Syriac samminē (pl) ‘Pomace (?)’ and an Akkadian Cognate

Abstract

The word samminē (pl) appears to be a hapax legomenon in Syriac, being attested only in Mēmrā 10 ‘On Stephen’ of Narsai (d. ca. 500), where it seems to refer to grapes and perhaps, more specifically, to pomace. Though the available manuscripts are unanimous in transmitting samminē (pl), Brockelmann emended the word to yasminē ‘jasmine’. This emendation is, however, contextually difficult. In addition, a possible cognate to Syriac samminē (pl) is to be found in Akkadian sammīnu, which occurs in lists of foodstuffs in several Old Babylonian letters as well as in the Uruanna plant list. The Akkadian cognate, which has not previously been noted in the Syriac lexicographical literature, all but assures that samminē (pl) is a genuine Syriac word.