Abstract This article addresses the Lycian nominal forms zum̃mẽ and zum̃mã, designating an act of depredation against a burial installation, but lacking precise translation and etymology. It is proposed here to link these terms to the PIE root *ti̯egu̯ - ‘to withdraw, leave’ (cf. Gk. σέβομαι, Ved. tyájati), and to translate the expression zum̃mẽ/ã a(i)- (di) as ‘to perform a removal (of the door), to open.’ This would then be the counterpart of the Greek verbs ἀνοίγω and ἐπανοίγω frequently attested in Lycian epitaphs from the early Hellenistic period onwards. Beyond Lycian, the Proto- Luwic root *tseu̯- might be found in several other Luwic terms.
Florian Réveilhac (Fri,) studied this question.