Tigrai (Tigriñña):ṣällam ṭel 'ragno di colore oscuro, velenoso' [Bass. 948]. Literally 'black goat' which may be a folk-etymological interpretation of an original faunal term.
Notes:Cf. Akk. lamṣatu 'a fly' SB [CAD l 68], [AHw. 533] (now also in the OB lexical list UET 7 93, v. [Sjöberg 1996 229]), possibly related with metathesis.
Number:2521
Proto-Semitic:*SVlw-
Meaning:quail
Hebrew:ŝǝlāw (ŝlyw) 'quail' [KB 1331], pB. sǝlāw [Ja. 994], ŝǝlāw [ibid. 1538]. In Nu 11.31-32, Ex 16.13, Ps 105.40, as food sent by God to Israel in the desert.
Arabic:salwā (coll., unit. salwāt) 'caille' [BK 1 1132], [LA XIV 395].
Soqotri:šílhi 'nom d'oiseau' [LS 417].
Notes:Cf. Zwy. sololiya 'guinea-fowl' [LGur. 543] (a Cushitic loanword according to Leslau). Irregular sibilant correspondences are well known but no satisfactory explanation has been suggested so far. Thus, in [Brock.] and [LS] the Hbr. form is regarded as an Arabism whereas quite a reverse development is proposed in [TWAT VII 802]. An Aramaism in Arabic is suggested also in [Jeffery 177] (who correctly observes that Qurʔānic salwā is found only in the rendering of the corresponding Biblical story). It must be stressed that the correspondence Hbr. ŝ ~ Soq. š (which does not fit either PS *ŝ or PS *ŝx) is of particular difficulty since all kinds of mutual influence are excluded. [KB 1331], [Brock. 476], [Firmage 1154]: Hbr., Arm., Arb.; [LS 417]: Soq., Arb., Hbr., Arm.
Akkadian:sinuntu (sinundu,ṣinundu,sinūnu) 'swallow' OB on [CAD s 295], [AHw. 1048], also šinūnūtu (šinūntu,šunūnūtu) 'a bird' OB on [CAD š3 55], 'eine grosse Schwalbe' [AHw. 1243]. Both terms are known only from literary texts and lexical lists (syllabic attestations in OB are known only for šinūnūtu, e.g. in the OB bird-omina HUCA 40-41 89 I 29). See further [Salonen Vögel 248-9]. УТОЧНИТЬ ПРО ОB ПИСЬМО CAGNI/TIM!
Ugaritic:snnt 'golondrina' [DLU 405]. The meaning 'swallow' is purely conjectural since the word is known only as an divine epithet in 1.17 II 27 and parallel passages: ʕrb bbth kt_rt // bnt hll snnt'kt_rt entered his house // daughters of the light, swallows'.
Notes:All WS forms are considered Akkadisms in [Zimmern 51] which needs to be proved. Cf. Hbr. sūs 'swift' [KB 752] (Is 38.14, Jer 8.7), possibly related to the present root (*sVn- > *sVnsVn- > *sVns- > *sV̄s-). Reduplication of a biconsonantal element and the subsequent reduction to a triconsonantal C1VC2C1- pattern are quite common in Semitic whereas the loss of -n- in similar cases can be exemplified by Hbr. ʔīš 'man' < *ʔinš-, ṭīṭ 'mud' < *ṭinṭ-, Hbr. pB. sīṭ 'span' < *sinṭ- (note that Hbr. sūs has a well-established reading traditon with -ī- instead of -ū-: Qerē for Jer 8.7, Eastern Masoretic Qere for Is 38.14, sīs by Theodotion). [DLU 405]: Ugr., Akk., Arb., Syr.
Ugaritic:ṣpr 'pájaro' [DLU 420]. Not very reliable, only in klb ṣpr 'perros perdigueros' (1.14 III 19). Alternatively to be interpreted as 'sheep-dogs' (ṣpr compared to common Aramaic *ṣǝpīr 'goat', v. [KB 1964] for concrete forms).
Phoenician:ṣpr 'bird' [T 280], 'fowl' [Krah. 240]. In the Punic offering tariff from Marseilles (KAI 69/15): bkl zbḥ ʔš yzbḥ dl mḳnʔ ʔm dl ṣpr 'for every kind of victim slaughtered by owner of cattle or owner of a bird' (also in the damaged l. 11 of the same text: [bṣ]pr ʔgnn 'for a kind of domestic bird'). According to Tomback, here also belong ṣyprm ʔrrm 'сalling birds' in Trip. 76/6:7 (cf. also [HJ 973]). The divine name ršp ṣprm in KAI 26A II 10-11 presents special problems. While [KAI II 86], [T 280] and [HJ 973] interpret ṣprm as 'birds', the meaning 'goat' is defended as the only possible one in [Gibson 60] in view of (DEUS)CERVUS in the Luwian part of the bilingue (but cf. [Bron 185] and [Krah. 450]: 'a form of the god Rasap; meaning obscure').
Hebrew:ṣippōr (pl. ṣippŏrīm, < *ṣuppur-) 'bird, winged creature' [KB 1047], pB. [Ja. 1295]. A general term for 'bird' (together with ʕōp) extensively discussed in [TWAT VI 1102ff.]. Possibly denoted both a single bird (as in Am 3.5: hătippōl ṣippōr ʕal-paḥ hāʔāräṣ 'will a bird fall into a trap on the earth') and birds in general (ṣippōr šāmayim 'birds of the sky', ṣippōr kānāp 'winged birds'). It is possible that in some passages ṣ. denotes a concrete species of small bird (e.g. sparrow).
Aramaic:D.-Alla ṣpr 'special bird, sparrow' [HJ 973]. In I.9, context fragmentary (see [Hackett 49]). Off. ṣnpr 'bird' [HJ 973]. In Aḥiq 98 (ky ṣnpr hy mlh 'since a word is a bird'), see [PY XLIX], [Kott. 228] (also on other - damaged - passages). Sam. ṣpwr, ṣpyr, ṣprh 'bird' [Tal 742].
Biblical Aramaic:ṣippǝrīn (pl.) 'bird' [KB 1770]. In Da 4.9,11,18 (birds on the tree in Nebuchadnezzar's vision) and Da 4.30 (ṭiprōhī kǝṣippǝrīn 'his claws like [those of] birds).
Arabic:ṣāfir- 'espèce de petit oiseau de la famille des passereaux; tout oiseau qui n'est pas oiseau de proie' [BK 1 1346], [LA IV 464].
Jibbali:(e)ṣferót (ṣefirót) 'Vogel' [Bittner 60] (not in [JJ]).
Harsusi:ṣ̌eferot 'sandpiper' [JH 124].
Soqotri:*ṣafiroh (in ṣafiróte) 'oiseau' [LS 70].
Notes:Akk. ṣibāru 'a bird, probably the sparrow' OB on [CAD ṣ 155], [AHw. 1097] is often compared to the present root in spite of the irregular -b-. Cf. also Amh č̣äräba, č̣oräba 'a small, brown, grain-eating bird; sparrow' [K 2216] (related to the Akk. term with metathesis?). Cf. Syr. ṣprd 'genus aviculae' [Brock. 636] and Arb. ṣifrid-,ṣufrud- 'rossignol' [BK 1 1347], [LA III 256] (if related, -d is puzzling). Akk. iṣṣūru 'bird' OB on [CAD i 210-14], [AHw. 390] and Ugr. ʕṣr 'pájaro, ave (esp. ave de corral)' [DLU 91], /ʕuṣṣūru/ [Huehn. 162] are not related to the present root as rightly pointed out in cf. MSL 8/2 145 (pace [AHw. 390] and many others). The Akk. and Ugr. forms could be united under a separate PS root *ʕVṣṣūr- 'bird' but the evidence for such a reconstruction is too scarce (cf., however, Tgr. č̣ǝnraʕ, č̣ǝrnaʕ 'a bird, Buphaga erytrorhynchus' [LH 627], Tna. č̣ǝrnaʕ 'uccello piu grande del tordo col becco rosso molto forte; esso e il flagello delle bestie, perche straccia le loro piaghe, o gliene fa forandole col becco (Bufaga erryttrorincha)' [Bass. 933], possibly related with metathesis). Arb. ʕuṣfūr- 'passerau; tout petit oiseau; sauterelle' [BK 2 272-3], [LA IV 581], Jib. ʕɛṣférɔ́t 'bird' [JJ 16], Soq. ʔiṣféroh 'oiseau' [LS 70] (with ʔ- instead of ʕ-) should not be directly compared to the present root but rather be regarded as a result of its contamination with forms of the *ʕVsṣūr-type treated above. [Fron. 295]: *ʔiṣpūr- '(piccolo) uccello' (Arb., Syr., Hbr., Ugr. /ʕṣr/, Akk. /iṣṣūru/); [Firmage 1154]: Akk. (ṣibāru), Hbr., Arm., Arb. (ʕuṣfūr-); [KB 1047]: Hbr., Pho., Arm., Akk. (ṣibāru), Arb. (ʕuṣfūr-), Ugr. (ʕṣr, with a remark "also comparable"; note that Akk. iṣṣūru is treated as unrelated); [DLU 420]: Ugr. (ṣpr), Hbr., Pho., Arm., Arb. (ʕuṣfūr-); [ibid. 91]: Ugr. (ʕṣr), Akk., Arb. (ʕuṣfūr-), "relación incierta con hb. ṣippōr etc."; [Brock. 635]: Syr., Arm., Hbr., Arb. (ʕuṣfūr-), Akk. (iṣṣūru); [LS 70]: Soq., Jib., Arb. (ṣāfir-, ʕuṣfūr-), Hbr., Akk. (iṣṣūru).
Number:2524
Proto-Semitic:*ŝVrŝVr-
Meaning:kind of bird
Akkadian:suššuru (šūšuru) 'a dove' SB [CAD s 419], [AHw. 1064]. A rare term known from lexical lists and one literary passage (see [Salonen Vögel 260-1]).
Arabic:šaršūr- 'petit oiseau' [BK 1 1214], [LA IV 403].
Ugaritic:Emr. ṣa-ba-ú 'bear' [Pentiuc 160-1]. Equated to Sum. AZ, Akk. a-su in Emar 551:37'. With a tenable meaning shift.
Hebrew:ṣābūăʕ 'hyena' [KB 997], pB. 'leopard or the striped hyoena' [Ja. 1257]. The only unambiguous attestation of this term is outside the corpus of the Hebrew Bible, namely Sir 13.18: mʔyš! šlwm ṣbwʕ ʔl klb 'can there be peace between a hyena and a dog?'. Within the Old Testamental corpus, cf. the expression ʕayiṭ ṣābūăʕ in the extremely difficult passage Je 12:9 (haʕayiṭ ṣābūăʕ naḥălātī lī // haʕayiṭ sābīb ʕālǟhā, to be rendered as 'is my heritage a hyena's den, with birds of prey around it overhead?' accroding to [Barr 128, 235]). As traditionally assumed, ṣ. also occurs in some Biblical toponyms (v. [KB 999]). Needless to say, deriving ṣ. from the verbal root ṣbʕ 'to paint' as suggested in [KB] ("really the coloured one, with coloured strips") is tenable as a folk-etymology only since it is only -b- that the consonantal roots *ṣbɣ and *ṣ̂bʕ have in common.
Aramaic:D.-Alla ḳbʕ 'hyena' [Hackett 133]. The most probable interpretation of ḳbʕn in the difficult passage I.10 (wḳbʕn šmʕw mwsr 'and hyenas listen to the admoni- tion'), but cf. a number of alternative suggestions in [HJ 983].
Arabic:ḍabuʕ-,ḍabʕ- 'hyène', ḍabuʕat-,ḍibʕānat- 'hyène femelle', ḍibʕān(-at)- 'hyène mâle' [BK 2 7], [Fr. III 35], [Lane 1766-7], [LA VIII 216]. See further [Hommel 308].
Geʕez (Ethiopian):ḍǝbʕ 'hyena' [LGz. 147].
Soqotri:ḍábʕah 'hyène' [LS 360] (an Arabism?).
Notes:A few other, somewhat less reliable parallels, are traditionally postulated for this root: a. Akk. būṣu 'hyena' SB [CAD b 349], [AHw. 143], with complex metathesis (*ṣabuʕ- > *buṣaʕ- > *buṣʕ- > būṣ-; cf. MSL VIII/2 130 for a different explanation). The term is found in literary texts and lexical lists; its identification with hyena is not self-evident (but cf. [Heimpel 350-1] and [Salonen Jagd 207] for some evidence on its Sum. counterpart KIR4). Further details see in [Salonen Jagd 193], MSL VIII/2 130 and [Landsberger Fauna 79]. Akk. būṣu also denotes a kind of bird (in lexical lists only, equated to iṣṣūr ḫurri). In [CAD b 349] the two meanings are ascribed to different lexemes whereas in [AHw. 143] they are treated together. The adverb būṣiš in Lambert BWL 45h (birkāya ša uktassâ bu-ṣi-i[š]) is also differently interpreted in the dictinaries: CAD follows the ancient commentary and translates 'my knees, which were fettered ... like the būṣu-bird's' while AHw. (together with Landsberger Fauna 79]) opts for the rendering 'wie eine Hyäne' because of the well-known pecularity of hyena's gait. More details on the bird name būṣu see in [Salonen Vögel 151]. b. Common Aramaic *ʔapʕ- 'hyena' (< *ʕabʕ- < *ṣ̂abʕ-): Jud. ʔapʕā 'hyena or leopard' [Ja. 106], ʔāpā 'a striped wild animal (of the genus felis)' [ibid. 99] (rendering 'Otter, Natter' and comparison to Hbr. ʔäpʕǟ 'viper' suggested in [Levy WT I 54] are erroneous, cf. the author's corrections in [Levy WTM I 136, 281]), Syr. ʔapʕā 'hyena' [Brock. 42], [PS 348], Mnd. apa 'hyaena (?)' [DM 30]. While the dissimilation of *ʕ into ʔ in such cases is common and even expected in Aramaic, the devoicing b > p is irregular and difficult to explain. с. Gez. ṣǝʕǝb 'rapacious animal, hyena, animal that unearths animals (and eats them)' [LGz. 542] (metathesis of the second and the third radical; ṣ instead of the expected ḍ may be purely orthographic and presents no difficulty). Cf., however, Arb. ʔaṣ-ṣaʕb- 'lion' [BK 1 1337], [Fr. II 497], [Lane 1687], [TA III 195] (unless a substantivation of the adjective ṣaʕb- 'désobéissant, indocile'). On the other hand, there is hardly any reason to compare the Gez. term to Tgr. ṣaʕab 'fully grown male camel' [LH 645] and Tna. ṣaʕbi 'bestia ancora giovane; asinello, puledro di asino' [Bass. 968] (contra [LGz. 542]) because of the semantic difference. Cf. Arb. ḍabaɣṭarā 'hyène' [BK 2 7], [Fr. III 5], [TA XII 382], surprisingly similar semantically and phonetically. [Fron. 293]: *ṣ̂abuʕ- 'iena' (Gez., Arb., Hbr., Akk.); [KB 997]: Hbr., Akk., Arm., Gez., Tgr., Tna. (both meaining 'fully grown male camel'), Arb.; [Hommel 307]: Arb., Gez., Hbr., Arm.; [LGz. 147]: Gez., Arb., Soq., Hbr., Arm., Akk.; [LS 360]: Soq., Arb., Hbr., Gez., Syr. (erroneously written and transcribed as ʔabʕā).
Akkadian:ušummu,šummu 'Gartenschläfer' ("Rörichtmaus") OB, SB [AHw. 1443] (forms without u- are known from later texts only). Textual attestations are treated in much detail in a special study [Englund 45ff.]. According to Englund, u. is to be identified with the bandicoot rat and not dormouse as previoulsy thought. See also [Landsberger Fauna 107-8], [Salonen Jagd 235].
Eblaitic:ù-šu-mu-um [MEE 4 116 II 5]. In a monolingual list of animals, identified with Akk. ušummu in [Englund 44].
Arabic:šīm- 'rat' (pl.) [BK 2 1300], [Fr. II 473], [TA old VIII 363]. Cf. šayham- 'porc-épic' [BK 1 1283], [Fr. II 462], [LA XII 328].
Notes:One wonders whether Tgr. sämäwa 'bat' [LH 174] can be connected with this root. An alternative derivation from PS *šamāy- 'sky' is attractive but note that this root is not reflected in Tgr. (sämāy is considered a Tna. word in [LH 175]).
Number:2527
Proto-Semitic:*ṣ̂Vpardiʕ-
Meaning:frog
Hebrew:ṣǝpardēăʕ 'frogs' [KB 1050], pB. [Ja. 1299]. Only in Ex 7.27-29, 8.1-5, 7-9 and Ps 78.45 (as a divine punishment of Egypt).'
Notes:Only Hbr. preserves the original quinqueconsonantal base which is reduced to *ṣ̂VrdVʕ- in Aramaic and *ṣ̂VpdVʕ- in Arabic and MSA. Alternatively, two unrelated quadriconsonantal terms can be postulated for PS, with a subsequent contamination in Hbr. which seems less likely. Common Aramaic *ṣ̂VrdVʕ- is regularly reflected with ʕ- in Sam. and some of the Jud. forms whereas Syr. and some of the Jud. forms have ʔ- instead (dissimilation, quite common in Aramaic when ʕ < *ṣ̂ appears in a root with laryngeals, ʕ in particular). Note that ṣ and ṣ̌ in MSA do not regularly correspond to PS *ṣ̂. The picture is complicated by clearly related forms with ŝ in Hrs. (ŝefdáyt [JH 119]) and Jib. ŝafdɛ́t ([ibid.], not in [JJ]). On the other hand, Mhr. ẑafadōt 'Frosch' appears in [Jahn 174] (cf. also Mhr. ẑafẑāt [ibid.] and Jib. ẓ̂efẓ̂áʕt 'frog' [JH 119]). Relationship with Akk. muṣaʔʔirānu 'frog' is very doubtful for phonological reasons. Cf. Sam. ʕrwd 'an animal' [Tal 663] (= Hbr. ṣāb 'kind of lizard). [Fron. 296]: *ṣ̂upardaʕ- 'rana' (Mhr., Arb., Syr., Hbr., Akk. /muṣaʔʔirānu/); [KB 1050]: Hbr., Arm., Arb., Akk. /muṣaʔʔirānu/; [Brock. 47]: Syr., Arm., Hbr., Arb.
Number:2528
Proto-Semitic:*sVwsVw-
Meaning:horse
Akkadian:sīsû (sīsāʔu) 'horse' OA on [CAD s 328], [AHw. 1051]. The earliest attestation is thought to be the OA letter Contenau TTC 28:13 (lu ina sí-sá-im itašši 'or bring [it] on horses'), but see sceptical remarks in [Veenhof 1989 521]. OB attestations are scarce (mostly from Mari). According to [Civil 1966], this s. may be attested already in Ur III documents if the sequence ANS̆E.ZI.ZI is to be read as ANS̆Esí́-sí (for Civil, "a synonym of ANS̆E.KUR.RA and possibly the reading of this logogram at least in some contexts").
Ugaritic:ssw, śśw 'caballo', sswt 'yegua' [DLU 410]. Widely attested in various types of texts including special hyppiatric compositions (.....). Orthographic problems connected with this word are extensively discussed in [Tropper UG 45] (ac- cording to Tropper, the rare grapheme ś was used to emphasize the affricated pronunciation of s [ts] whereas the normal s pro- bably rendered a desaffricated s).
Phoenician:Amarna sú-ú-[sí-ma] 'horse' (pl.)' [HJ 795]. As a gloss to ANS̆E.<KUR>.MES̆ in EA 263:25. Pho. ss 'horse' [T 231], [Krah. 346]. Hapax in KAI 26 A I 6-7: wpʕl ʔnk ss ʕl ss 'I acquired one horse after another' (see [Gibson 57]).
Hebrew:sūs 'horse' [KB 746], pB. [Ja. 967]. The basic Hbr. term for horse widely used in prose and poetry (e.g., Ju 5.22). The fem. formation sūsā 'кобыла' is known from Ct 1.9 only.
Aramaic:D.-Alla ssh [HJ 795]. In II 15 (šʔlt mlk ssh), context difficult (v. [Hackett 72]). Anc. ssyh [HJ 795]. Hapax in KAI 222 A 22: šbʕ ssyh yhynḳn ʕlwʔl yš[bʕ] 'seven mares will suckle a foal and he will not be sated' (v. [Fitzmyer 80]). Off. swsh (pl. swsyn, emph. swsyʔ) 'horse' [HJ 795] ([PY XLV]). Nab. swsyʔ id. [HJ 795], [Cantineau II 123]. Plm. swsy id. [HJ 795], [PAT 391]. Dem. swsy 'horse' [HJ 1261].
Judaic Aramaic:sūsǝyā (pl. sūsǝwān), sūsā 'horse' [Ja. 967], [Levy WTM III 492]; sūsē, det. sūsǝyā, pl. swswwn id. [Sok. 371].
Mandaic Aramaic:susia 'horse' [DM 322], sisiata, var. of susiata 'horses, mares' [DM 329].
Arabic:sīsiyy- 'Pony' [Wehr 408]. Marked as an Egyptian dialectism, not found in the available dictionaries of Classical Arabic. Cf. also sws 'gouverner un peuple' [BK 1 1164], [LA VI 108] (with a meaning shift from 'to drive horses'?).
Notes:According to [Civil Ebla 93], Ebl. su-su-um (listed among large mammals in MEE IV 96 II 4) may reflect the present root in spite of the obvious orthographic difficulty (SU instead of the expected ZU). The above listed Sem. terms are usually thought to be borrowed from an IE satǝm-language, v. [Gamkrelidze-Ivanov 560, 914] (PIE *ek̂[h]wo- 'horse'), [Tropper UG 45] (with a special emphasis on Luv. azzuwa-). Considering this hypothesis (as such not improbable) one should not disregard the difficulties implied thereby. Note in particular that both the loss of the word-ini- tial vowel and the reduplication are present already in the earliest Sem. attestations. [KB 746]: Hbr., Arm., Ugr., Akk., Arb.; [Firmage 1152]: Hbr., Akk., Ugr., Arm. ("an old Wanderwort"); [DLU 410]: Ugr., Hbr., Pho., Arm., Akk., Ebl.
Arabic:sumsum- 'fourmie rouge' [BK 1 1138], [Fr. II 353], [Lane 1420], [LA XII 305] (in the last two sources also simsimat- and sam(m)āmat-).
Notes:Cf. Sod. mašo 'kind of ant' [LGur. 433] (metathesis of an original non-reduplicated base?). Cf. Tgr. šašǝnte 'ants' [LH 214] with -n- instead of -m- (note the similarity in morphological structure with the Arm. forms), but see Tna. šišo 'specie di formica grossa e nera, il cui pizzico e doloroso' [Bass. 226] (compared to *sV̄s- 'moth', No. ...).
Geʕez (Ethiopian):sol, salā 'kind of bird of prey' [LGz. 498].
Tigrai (Tigriñña):sila 'hawk, falcon' [TA 318], šila 'sorta di sparviero assai rapace' [Bass. 215].
Amharic:sila 'falcon, hawk' [K 440].
Notes:Not very reliable since the first element of the Arm. forms is formally a participle from the verb šǝlā 'to extract, fish out' so that they are comparable only if a secondary folk-etymological analysis of an original faunal term is assumed. Cf. Zwy. sololiya 'guinea-fowl' [LGur. 543].
Number:2531
Proto-Semitic:*šVmm-
Meaning:kind of reptile (snake, lizard)
Akkadian:šammānu 'a snake' OB [CAD š1 314]. Hapax in the OB snake incantation CBS 7005 r. 12 recently published in Finkel 1999 (text 5): amḫaṣ ... ša-am-ma-nam MUS̆ gišTIR 'I struck š., the forest snake'. In view of the etymological evidence quoted below one hesitates to agree with Finkel's interpretation of šammānu as 'oily one', 'fatty one' (i.e., derived from šamnu 'oil').
Hebrew:ŝǝmāmīt (var. šǝmāmīt) 'gecko' [KB 1338], pB. sǝmāmīt 'spider' [Ja. 1002]. Hapax in Pr 30.28 in a very difficult context: ŝǝmāmīt bǝ-yādayim tǝtappēŝ // wǝhī(ʔ) bǝhēkǝlē mäläk 'a lizard can be caught by hand // but it is in the king's palace'.
Judaic Aramaic:sǝmāmītā 'spotted lizard; spider' [Ja. 1002], smmy (det. smmyth) 'type of lizard' [Sok. 382]. Likely a Hebraism.
Arabic:sāmm- (in sāmm- ʔabraṣ-) 'espèce de gros lézard' [BK 1 1133], [LA XII 304].
Notes:Possible relationship between the Hbr. and the Arb. terms is discussed in a special study [Aharoni Zoologie].
Number:2532
Number:2533
Proto-Semitic:*šVpVr-
Meaning:kind of large hoofed animal
Akkadian:sappāru (šappāru,sabbāru) 'a bovid' OB on [CAD s 166], 'etwa Wildbock' [AHw. 1027]. The earliest attestation is in the OB Etana (rīma šà-appa-ra ṣēru ibarramma 'the serpent hunts an aurochs [and] a š.' Bab. 12 pl. 13.8). In lexical lists and bilingual texts corresponds to Sum. S̆EG9.BAR and, according to both dictionaries, is a borro- wing therefrom. The Sum. origin of š. was questioned in [Salonen Jagd 260-]. According to Salonen, both Akk. and Sum. terms are borrowed from a "Late Neolitic" *säppar (Sum. S̆EG9.BAR is thought to be a result of a folk-etymological re-analysis of the latter). Since the very existence of a pre-Sumerian substratum in Mesopotamia is at best doubtful (v. [Rubio]) whereas some promising Sem. parallels are known (v. below), one should pro- bably postulate a Semitism in Sum. rather than an independent borrowing from an unknown source. Note that according to Salonen Akk. šappāru and Sum. S̆EG9.BAR mean 'wild boar' rather than 'wild sheep' (the same is true about S̆EG9 and its Akk. correspondence atūdu/etūdu, cf. No. ...). As far as Akk. texts are concerned, the only argument in favour of this opinion seems to come from Malku V 45ff. where sappāru (as well as atūdu) are equated to šaḫû 'pig'. However, identification value of this late lexical list (and especially of its left column) is obviously very restricted. On the other hand, the meaning 'deer' (Dama mesopotamica) for the Sum. term was convincingly defended in [Steinkeller 50] while there is no proof for Salonen's view on Sum. S̆EG9 and S̆AH as variant roots of common origin (v. critical remarks in [Cooper ...]).
Eblaitic:šè-bar-ru12 [MEE 4 004]. In a monolingual list of animals, identified with š/sappāru in [Sjöberg Ebla 10].
Epigraphic South Arabian:Sab. s1frt 'small cattle' [SD 125], 'goats' [Biella 342]. Hapax in R 3945/3 (wbḍʕ bʕlhmw bʕm s3lʔhmw bḳrm ws1frtm), traditionally rendered as 'imposed on them, in addi- tion to their tribute, cattle and goats' (so, e.g., [Biella]). This interpretation was sharply criticized in [Sima 142] (accor- ding to Sima, "das Nomen sfrt 'Kleinvieh; Ziegen' ist ... aus dem sabäischen Lexicon zu streichen"). However, most of Sima's arguments are not compelling or even wrong (v. below) so that one hesitates to share his conclusion.
Geʕez (Ethiopian):sappirā 'rhinoceros' [LGz. 509]. Not fully reliable, attested in a native lexicographic source only.
Notes:Cf. NWS terms with the consonantal root špr meaning 'horn' as a musical instrument: Ugr. špr 'cuerno (?)' [DLU 449], Hbr. šōpār 'horn (used as a wind instrument)' [KB 1447], Jud. šīpōrā 'horn, trumpet' [Ja. 1566], šōpārā,šōpǝrā id. [ibid. 1540], Syr. šīpōrā 'tuba' [Brock. 798], [PS 4141], Mnd. šipura (šupra) 'trumpet' [DM 462] (contra [Sima 142], there is no rea- son to believe that Arm. forms are borrowed from Hbr.). Accor- ding to the common opinion, Hbr. šōpār is borrowed from Akk. šappāru (so, e.g., [Landsberger Fauna 97] where quite an impro- bable phonetic development *šanpar > *šāpar is postulated). Since the Sum. origin of the Akk. term is far from obvious, there is no obstacle for regarding the two terms as cognates with a plausible meaning shift 'horned animal' > 'horn' > 'musi- cal instrument' (for an exact parallel cf. Pho. ybl vs. Hbr. yōbēl in No. ...). Arb. šafar- 'petit de gazelle' ([BK 1 1247], [Fr. II 424]) is to be read as šaṣar- according to [Hommel 276] and cannot be therefore compared to the present root (moreover, Arb. š- cannot correspond to Sab. s1). As rightly pointed out in [Sima 141], comparison of the present root with Arb. sfr 'vendre les meilleures pièces d'un troupeau' is semantically doubtful and should be abandoned. [Biella 342]: Sab., Akk.
Hebrew:tǝʔō, constr. tō(ʔ) 'antelope' [KB 1673], pB. 'wild ox (?)' [Ja. 1641]. In Dt 14.5 (among wild hoofed animals allowed for food) and Is 51.20 (bānayik ʕullǝpū šākǝbū // bǝrō(ʔ)š kol-ḥūṣōt kǝtō(ʔ) mikmār 'your sons lie in faint // on any crossroad, like a t. caught in a snare'). Suggestions for a more exact faunal identification see in [Talshir 252].
Tigre:tay (pl. tayatat) 'young of gazelle' [LH 320].
Notes:Reconstruction is not very reliable since it is difficult to say what diachronic backround is behind Hbr. tǝʔō (the proto-form *tāʔ- relies on the construct state tō(ʔ)). One won- ders whether -y [-i] in tʔy [tāʔi] from the Samaritan Pentateuch may correspond to -ay in Tgr. An alternative parallel in Tgr. may be wäʔat 'cow' [LH 441] if a metathetic development *taʔaw- > *waʔat- is assumed.
Number:2535
Proto-Semitic:*tawliʕat-
Meaning:worm
Akkadian:tūltu 'Wurm' OB on [AHw. 1369]. Known from lexical lists and literary texts (for OB see, e.g., Gilg. M II 9: adi tu-ul-tum imḳut ina appīšu 'until worm fell from his nose'). An archaic variant tu-li-a-tum exactly corresponding to the PS reconstruction may be found in the OB incantation YOS XI 5 10 (suggested by N.Roudik; not necessary a plural 'Würmer' as assumed in [Metzler 359]).
Hebrew:tōlāʕ 'a worm, in particular the "crimson-worm"' [KB 1701], tōlēʕā,tōlaʕat 'worm' [ibid. 1702], pB. [Ja. 1653].
Aramaic:Anc. twlʕh 'worm' [HJ 1206]. In KAI 222A 27: wšbʕ šnn yʔkl ʔrbh wšbʕ šnn tʔkl twlʕh 'locust will eat seven years and worm will eat seven years (cf. [Fitzmyer 85]). Off. twlʕ 'red/purple colour' [HJ 1206]. Sam. twlʕh 'worm' [Tal 945].
Notes:For the possibility of interpreting Ugr. tlʕ as 'worm' cf. *rimm-at-, No. ... Note the metathesis *tawliʕ-at- > *tawʕil-at- in all MSA. [Fron. 297]: *tawlaʕ-(at-) 'verme' (Amh., Har., Syr., Hbr., Akk.); [Brock. 825]: Syr., Arm., Akk., Hbr., Eth. (language not specified), Jib.; [LS 444]: Soq., Jib., Hbr., Arm., Amh., Akk.; [LGur. 597]: Gur., Eth., Hbr., Soq., Akk.; [KB 1701-2]: Hbr., Arm., Amh., Akk. (Ugr. tlʕ also discussed); [Firmage 1156]: Akk., Hbr., Arm.
Number:2536
Proto-Semitic:*tayš-
Meaning:he-goat
Hebrew:tayiš 'billy goat' [KB 1592], pB. 'he-goat; wether' [Ja. 1667]. A rare term used as a male parallel to ʕēz 'she-goat' in Gn 30.35, 32.15 and outside this parallelism in 2Ch 17.11 and Pr 30.31.
Notes:Akk. daššu (taššu) 'buck (said of gazelles and goats)' MA, SB on [CAD d 120], [AHw. 165] is traditionally compared to the present root. Forms with d- are clearly predominant and attested as early as archaic Mari (v. references in ARMT 19, p. 164) while the t-form appears only once in a lexical list. While the shift -yš- > -šš- is conceivable (a curious parallelism with Akk. laššu ~ Arb. laysa 'there is not' was pointed out in [Brock. 822]), word-initial d- is quite unexpected. Sceptical attitude towards this comparison see in [Sima 143]. Further parallels with d- are sometimes proposed for this root: Hbr. dīšōn 'aurochs' [KB 221] (hapax in the dietary law Dt 14.5; Sam. dšn 'an animal' [Tal 179] is most probably a Hebraism) and Akk. ditānu (didānu) 'aurochs' SB [CAD d 164], [AHw. 173]. This comparison looked very doubtful because of the word-middle -t- (-d-) and the meaning difference, but recently discovered Akk. evidence makes it more attractive. As pointed out in a special study [Durand 1988], the term UDU.HÁ ti-ša-né (with t-,-š- and meaning 'a (wild) ram' and not 'a (wild) bull'!) appears in lists of exotic animals from Mari. As pointed out by Durand, a phonetically similar form ti-ša-nu-uš has long been identified in the Hittite column of the trilingual lexical list MSL 3 64.11' (= Akk. ku-sa-ri-iḫ-ḫu, Sum. ALIM), likely representing a borrowing from some Semitic language. According to Durand, here may also belong the form ti-ša-nim in the OB sa- piential text BWL 227 10 (without translation in [AHw. 1362]). Durand does not hesitate to put together dīšōn, ditānu and tišānu without explaining convincingly either the phonetic shifts or the semantic difference. Further evidence for the reflexation of *tayš- in Akkadian comes from MA and NA where the forms tušēnu and tešēnu are attested ('eine Art Büffel ?' accroding to [AHw. 1352]). CF. A SPECIAL STUDY LION NABU 1991/60 Finally, it was suggested in [Conti-Bonechi] that Ebl. ti-sa-na (with variants) might be indentified with tišānu in spite of the fact that the Ebl. term denote a kind of jewel (the authors give further examples of zoomorphic jewels in Ebla). Conti and Bonechi explicitly relate the Ebla and Mari terms to *tayš- 'buck' (*tayš-ān-um > tīš-ān-um). [Fron. 29]: *tayš- 'capro' (Soq., Arb., Syr., Hbr., Akk. /daššu/); [KB 1592]: Hbr., Arm., Akk., Arb.; [Brock. 822]: Syr., Arm., Hbr., Akk.; [LS 441]: Soq., MSA, Arb., Hbr., Syr., Akk.; [Firmage 1152]: Hbr., Arm., Arb.; [Hommel 245]: *tayšu (Arb., Hbr., Arm.); [Sima 143]: Min., MSA, Hbr., Arm., Arb.
Number:2537
Proto-Semitic:*tVkVr-
Meaning:kind of bird
Akkadian:titkurru 'ein Vogel' SB [AHw. 1363]. Hapax in KAR 158 VII 34, see [Salonen Vögel 271] (note the translation 'dove' in [CAD l 48]).
Tigre:tukor 'tourterelle' [LH 316].
Number:2538
Number:2539
Proto-Semitic:*tVrbal- ~ *bVrtal-
Meaning:large hoofed animal
Judaic Aramaic:turbālā,torbǝlā 'aurochs' [Ja. 1656]. Traditionally explained as a compound term with the first element tōr 'bull'. The second element (bālā) is explained as either bārā 'field, steppe' with l dissimilated from an original r ([Levy WTM IV 634], [Levy WT II 533], [Talshir 252]) or as bālā 'prairie, pasture ground' [Ja. 135]. In view of the Tgr. parallel below, both interpretations are to be regarded as be- longing to popular etymology.
Tigre:bärtäl 'bull (of rhinozeros)' [LH 277].
Notes:Likely related to the present root is Amh. tǝrbe 'baby elephant' [K 966] (with *-al > *-ay > *-e). If this comparison is reliable, the variant proto-form *tVrbal- must be regarded as primary. This conclusion сould perhaps be corroborated by Bed. tírbil 'calf just weaned' [Blažek ...] if not the substantial semantic difference between this term and Tgr. and Jud. (but not Amh.!).
