The Semitic Root Hwy in Ugaritic and Derived Stems in Egyptian

Abstract

IN Ugaritic as in other Semitic dialects the root hwy takes on a variety of meanings. The feminine noun hwt, appears several times, mostly in stereotyped formulae, with the meaning command, 1 or matter, affair.2 Both nuances are easily derived from the basic sense of the root expressed in the Akkadian cognate awCm, awatu, word, affair. It is possible, though by no means certain, that a verbal form appears once in Ugaritic with the meaning arouse desire.3 This semantic range is paralleled in Hebr. hawwit, teh6tet4, you shout (from a derived stem htt),4 hawwah, craving, and Arab. hawiya, love, desire.5 The primary Egyptian cognate to the root hwy is the verb hwt (Arab. hawwata; see below) which has previously been known only in Late Egyptian. However, an important new occurrence of this verb in the Coffin Texts shows that the root must be Egypto-Semitic rather than a loan in Late Egyptian,6 and that the original sense is speak, shout: sdm.sn hrw RC hwt.f hr hrw hmhmt wrt, They hear the voice of Re when he shouts (hwt) with the noise of a mighty roar.'7 Here the primary sense of Semitic hwy is maintained. In Late Egyptian, on the other hand, hwt is found mostly in religious texts with the meaning lament, wail.8 As with other weak verbs in Late Egyptian, the spelling shows many variations: ht, hwt, h(:)t, h(3)wt, and even h(i)y; 9 the : is of course superfluous.10