One feature of Minoan-Hurrian appears to corresponds specifically with the evidence from Nippur, where Hurrian personal names are attested with the theophorous element
irmi / ermi
as a variant of
erwi
at Nuzi and
ewri / ibri
'Lord' and 'king' in the Tušratta letter and elsewhere, cf.
Ir-me/mi-ta-at-ta
and
Ir-me-ta-ta
at Nippur (Clay
PNCP
, 93), to be read
Erme/i-tatta
, i.e.
*Erwi-tatta
, according to P.M. Purves (
NPN
, 263). But Linear A
also occurs. Several personal names with the element
e-mi / i-mi
are attested in Linear A. They can be identified with
ermi / irmi
, since according to Linear A and B orthographic conventions
-r-
preceding
-m-
is not expressed in consonant clusters.
Linear A
wa-du-ni-mi
(HT 6b.1; HT 85b.4-5) at Hagia Triada can be analysed as an Old Hurrian
indicative
sentence name
wad=u=n-irmi
or
wand=u=n-irmi
'The Lord has made him/her (the child) good, just'.
i-mi-sa-ra
(HT 27+HT
48a.3), Hurrian
*Irmi/Ermi-šarra
, can be analysed as
Irmi/Ermi-šarr(=i)=a
, 'The Lord is like the King of Gods'.
ja-re-mi
(HT 87.3) from Hagia Triada, second sequence in a list of 7 personal names, can be analysed as
i=ar-/ij=ar-Ermi
'Make (the child) good, oh Lord !'. It can be compared with the Hurrian name
ia-ru-ḫé-pa
, analysed as
i=ar/ij=ar=u-ḫé-pa
'Ḫebat made (the child) good' or 'Make (the child) good, oh Ḫebat !'.
The Linear A inscription
te-we-mi
(↓) (PS Zf 1), read from top to bottom, among the repoussé designs on a bronze tablet from the Dictaean Cave of Psykhro (
Chapter 11: 'Religious' Linear A inscriptions
) can be analysed as
tew-ermi
, 'speak, oh Lord !', consisting of
ti-/te- / tiw-/tew-
'to speak, say words' +
ermi
=
erwi/ewri
'Lord'. The
imperative
'speak, oh Lord !' may well reflect the prayer pronounced by the dancing worshipper portrayed on the bronze tablet. Linear A
-e-mi/-i-mi
= Hurrian
is the form in which the Mycenaean Greeks inherited the theonym
Ἑρμῆς < Ἑρμάἁς < Ἐρμάἁς
(form with intervocalic
-h-
), cf. Linear B
e-ma-a
2
a-re-ja
(PY Tn 316 r. 7), singular dative
Ἑρμάᾁ Ἀρείᾳ
'for
Ἑρμάἁς Ἀρείᾱς
', 'for Hermes the Martial'. The intervocalic
of Mycenaean Greek moved to the front of the name. The etymology of
Hermes
is 'Lord'.