Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/gǫba

This Proto-Slavic 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-Slavic

Etymology

Probably substantivization of Proto-Balto-Slavic *gúmˀbas (“bulged, bloated”) + *-a. Cognate with Lithuanian gum̃bas (“bulge”) (with métatonie douce), gémbė (“nail”), Latvian gum̃ba (“tumor”). Further origin uncertain:

• An old hypothesis due to Pedersen, Berneker suggests possible relationship (through metathesis) with Ancient Greek σπόγγος (spóngos, “fungus”), Latin fungus. Doubted by Vasmer, Trubačev, Derksen.
• Trubačev additionally draws comparison to Proto-Germanic *wambō (“womb”), Sanskrit गभ (gabhá, “vagina”) (which however requires a circumflex root). A more likely Germanic cognate is Norwegian kump (“lump, bulge”) (< *kumpaz).

The sense ‘lip, mouth’ is probably figurative and should not be separated from the sense ‘mushroom’. Some daughter languages exhibit accentual difference between the two meanings, as in the case of Czech houba (“sponge”) : huba (“mouth”).

Noun

*gǫ̀ba f

1. fungus, mushroom
2. sponge (marine animal)
3. lip, mouth

Declension

Declension of *gǫ̀ba (hard a-stem, accent paradigm a)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*gǫ̀ba	*gǫ̀bě	*gǫ̀by
genitive	*gǫ̀by	*gǫ̀bu	*gǫ̀bъ
dative	*gǫ̀bě	*gǫ̀bama	*gǫ̀bamъ
accusative	*gǫ̀bǫ	*gǫ̀bě	*gǫ̀by
instrumental	*gǫ̀bojǫ, *gǫ̀bǭ**	*gǫ̀bama	*gǫ̀bamī
locative	*gǫ̀bě	*gǫ̀bu	*gǫ̀basъ, *gǫ̀baxъ*
vocative	*gǫ̀bo	*gǫ̀bě	*gǫ̀by

^* -asъ is the expected Balto-Slavic form but is found only in some Old Czech documents; -axъ is found everywhere else and is formed by analogy with other locative plurals in -xъ.
^** The second form occurs in languages that contract early across /j/ (e.g. Czech), while the first form occurs in languages that do not (e.g. Russian).

Derived terms

• *gǫbъka, *gǫbica (diminutive)
• *gǫbatъ (“pouted, with creased lips”)
• *gǫbavъ (“infected by fungi, leprous”) *gǫběstъ (“mushy, spongy”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: гѫ́ба (gǫ́ba)
    • Belarusian: губа́ (hubá)
    • Ukrainian: губа́ (hubá)
    • Middle Russian: гу́ба́ (gúbá)
      • Russian: губа́ (gubá)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic: гѫба (gǫba)
  • Bulgarian: гъ́ба (gǎ́ba), гъ́мба (gǎ́mba) (dialectal)
  • Macedonian: габа (gaba)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: гу̏ба

    Latin script: gȕba

  • Slovene: gọ́ba (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: húba
    • Czech: houba (“sponge”), huba (“mouth”)
    • → Polish: huba (“polypore”)
  • Polish: gęba (“mouth, mug”)
    • → Ukrainian: ґе́мба (gémba)
  • Silesian: gymba
  • Slovak: huba
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian:
    • Upper Sorbian: huba

• → Hungarian: gomba
• → Proto-Turkic: *kömbe

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “губа”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1980), “*gǫba”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 7 (*golvačь – *gyžati), Moscow: Nauka, page 78
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “гъба¹, гъба²”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 297
• “gumbas”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012