ܐܶܫܦܶܙܳܐ špzʾ ešpezzā lodging, inn
Allotropes: ܫܦܙܐ špzʾ, ܫܦܪܙܐ špyzʾ, ܐܫܦܝܙ ʾšpyz-. Derivatives: ܐܫܦܪܐ ʾšprʾ major-domo (cf. ʾšpʾ chief of the eunuchs BB 310u); ܐܲܫܦܲܙܟܵܢܵܐ ʾšpzknʾ ašpazkānā, ܐܫܦܝܙܟܢܐ ʾšpyzknʾ major-domo; host
OP *ašpinǰa- (Hinz 1975, 47; but the reconstruction with -š- suggested by Hinz is controversial, since all the Iranian forms have -s-: see below); MP aspinǰ [ʾspnc] hospitality; inn (CPD 12; Nyberg 32 and 178, spinjānakīh, the act of lodging); ManParth. and ManMP ʿspynj, ʿspync /ispenǰ/ hostel, a place to stay (Durkin-Meisterernst 2004, 87); NP sipanǰ place to stay, guest (Steingass 652). Syr. ʾšpzknʾ traces back to Early MP *aspinǰakān (on the MP suffix -agān see § 9.3.2), together with Arm. LW aspnǰakan "der einen Fremden gastlich aufnimmt, Wirth" (Hübschmann AG 109, no. 68; Bolognesi 1960, 49 "ospite"; cf. Telegdi 231 ff.). Syr. ʾšprʾ major-domo seems to be a derivative from ʾšpʾ (probably a strong adaptation of ʾšpzʾ) by means of the Syriac suffix -ārā: see § 4. — Talm. Aram. ʾwšpyzʾ (cf. Telegdi 231); Md. špynzʾ špinzā abode, dwelling (Nöldeke MG 51): according to Widengren (1960, 102) the Talm. Aram. and the Md. words are both loanwords from Parth. əspin. See also N. pr. Hebr. ʾšpnz (Daniel 1: 3) "Gastlichkeit", mentioned by Hinz 1975, 47, who adds: “H.W. Bailey (BSOS 7, 1933–1935, 74) verweist noch auf syr. ʾšpzknʾ, ʾšpyzknʾ ‘inn-keeper’, georg. maspinjeli ‘host, hostess at banquet’, sogd. ʾspnčyh ‘Ruheplatz’, mandäisch ʾspynzʾ”: the Md. form, however, seems to be only špynzʾ. Horn 156 also quotes Türk. LW ispenǰe (← NP); see also Russell 2001–2002, 75. Telegdi (231 ff. and 218) observes that the Talm. loanword presents two features which are at variance with the Iranian attested forms, namely u and š in comparison with a (i) and s of the Iranian models. /š/ must be due to a distant assimilation; the fact that it appears in Talm. Aram., Syr. and Md. warrants the hypothesis that the word was not borrowed independently into these languages; more probably the word was already borrowed into Off. Aram. The vowel /u/ is an autonomous development in Talm. Aram., owing to /p/; see also § 9 ● ʾšpzʾ am 2, 230, 16; 3, 111, 13 = apap 275, 8 = HS v 23B; AM 1, 107, 18; BB 310, 16 and 19; 1999, 10; ʾšprʾ BA 1600; ʾšpzknʾ, ʾšpyzknʾ Bh ad Jud 19, 24; BA 1600 (s.l.); BB 310, 13; Bh car 65, 9; LSt 142, 13; Eth 129, 6 ◆ LS 53b; Lagarde AS § 207; Lagarde 1878, 51; PS Suppl. 39