a generalized *mar- < zero-grade *mr̥-. Lycian mara ‘laws’ and Milyan mara- ‘law’ are *ā- and *o-stem derivatives of the Luwic root, showing a semantic development comparable to that of Greek νόμος ‘custom, law’ beside νέμω ‘distribute, share out’ and, middle, ‘receive a share’. The similar-looking Heirogplyphic Luwian nouns marat(a)- = [marad(a)-] ‘statement, proclamation’, marata- = [marata-] ‘word’, and maratam(i)- = [maratam(i)-] ‘subordinate’, or ‘retainer’, may be related, or they may be derived from IE *(s)mer- ‘think of, remember’ in e. g. Vedic smarati ‘thinks of’, smṛti lit. ‘that which is remembered’.