An Alternate Etymology of Paralatae
Hello Yair,
Attached, please find my paper that presents an alternate etymology of Scolotoi. It continues the premise that the suffixes in several names for Scythians are of a Semitic origin.
I can't recall if you've presented information on the suffix LT in your research. If not, this suffix might prove to be a helpful clue in tracing the origins of tribal groups in your ongoing research. At one time, I looked up the list of ancient tribal names in Europe just out of curiosity. Interestingly enough, it turned out to that there were have several names in Spain and Belgium that ended with the identical vLvT pattern.
Not long ago, you mentioned Paralatae (Royal Scythians) in one of your blogs and linked them to the descendants of Ephraim. Significantly, this could be the first time the name Ephraim has been ever detected outside Palestine. The initial consonants PR can stand for Ephraim, if we remove the 'plural' suffix -aim. Digressing for just a moment, it is noteworthy that Ephraim was actually the individual name for the youngest son of Joseph, but it later became a fitting name for the prophesied 'commonwealth of nations' when Britain expanded around the world. The root PR can be also taken to denote 'bullock, calf, ox' in Biblical Hebrew. In Old English, we find fearr 'a bull, an ox.' This word is the result of the Germanic sound shift of p > f. So, perhaps Paralatae means 'offspring of Ephraim' or 'offspring of the bull.' Or both!
An Alternate Etymology of Scolotoi
Thesis
Herodotus claims that among Scythians, Scolotoi was a tribal self-appellation. The lexical composition of this name begins with the iconic root SC/SK which is found in the Akkadian, Old Persian, and Greek names for Scythians. This root is complemented with the collective suffix -olot which originates from Akkadian. This suffix comes from the Semitic root WLD 'offspring' from which some Akkadian collective nouns are formed in the pattern of vLvT. On this basis, it is suggested that the name Scolotoi is of Semitic origin, denoting the descendants identified by the iconic word root SC/SK. This paper does not explore the potential identity of Scythians.
A Clue from the Word Root SC/SK
In Histories, Herodotus tells us that Scolotoi was the name Scythians used to identify themselves. He writes, 'the whole together are called, they say, Scolotoi, after the name of their king; but the Hellenes gave them the name of Scythians (Greek Skythai) [1]. The general consensus among historians is that Scythians and Saka (Old Persian Sakae) are synonyms for the same ethnic group. Though different in form, Scolotoi, Scythians, and Saka display the root SC or SK [2] at the beginning of their names, suggesting a common origin. The significance of this consonant word root becomes apparent.
The SC root acts as the lexical anchor with which these names were formed. It entails a source language in which consonant roots are a major defining feature. Semitic languages come to the fore, as they use isolated sets of consonants, usually three, to create words. When consonants are combined to form word roots, often a certain meaning is attached to each word root combination. The root SC is the product of this Semitic method of vocabulary formation: Scolotoi, Scythians, and Saka evince this distinct pattern.
A Clue from the Word Root LT
On this basis, the lexical construction of Scolotoi is assumed to be Semitic. Initially, it consists of a root and a suffix: SC + lotoi. However, since the root SC cannot stand alone, the vowel o is added as a shwa (an unstressed central vowel) to link the root to the next syllable. Hence SC + o + lotoi. The suffix lotoi includes the Greek nominative plural suffix -oi. When it is taken out of the equation, the suffix is reduced to lot. If this suffix is presumed to have also formed from a Semitic consonant root, the root would be LT.
The Semitic root that corresponds to LT is found in the Akkadian littu 'offspring.' This root acts as either a noun or a suffix. Many Akkadian words based on the root LT (or sometimes LD) denote a sense of lineage, or 'a group,' or 'a domain' in the abstract sense and they are mainly collective nouns, as the following words demonstrate [3]:
ellatu a clan, a (small) tribe
ildu offspring, progeny
lillidu offspring (of humans and flocks)
littu descendant, progeny
sal tu a clan, a famille
b l tu rule, domination/dominion, ownership, empire
gal tu deportees, settlers
illutu band, group, party of people, host, family group, clan army, enemy troops; also god of the clan
l tu sphere of authority; province; army corps; power, strength [of a deity]
yal tu alliance
These examples epitomize the use of the Semitic primary root WLD 'offspring,' although the usage of this word root is different in Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic. In Biblical Hebrew, words seldom begin with the initial consonant w. Instead, the consonant y is substituted, as exemplified by YLD - 'to bear, bring forth.' On the other hand, Biblical Hebrew also employs prefixation which maintains the letter w. For example, we see mowledeth to mean 'birth, origin; progeny, offspring; kindred, family; those of the same nation,' and towldah 'generations, families, races' [4]. Aramaic avoids the difficulty of pronouncing words with the initial w by prefixing it with the aleph as illustrated by wlyd 'offspring.' In Akkadian, the initial w sometimes disappears, resulting in some words beginning with an initial vowel, as seen above. Despite the different semantic conventions, the primary sense of WLD 'offspring' is common across all the Semitic languages [5].
Akkadian nouns have a tendency to end with t as the final consonant due to a dental consonant exchange (t <> d). Such consonant shifts frequently occurred in Semitic vocabulary without necessarily changing the meaning of the word, such as lillidu and lillittu (f.) 'offspring (of humans and flocks)' and littu and liddatu 'offspring' [6]. The consonant d tends to be found in Akkadian personal names as they sometimes incorporate the root LD with a theophoric association which invokes the virtues of a deity. A few examples are Dam-mu-mu-al-lid 'Damu is begetter,' Kubaba-lidi - Kubaba [gives] a child, and Li-dan-bel-matati 'Child of the lord of the lands' [7].
Akkadian provides the context where the root LT or LD is appropriated as a suffix to denote the sense of association with a group, a deity, and conceivably, an ancestor. In this light, it is suggested that Scolotoi resulted as a product of this method of vocabulary formation. Herodotus leaves a valuable clue which presents the root SC as a denotation of ancestry. He writes 'From Scythes, son of Heracles, comes the whole line of the kings of Scythia' [8]. Although this account is mythical, it supposes that the name Scolotoi derives from an individual, Scythes. To the ancestral root SC, -lotoi was added as a patronymic suffix.
A Clue from Another Gentilic
Herodotus also mentions Paralatai which is commonly translated as 'Royal Scythians' in many English versions [9]. The lexical composition of Paralatai suggests an Assyrian origin because its ending alat(ai) squares well with the Akkadian pattern of vLvT (v refers to a vowel). When we compare Scolotoi to Paralatai, the vowel harmony becomes apparent. This phonological feature is characteristic of Akkadian which is fond of having the same vowel repeated in consecutive syllables [10].
Cambridge Ancient History records two other ethnonyms whose endings are also formed with the LT root, Koilaletoi and Tilataii, sixth century BCE Thracian tribes [11]. Herodotus speaks of another neighbouring tribe, Bisaltae: the name apparently lost the vowel between l and t [12 ]. With the suffixes -latae, -latai and -letoi, these tribal names may have terminated with a gentilic suffix denoting 'people of', which is congruous to Akkadian illatu 'kinship group, clan' [13]. These suffixes do not appear to be native to Greek.
Conclusion
The name Scolotoi appears to denote 'the offspring or people of SK' after the Akkadian manner of forming collective names. Herodotus' account that Scythes was the ancestor of Scythian kings suggests that this root is of a patronymic nature, a premise that can be material in other names for Scythians. Although there may be room to doubt Herodotus' account, the fact remains that the suffix -lot is not of Greek origin. It points to Akkadian as the probable source of the suffix, as Akkadian employs the suffix in the root LT or LD in many of its words.
Thesis
Herodotus claims that among Scythians, Scolotoi was a tribal self-appellation. The lexical composition of this name begins with the iconic root SC/SK which is found in the Akkadian, Old Persian, and Greek names for Scythians. This root is complemented with the collective suffix -olot which originates from Akkadian. This suffix comes from the Semitic root WLD 'offspring' from which some Akkadian collective nouns are formed in the pattern of vLvT. On this basis, it is suggested that the name Scolotoi is of Semitic origin, denoting the descendants identified by the iconic word root SC/SK. This paper does not explore the potential identity of Scythians.
A Clue from the Word Root SC/SK
In Histories, Herodotus tells us that Scolotoi was the name Scythians used to identify themselves. He writes, 'the whole together are called, they say, Scolotoi, after the name of their king; but the Hellenes gave them the name of Scythians (Greek Skythai) [1]. The general consensus among historians is that Scythians and Saka (Old Persian Sakae) are synonyms for the same ethnic group. Though different in form, Scolotoi, Scythians, and Saka display the root SC or SK [2] at the beginning of their names, suggesting a common origin. The significance of this consonant word root becomes apparent.
The SC root acts as the lexical anchor with which these names were formed. It entails a source language in which consonant roots are a major defining feature. Semitic languages come to the fore, as they use isolated sets of consonants, usually three, to create words. When consonants are combined to form word roots, often a certain meaning is attached to each word root combination. The root SC is the product of this Semitic method of vocabulary formation: Scolotoi, Scythians, and Saka evince this distinct pattern.
A Clue from the Word Root LT
On this basis, the lexical construction of Scolotoi is assumed to be Semitic. Initially, it consists of a root and a suffix: SC + lotoi. However, since the root SC cannot stand alone, the vowel o is added as a shwa (an unstressed central vowel) to link the root to the next syllable. Hence SC + o + lotoi. The suffix lotoi includes the Greek nominative plural suffix -oi. When it is taken out of the equation, the suffix is reduced to lot. If this suffix is presumed to have also formed from a Semitic consonant root, the root would be LT.
The Semitic root that corresponds to LT is found in the Akkadian littu 'offspring.' This root acts as either a noun or a suffix. Many Akkadian words based on the root LT (or sometimes LD) denote a sense of lineage, or 'a group,' or 'a domain' in the abstract sense and they are mainly collective nouns, as the following words demonstrate [3]:
ellatu a clan, a (small) tribe
ildu offspring, progeny
lillidu offspring (of humans and flocks)
littu descendant, progeny
sal tu a clan, a famille
b l tu rule, domination/dominion, ownership, empire
gal tu deportees, settlers
illutu band, group, party of people, host, family group, clan army, enemy troops; also god of the clan
l tu sphere of authority; province; army corps; power, strength [of a deity]
yal tu alliance
These examples epitomize the use of the Semitic primary root WLD 'offspring,' although the usage of this word root is different in Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic. In Biblical Hebrew, words seldom begin with the initial consonant w. Instead, the consonant y is substituted, as exemplified by YLD - 'to bear, bring forth.' On the other hand, Biblical Hebrew also employs prefixation which maintains the letter w. For example, we see mowledeth to mean 'birth, origin; progeny, offspring; kindred, family; those of the same nation,' and towldah 'generations, families, races' [4]. Aramaic avoids the difficulty of pronouncing words with the initial w by prefixing it with the aleph as illustrated by wlyd 'offspring.' In Akkadian, the initial w sometimes disappears, resulting in some words beginning with an initial vowel, as seen above. Despite the different semantic conventions, the primary sense of WLD 'offspring' is common across all the Semitic languages [5].
Akkadian nouns have a tendency to end with t as the final consonant due to a dental consonant exchange (t <> d). Such consonant shifts frequently occurred in Semitic vocabulary without necessarily changing the meaning of the word, such as lillidu and lillittu (f.) 'offspring (of humans and flocks)' and littu and liddatu 'offspring' [6]. The consonant d tends to be found in Akkadian personal names as they sometimes incorporate the root LD with a theophoric association which invokes the virtues of a deity. A few examples are Dam-mu-mu-al-lid 'Damu is begetter,' Kubaba-lidi - Kubaba [gives] a child, and Li-dan-bel-matati 'Child of the lord of the lands' [7].
Akkadian provides the context where the root LT or LD is appropriated as a suffix to denote the sense of association with a group, a deity, and conceivably, an ancestor. In this light, it is suggested that Scolotoi resulted as a product of this method of vocabulary formation. Herodotus leaves a valuable clue which presents the root SC as a denotation of ancestry. He writes 'From Scythes, son of Heracles, comes the whole line of the kings of Scythia' [8]. Although this account is mythical, it supposes that the name Scolotoi derives from an individual, Scythes. To the ancestral root SC, -lotoi was added as a patronymic suffix.
A Clue from Another Gentilic
Herodotus also mentions Paralatai which is commonly translated as 'Royal Scythians' in many English versions [9]. The lexical composition of Paralatai suggests an Assyrian origin because its ending alat(ai) squares well with the Akkadian pattern of vLvT (v refers to a vowel). When we compare Scolotoi to Paralatai, the vowel harmony becomes apparent. This phonological feature is characteristic of Akkadian which is fond of having the same vowel repeated in consecutive syllables [10].
Cambridge Ancient History records two other ethnonyms whose endings are also formed with the LT root, Koilaletoi and Tilataii, sixth century BCE Thracian tribes [11]. Herodotus speaks of another neighbouring tribe, Bisaltae: the name apparently lost the vowel between l and t [12 ]. With the suffixes -latae, -latai and -letoi, these tribal names may have terminated with a gentilic suffix denoting 'people of', which is congruous to Akkadian illatu 'kinship group, clan' [13]. These suffixes do not appear to be native to Greek.
Conclusion
The name Scolotoi appears to denote 'the offspring or people of SK' after the Akkadian manner of forming collective names. Herodotus' account that Scythes was the ancestor of Scythian kings suggests that this root is of a patronymic nature, a premise that can be material in other names for Scythians. Although there may be room to doubt Herodotus' account, the fact remains that the suffix -lot is not of Greek origin. It points to Akkadian as the probable source of the suffix, as Akkadian employs the suffix in the root LT or LD in many of its words.
The Semitic origin of the name Scolotoi raises the question as to how their name-bearers ended up in the wilds of Scythia. Paralatai and other tribal groups also bear the identical vLvT pattern in their names, so this intriguing question is not necessarily isolated to Scolotoi. If the collective suffix indeed traces back to Akkadian, it raises the possibility that 1) these groups had significant language contact with Akkadian-speaking people before they migrated to Scythia and that 2) some of them were descended from the Assyrians. While the historical context of the LT suffix in these and other ethnonyms needs to be explored, the preliminary finding is that Scolotoi means the offspring of an individual for whom the word root SK is the prominent marker of identity.
Endnotes
[1] Herodotus, Histories 4.6.
[2] Ancient Greek did not have the letter C which is the phonetical equivalent of K, so Scolotoi is the Latinized form of Greek Skolotoi. Although Old Persian Sak has the intervening medial vowel, its consonant root is SK.
[3] The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute, volume I, 71, volume L, 188; the rest of the entries are drawn from Akkadian Dictionary. Accessed September 29, 2021. http://www.assyrianlanguages.org/akkadian/index_en.php.
[4] Gesenius, Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon.
[5] Holger Gzella states, " w- l- ('offspring') is common to all the languages of NWS." "Northwest Semitic Languages and Hebrew.' In Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics. Accessed February 16, 2021. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2212-4241_ehll_EHLL_COM_00000336.
[6] The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute, volume L, 188, 219.
[7] Tallqvist, Assyrian Personal Names. Li-dan-bel-matati and Dam-mu-mu-al-lid are mentioned on pages 121 and 281 respectively; The Assyrian and Aramaic Texts from Tell Shiukh Fawqani refers frequently to Kubaba-lidi, which is understood to mean 'Kubaba [gives] a child.'
[8] Herodotus, Histories 4.10.
[9] Ibid., Histories 4.6. Exactly how 'Royal Scythians' was rendered from this Greek word is difficult to determine as this rendition appears arbitrary: an interpretation by the translators.
[10] Lipinski, Semitic Languages Outline of a Comparative Grammar, 196.
[11] The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume 3, Part 2, 600, 606.
[12] Herodotus, Histories 8.116.
[13] The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute, volume I, 82.