Reconstruction:Proto-Semitic/ʕaṯtar-

This Proto-Semitic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Semitic

Etymology

Unknown. A borrowing from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (“star”) has been suggested, perhaps by way of an Anatolian language, but runs into phonetic and semantic problems that are difficult to resolve.

Possibly inherited from Proto-Afroasiatic and cognate with Central Atlas Tamazight ⵉⵜⵔⵉ (itri) and Proto-Chadic *təra (whence Hausa tàurārṑ), if they are not in turn borrowings ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr.

Proper noun

*ʕaṯtar- f

1. name of a star goddess, Astarte, Ishtar

Inflection

Declension of *ʕaṯtar-

Case	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	*ʕaṯtarum	*ʕaṯtarāna	*ʕaṯtarātum
Genitive	*ʕaṯtarim	*ʕaṯtarayna	*ʕaṯtarātim
Accusative	*ʕaṯtaram
possessive forms
1st person	*ʕaṯtarī / *ʕaṯtarVya	—	*ʕaṯtarVni
2nd person m	*ʕaṯtarVka	*ʕaṯtarVkumā / *ʕaṯtarVkumay	*ʕaṯtarVkum(ū)
2nd person f	*ʕaṯtarVki		*ʕaṯtarVkin(ā)
3rd person m	*ʕaṯtarVšu	*ʕaṯtarVšumā / *ʕaṯtarVšumay	*ʕaṯtarVšum(ū)
3rd person f	*ʕaṯtarVša		*ʕaṯtarVšin(ā)
Note: the endings -m and -na are dropped in the bound form, which may also undergo syncopation of an unstressed final vowel where possible. Note: the ending -V before the possessive endings responds to case: *ʕaṯtaruya for nom. case, *ʕaṯtariya for gen. case, *ʕaṯtaraya for acc. case, etc. Declension of 2sg m. possessive form (your/thy m.) *ʕaṯtar- Singular Dual Plural Nominative *ʕaṯtaruka *ʕaṯtarāka *ʕaṯtarātuka Genitive *ʕaṯtarika *ʕaṯtarayka *ʕaṯtarātika Accusative *ʕaṯtaraka Declension of 2sg f. possessive form (your/thy f.) *ʕaṯtar- Singular Dual Plural Nominative *ʕaṯtaruki *ʕaṯtarāki *ʕaṯtarātuki Genitive *ʕaṯtariki *ʕaṯtarayki *ʕaṯtarātiki Accusative *ʕaṯtaraki

Descendants

• East Semitic:
  • Akkadian: 𒀭𒈹 (Ištar)
  • Eblaite: 𒀭𒈹 (^dMUŠ₃, ^dINANNA /⁠Ašdar⁠/)
• West Semitic:
  • Central Semitic:
    • Ancient North Arabian: 𐪒𐪛𐪉𐪑𐪇 (ʿAṯtar)
      • Arabic: عَثْتَر (ʕaṯtar)
      • → Imperial Aramaic: 𐡏𐡔𐡕𐡓𐡌 (ʿAštarum)
      • → Palmyrene Aramaic: 𐡰𐡯𐡶𐡴 (ʿAstōr)
      • → Phoenician: 𐤏𐤔𐤕𐤓𐤌 (ʿAštarum)
    • Northwest-Semitic:
      • Amorite: 𒀭𒀹𒁯 (^diš₈-dar, ^diš₈-tar₂ /⁠ʿaṯtar(t)i⁠/, Akkadian heterogram)
        • Ugaritic: 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗 (ʿṯtr /⁠ʿAṯtar⁠/), 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚 (ʿṯtrt /⁠ʿAṯtartu⁠/)
      • Aramaic:
        • Old Aramaic: 𐡏𐡕𐡓 (ʿAttar)
          • → Akkadian: 𒀭𒀀𒋻 (^da-tar /⁠Atar⁠/), 𒀭𒀜𒋻 (^dat-tar /⁠Attar⁠/)
          • → Ancient North Arabian: 𐪒𐪉𐪇 (ʿAttar)
      • Canaanite:
        • Hebrew: עַשְׁתֹּרֶת ('ashtóret, ʿaštṓreṯ)
          • → Classical Syriac: ܐܷܣܬܪܴܐ (ʾestərā)
          • → Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: עַשְׁתָּרוֹת (ʿaštārōṯ) and עַשְׁתְּרָתָא (ʿaštərāṯā, “Ashtoreth”), אׅיסְתְּרָא (ʾistərā, “female spirit”)
        • Moabite: 𐤏𐤔𐤕𐤓 (ʿAštar)
        • Phoenician: 𐤏𐤔𐤕𐤓𐤕 (ʿAštart), 𐤏𐤔𐤕𐤓 (ʿAštar)
          • → Ancient Greek: Ἀστάρτη (Astártē)
            • → Latin: Astartē
              • → English: Astarte
      • → Egyptian: (ꜥsṯrt), (ꜥsṯjrṯt), (ꜥꜣstjr), (ꜥꜣsjty), (ꜥsṯt), (ꜥsṯrdt)
    • Old South Arabian: 𐩲𐩻𐩩𐩧 (ʿṯtr), 𐩲𐩯𐩩𐩧𐩣 (ʿśtrm)
  • Ethiopian Semitic:
    • Ge'ez: ዐስተር (ʿästär, “heaven, sky”)
      • → Amharic: አስታር (ʾästar), ኣስተር (ʾastär, “star”)
      • → Blin: ኣስተር (astär, “sky”)
      • → Tigre: ዓስተር (ʿastär, “heaven”)

Sources

• Aren Wilson-Wright (2016), Athtart: The Transmission and Transformation of a Goddess in the Late Bronze Age, →ISBN
• “strˀ”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• “ˁštrt”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• Olmo Lete, Gregorio del with Sanmartín, Joaquín and Watson, Wilfred G. E. (2015) “ʿṯtr – ʿṯtrt”, in A Dictionary of the Ugaritic Language in the Alphabetic Tradition (Handbook of Oriental Studies; 112), 3rd edition, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 190–192
• Leslau, Wolf (1991) Comparative Dictionary of Geʿez (Classical Ethiopic), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, →ISBN, page 73
• Zimmern, Heinrich (1915) Akkadische Fremdwörter als Beweis für babylonischen Kultureinfluss (in German), Leipzig: A. Edelmann, page 61