SILVA ANATOI TCA [Fs Popko]

ed. P. Taraclr;
Warsaw, Agade TAOZ

ON TFM ETYN4OLOGY OF
HITTITE kappar'vegetable, a product of the garden'

Ignacy R. Danka andKrzysztof T Witczak (d)

In his article "Hethitologische Miszellen", ArOr 67 (1999), 67I-68I,

Piotr Taracha discusses a number of words taken from the Middle Hittite
Ersat:rittal of the king Tuclbaliya" including Hitt' kappara 'vegetables,
greens; products of the garden'. He gives the following comment to the
I
item in question:
kappctr- c. "Gemtis. Gartenerzeugnis?'': DaS Logograrnm TUz SAR
inr angefirhrten Kontext stellt r'vohl eine Schreibung fur TUz kappara dar^
das in KUB XVII 23 I7' f. innerlralb einer entsprechenden Aufzihlung
r'on Gemtise- und Kriuterspeisen auftritt: ... TU' ga-an-go-li (8') TU7
lla-ra-ant-ma TUl kap-pa-a-ra TUl GU.GAL TIJ1 !a-pt-tt-t-tll-/i. Sonst
sind TIJ7 lqramma. TU' kappcra und TIJ1 fiapatrul(l)i (s. unten)
mehrfach nebeneinander belegt.
Bei heth. kctppara (Luwismust; kann man \,'on einem geschlechtigen r-
Stamm des T1ps kear- c. "Hand'' (uridg *!es-{ ,i *g!'s-r) in der
Kollektivbildung auf -c ausgehen. Fiir die Etynologie des Wortes darf
ferner auf einen uridg. Stanrm *kaP- ,i kP- "Stuck Land, Grundsttick''
und seine mit r-Suffix gebildete nonrinale Ableitung *kap-r i
*kep-!'
hingewiesen rverden, vgl. gr. rfinog, dorisch tcdxog "Garten" und
KupTroS "Frucht, Ernte" (mit Metathese). Folglich bietet sich fur
lreth. kappar- die Bedeutung "Genttise' Gartenerzeugnis? o..'' an, und
TIJI kappara,Ul SAR dtirfte als das "Quer durclr den Garten'' o..
gedeutet werden.
It is clear that P. Taracha convincingly reconstructs the semantics of
Hittitte kappcra. The suggested meaning 'vegetables, greens, products of
the garden' is well justified by both the context and the Sumerian lo-
gogram TUz SAR. Unfortunately, we cannot agree with the proposed
etymology of Hitt . kappara for a number of reasons.

1
In this quotation r,e omit the bibliographical references. A very similar comment is
given by P. Taracha in his excellent book Ersetzen und Entstthnen. Das mittelhethi-
ti,sche Ersatzritual .ftr den Gro/3knig T'utlnlija (CTH *148.4) tnd venyanclte Texte
(Leiden _ Boston - Kln 2000). 102_l03.
58 Ignacl, R. Danka. Krrysztof T. Witczak

Firstly' Greek Kcpnrs m. 'fruit' (also 'crop, harvest') combines with

the Latin verb carpere 'to pluck, pick, gather fruits' and the Germanic
equivalents (cf. English han,est 'crop', Dutch herfst, German Herbst
'harvest Season, autumn' < Gmc. *htfista-) A1l these words belong to
the Indo-European root *(s)kerp- I *(s)h'ep- (see Pokorny, IEW, 944;
Buck, Dss, 5 1 1-5 12), thus Greek rapn; can hardly be derived by
metathesis from the allegged archetype *kap-ro- or the like. What is more,
the etymologists do not connect Greek rcaprE with the Common Hellenic
terms for'garden' orchard' (Attic-Ionic rfixog, Doric rcdxog)
Secondly, the Indo_European root *cpo-'piece of land, garden, orchard'
(see WP I345; Pokorny, IEW,529; Buck, D.1,5: 490) contains the long vowel
-a-,, which seems to represent PIE. *-eHr.It is obvrous that the laryngeal -!-
should be attested in the Fhttite word for 'vegetables, greens; products of the
garden', if it would be acfually denved from *keH4o'.
Thirdly, the semantic aspects of the suggested derivation seem doubtful.
The Indo-European root 'kapo- appears in four Indo-European sub-
groups (see Appendix 2) and denotes 'piece of land' (in Greek and Ger-
manic), 'garden, orchard' (in Greek and Albanian), 'court, yard' (only in
Germanic) and 'heathen temple or grove' (in Germanic and Slavic). None
of these four semantic fields may explain the meaning of the Hittite term in
question (i.e. 'vegetables, greens, products of the garden').
In our opinion, Hitt. kappara should be derived from the Indo-
European root *k p- denoting 'straw, pod, vegetable, grass', also 'oats; a
kind of millet'. Unfortunately, this Indo-European root has been differently
reconstructed so far on the basis of incomplete and relatively scanty lexical
data (which include only the Sanskrit and Lithuanian items' Se Appendix
l) and therefore it has been incorrectly defined by most researchers (e.9.
*k{pc>'vom Wasser vertragenes', WP \ 345; *kdpc>'vom Wasser Fort-
geschwemmtes', Pokorny , IEW, 529; * kopos 'something fragmented,
shattered'', Illich_Svitych, NABS, 6; *kopos 'flotsam' , EIEC" 206) This is
why we would like to discuss here the problem of semantics.
Lithuanian dpas(m.) means first of all (1) 'straw, blade of grass, stalk''
but the plural form dpaidenotes also (2) 'what remains in the field after a
flood'. Sanskrit palt (m ) 'what floats in water; ^driftwood, floating',
which is the exact quivalent of the Lithuanian word2' Seems to fit the lat_
xo in
2
This is clear that the long *A in Indo-Iranian derir,es frorn a short apophonic IE.
agreement with the so called Bmgmann's rule. see N. E. Collinge. The Lcus o./'Indo-
ON THE ETYMOLOGY OF HITTITE kappar 59

ter meaning Of course, if a linguist takes into consideration only these two
items, he may suggest the original semantics 'flotsam' or the like. How-
ever, the Sanskrit term pa|l cannot be separated from other Indo-Iranian
forms which evidently reflect the same archetype:
(a) Skt. dpafim. 'what floats in water; driftwood, floating' : Pashai
sattl'grass', Pashto dial. ,sabil 'a species of grass growing in the hills,
Panict.nt colonun?', Wazirt slla m pl (formally - Lith. dpai)'a kind of
vegetable eaten with bread' (< Indo-Iranian 'r cp-);'
(b) Skt. k1peta- m. 'flowing reed' (an obvious drivative of ,pah) :
Roshani stbc, Khufi sbac 'pod (of beans, etc.)' (< Indo-Iranian
*lpaitr-m
)',4
(c) Skt. pa| m 'pasture, common' (??)5 _ NPers . ,sab:'green' grass',
Shughni Bajui sipc, Roshani sepc'cultivated field' (< Iran. *spa-c';6

Elropean (funsterdanr - Plriladelphia 1985). l3-2L Cf. also A. Ltots^ The ,Svsten
oJ'}{oninal tccelltuatiott itl Sn'skrit ond Proto-Inclo-Europeafl (Leiderr _ Ner,v York _
Kgbenhar.n _ Kln 1988). 71.76-77.
'G. Mo'genstierne. An Evmological l,'ocabilat oJ-Pa,shro (oslo lg2'7).66.
u
Note that G. Morgenstierne" Etwnological l:ocabtlaryl of the ,Sltughtti Group (Wies-
baden I971).71. derives the Shughni forms for'pod (of beans)'from **sapa1rt (witlt
a question rnark). It is asir to reconstruct Iran. *,sapaitra- (: Skt. rpnrn-'flor'l'ing
1eed'). Compare also Gk. dial. rltr7)pov 'a r.r'ild vegetable'.
' We cite OInd. sapa- m. 'pasture. conlmon / nacr6lrrue. BbrroH' after B. A. Ko-
qpfrlHa (Koer-qirla). CuucrcpuntcKo-p),ccxti cloactpo [The Sanskrit-Russian Dic-
tionaryl (Moscorv 1987). 641. If this Old Indian item is not a ghost-rvord" then its con-
parison u.itlr Shughni ternrs for 'cultivated field' rrculd b convincing from both th
phonological and semantic points of view. In fact. the semantic divergence" obsen'ed
here. u'ould be analogical as that betr,veen Lat. ager. Gk. dypof (m.) 'field' and OInd.
1ra-'pasture' (WP I37: Pokorny" IEII'.6. Mann. IECD. 1" EIEC.200). Unfortrrnately.
\;e ar afraid that Koergina has commited arr error. as thre different Sanskrit diction-
aries register onlr' trvo Sanskrit appellatives pa-(m.), denoting (l) 'Fltrch' Ventin-
schung' and (2) 'Trift. GeflB'. See e.g. C. Cappeller. ,Shnsk,it-II,'rterbucll (Berlin
1955), 4-tl: o. Bthlingk" Sal,skrit-tr|'orterbuclt in kirzerer Fa,sstltg. vol.6 (Graz
1959). 23.K. Mylius. Il'rterbuch Sanskrit-Deutsclt (Leipzig 1987). 478. As tlre Ger-
man word TriJi meats both 'pasture. common' and 'floating; rafting; drift', the seman-
tics given by Koergina may be false. Thtrs the nreanings and attestations of Sanskrit
spa- should be clrecked afreslr by the Indologists.
" Some researchers (e.g. H. W. Bailev, Dictionant of Khotan-Soka (Cambridge 1979).
355: D. Q. Adams in EIEC.200) belierre that the Greek-Albanian terms for 'garden'
slrould be connected u'itlr the Pashto srlbth 'grass. vegetables' (( *'that [produced] of a
garden'). Roshani sepc 'cultivated field' and Shughni (Bajui dial.) sdpc'id.' (< Iranian
*sapaIl' This conrparisotl miglrt change our opiniotr on tlre lrrdo_Europear protoform
and its distribution (see EIEC:" 8. ,,lve also have a term kapos that indicates cultirrated
land in both the European stocks and in Iranian"). if it rvould be firmly established.
60 Ignac1'R. Darrka. Kri'sztof T. Witczak

(d) Pashto Ktbah m 'a kind of grass', in pl. 'vegetables, greens'

(< Iran. *n;n-ha-);1
(e) Alanic,saba" oats' (< *,sapar- or *s1$, formally : Hitt. kappal'-);
(0 Shughni ,sip(i)yak 'a kind of millet', sepltak 'a grain of wheat'
(< Iran *sapr-h-)
Among numerous Iranian forms we can easily find not only the exact se-
mantic equivalents of Hin. kappara (e.g. Pashto ,sabh m. 'a kind of grass', in
pl. 'vegetablS, greens', Wazin sba m. pl. 'a hnd of vegetable eaten with
bread'), but also the morphological ones (e.g. Alanic sbar'oats'). It should
be emphasized that the Alanic form sabar'oats', as well as Shughni .sip(i)yak
'a kind of millet', sepyak 'a grain of wheat' (< Iran. a'x71t1'-11tr), cannot be
separated from the Celtic and Germanic terms for 'oats' (see below Appendix
1: Celtic *ko<p4-ft1l- - Gmc.
*hafi'-al-). These lexcal connections allow us to
*kopt- should be defined as 'straw, pod,
conclude that the Indo-European root
vegetable, grass; oats' rathr than'flotsam''
Numerous derivatives of IE * kop-, belonging originally to o-stems and
r.-stems, are securily attested. However, all the lrano-Celto-Germanic forms
denoting'oats'(and perhaps'a kind of millet') seem to represent a primi-
tive r-stem.e
The Hittite term for 'vegetable; product of the garden', extracted per-
fectly by P. Taracha, is a very important confirmation of both the archaic
character of the Indo-European root *kop- (denoting 'straw, pod, \'ege-

Unfortunatell,. botlr Albarriarr liopsht 'garden' and oBulg. kapite n. 'pagan tenrple'
clearly document *- (not *p-.1 irr the initial position. Moreover" rve should expect the
l'elar guttural (IE' *fr-; before the vorl *-d- ratlrer than tlre palatalized on (IE. *-).
Thus the phonetical enrrironnents suggest also the traditional reconstnrction *kdpos.
See especially 1q' T. Witczak. "Albanian kopsht arrd its cognates" , St{iaflh,llologica
Cracot,iensla B (2003. in press).
t For
the origin of Pashto sabah 'vegetables. greerls' (< Iran. *,sapa-ha- < Indo-iranian
*pa-sa-).See especially Skt. .r,riva.sn- (m. / n.) 'grass'. Pali .vawosa- (n.) 'grass. lra.v'.
Prakritja:r)osa- n. 'grass. wlreat and other grains'. Marathi java,s nr' 'lirrsed plarrt'" n.
'linseed': Aslrkun.l,us'grass'. Khorar./o'grass': Arvest..l,aval,1ha- n' 'Weide'\,er-
sus Skt. .vl,a- (rn.) 'grain. corn' barlev' : Arest. .vovo- (nr.) 'grairr'.
*
See J. Nemeth. "Eine Wrterliste der Jassen" der ungarlzirrdischerr Alanen''. ,'trbhand-
lt.np4en der Deut,schen 'trkademie der I'I:issen,schaften:u Berlil. Kla.s'se.fi.r,Sprachen,
Lirailr unKutt,st. Jalrrgang 1958. No. -t (Berlin l958). 16: B' LI. A6acn.
_
trIcltopurcoiut-tlo'ittlzurecruC.o6apb o('e|nuH(KoeO fl3blt(l. vol. IV (Moskr'a Lnin_
g,rad l989). 3()6. s''' :rc!xe.
v
P. Stalnraszczyk. K. T. Witczak" "The Celtic uord for 'oats. Ar,'ena sativa' and its
Indo-European equivalents". Li n gua P o sn a n i e tr.sls 3 -[ ( 1 99 1 - 1992). 83 -87.
ON TFm ETYMOLOGY OF HITTITE kappar 6l

table, grass; oats') and the early existence of derivatives belonging to the
'-stems. The extnsive distribution of the root in question, comprising as
many aS Seven Indo_Europan stocks (namely Anatolian, Indic" Iranian'
Greek, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic), is also noteworthy.
Appendix I

IE. *k(ryt-: lexical evidence

AI{ATOLIAN Hittite kappar- c

'vegetable; a product of the garden'
('Gemuse, Gartenerzeugnis', according to P. Taracha, ArOr 67, 672-673);
INDIC. olnd' 'p[ m 'what floats in water; driftwood, floating'
(: Lith dpas);Sl spep- m. 'flowing reed' (: Iran. *rt1nitra-, Gk. dial.
x'nr71pov),
IRANIAN: Pashto sabah 'a kind of grass', in pl. 'vegetables, greens'
(< lran. *np-ha- m ); Pashto dial. sclbr7'a species of grass growing in the
hills, Panicunl colorutm'; Wazirt ,sba m. pl. 'a kind of vegetable eaten
with bread' (formally :Lith. 'cipai); Pashai 'sallI'grass'; Shughni sip(i)yak
'a kind of millet', ,sepy,ak'a grain of wheat' (< Iran. *xtpr-kt,-, cf.
CELTIC); Alanic .sabar'oats'(< Iran. *xt1nr- or *sa14; formally: Hitt.
kappar-); NPers. 'sab: 'green, grass'; Shughni Bajui ,scipc,, Roslrani s1lc'
'cultivated field' (< Iran. *sa1n-cY; Roshani gbc, Khufi sabac 'pod (of
beans, etc.)'(< Iran *xrpaitt'a- : Skt. scpe{a-);
GREEK: Gk dial (perhaps Boetian) x-onr71poy 'a wild vegetable'
(: Skt. ^aq;e n-, Roshani sabc, Khufi 'sahrec), attested only in Hesychius'
lericon (rc-3552)'. rcxr7)pov , QUTov )"a7av66eE dyptov.
CELTIC: Mlr. coirce m. 'auena' (acc. pl. corca); Irish coirce; Gaelic
cot'c, coirce; Manx corkey, Welsh ceirch; Cornish kergh, kcrch, keirch',
MBret. c1terch; Bret. Cerc'h 'oats' (< Celt *ko<p-'.t'-k[yJu-; see P. Stal-
maszazyk, K. T Witczak, Lingta Po'snatien'si,y 34 (1991-1992)" B3-B7);
GERMANLC: oNord. ha.fl'i m. 'oats'; oSax' haboro; Du. have':
E. dial. haver', OHG. habaro; G. Hafer, dtal. Haber (< Gmc. *hahrctn-);
OSwed hafi'e beside hagre; Swed., Norw. dial. hagre 'oats' (< Gmc.
*hagral- by assimilation of the consonants, aS Seen in the Fennic loan-
rvordksh'a'oats');
B_LTIC: Lith. ,dpa,s m. 'Straw, blade of grass, Stalk', ,ipaim. pl.
'what remains in the fild after a flood'
62 Ignaq' R. Danka. Krrysztof T. Witczak

Appendix 2
IE *kap: lexical evidence

GREEK. Ionic, Attic rcfinog, Doric rcdnoE m. 'garden, orchard, planta-

tion', also 'unbearbeitetes Grundstuck' in Crete; Cyprian ka-po-,se fkapos or
acc. pl' fupns)'beflanes Grundsttrck, Garten', dat. sg. ka-po-i |kap, acc.
sg. kaporc fka1n, Gk. dial. rc&nu; (according to Hesychius);
ALBAI'{IAN: kopsht m.'garden; orchard' ;
GERMANIC: oSax. htn'piece of land'; oHG. huoba'Grundstuck';
MHG. htobe'Stuck Land von einem gewissen MaBe'; G. Hr,.fn, Hube f.,
LG. han, 'smallholding; outfield' (LG has several dialectal vartants); Du.
hoeve 'Bauernhof / farm' (< Gm c. *hb f . 'a piece of land'); op ho.f n.
'court, yard'; ON hrr.f n 'Tempel mit Dach'; Norw. hott'small hill' (per-
haps orig. 'heathen holy hill'); Du. hof 'court, yard, garden'; Fris. hof
'orchard'; oHG. hof, G Hof m.'courtyard' (< Gmc' *hta- m. / n.),
SLAVIC: oChSl., oBulg. kapiten. 'pagan temple'; oRuss. kpie n.
'heathen temple or sacred grove' (< Sl. *kap-ist-ie', formally : Alb.
kopsht); also OChSl. kapu (f ) 'image, portrait, phantom, idol' (if this
meaning derives from orig. 'sacred grove, holy cult place').
The above-mentioned reflexes of the Indo-European root oktp com-
prise four basic semantic fields, as seen in Table 1. The double resem-
blance of the meanings in the Greek-Albanian items ('garden') and in the
Nordic-Slavic ones ('heathen temple') is noteworthy.

Table 1. Semantic distribution of IE. nkop

Semantic fields
Languages (1) 'piece of (2)'garden, (3) 'court, yard' (3)'heathen
land' orchard' temple. *idol'
Greek * in Cretan + in all the
dialects dialects
Albanian * common
Germanic + in West- + in Dutch * in most Gmc + in Nordic
Germanic and Frisian languages
Slavic + in East-
South Slavic