Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/degъtь

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

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *degut(j)as, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰegʷʰ-. Equivalent to Pre-Slavic *degti (“to burn, to heat”) +‎ *-ъtь.

Since Baltic forms have a clear connection between each noun and verb (cf. Lithuanian degùtas : dègti; Latvian deguts (“birch tar”) : degt) and Common Slavic has only *žeťi as a verb, *degъtь seems to be of Baltic origin. But Brückner did not see Polish dziegieć as Baltic borrowing and Derksen regards this term as a relic of Proto-Indo-European form

Noun

*degъtь m

1. tar

Related terms

• *žeťi (“to burn”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Belarusian: дзёгаць (dzjóhacʹ)
  • Russian: дёготь (djógotʹ)
  • Ukrainian: дьоготь (dʹohotʹ); (dialectal) де́готь (déhotʹ), ді́готь (díhotʹ)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: dehet
  • Kashubian: dzekc, dzegc
  • Polish: dziegieć
  • Slovak: decht

• → Hungarian: deget

Further reading

• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “деготь”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1977), “*degъtь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 4 (*čaběniti – *děľa), Moscow: Nauka, page 204