Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/bьčela
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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[edit]
Etymology[edit]
1. Sometimes explained as a deverbative of *bučati (“to make noise, roar”) and reconstructed as *bъčela. A bee is, therefore, the one that makes noise.
2. Alternatively from North-West Proto-Indo-European *bʰi-kʷe- (“bee, stinging insect”), an extension of root *bʰi- (“to hit, strike”) - compare *biti (“to beat, hit”).
The Psalterium Sinaiticum contains the only Old Church Slavonic instance of бьчела (bĭčela) but since the form бъчела (bŭčela) is just as rare, it is impossible to precisely reconstruct the late Proto-Slavic form of this word on the basis of Old Church Slavonic. Since this Proto-Slavic word was an oxytone, none of the descendant languages retain a reflex of the medial weak jer.
Baltic cognates (Latvian bite, Lithuanian bìtė, Old Prussian bitte) would in that case render the Proto-Balto-Slavic forms as *bikelē and *bitē.
3. The root of the abovementioned Proto-Balto-Slavic forms may in turn be a cognate of the roots in Old Irish bech (Irish beach), Old High German bīa, Old English bēo (English bee), Dutch bij, dialectal German Beie (German Biene), Old Norse bý (Danish bi). If so, the ultimate source is Proto-Indo-European *bʰey-.
Noun[edit]
Declension[edit]
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *bьčelà | *bьčèlě | *bьčelỳ |
| Accusative | *bьčelǫ̀ | *bьčèlě | *bьčelỳ |
| Genitive | *bьčelỳ | *bьčelù | *bьčèlъ |
| Locative | *bьčelě̀ | *bьčelù | *bьčelàsъ, *bьčelàxъ* |
| Dative | *bьčelě̀ | *bьčelàma | *bьčelàmъ |
| Instrumental | *bьčelòjǫ, *bьčèlǫ** | *bьčelàma | *bьčelàmī |
| Vocative | *bьčelo | *bьčèlě | *bьčelỳ |
** 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).
See also[edit]
Descendants[edit]
- East Slavic:
- South Slavic:
- West Slavic:
Further reading[edit]
- Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1976), “*bъčela”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological Dictionary of Slavic Languages] (in Russian), volume 3 (*bratrьcь – *cьrky), Moscow: Nauka, page 104
References[edit]
- ^ Derksen, Rick (2008), “*bьčelà”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 72: “f. ā (b) ‘bee’”
- ^ Olander, Thomas (2001), “bьčela bьčely”, in Common Slavic accentological word list, Copenhagen: Editiones Olander: “b/c bee (PR 135)”