Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/di

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

Unclear. Formally fits Proto-Indo-European *deyh₁- (“to impel, to chase”) whence archaic Latvian diet (“to dance”).

Interjection

*di

1. Exclamation for attracting attention: hey, oi (in Russian)
2. Call for urging an animal to move (typically a horse or another harness stock): giddy up, go (in Bulgarian, Polish)

Alternative forms

• *dьji (as if imperative 2p. sg. form of hypothetical *diti)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Russian: ди (di) (colloquial)
    • ⇒ Russian: ди́ба (díba, “call for evoking a poultry bird”)
    • ⇒ Russian: ди́га (díga, “call for chasing away a poultry bird”)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: ди (di), дий (dij)
• West Slavic:
  • Polish: dzi (dialectal)

Further reading

• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “ди, дий”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 380
• Anikin, A. E. (2019) “диба II”, in Русский этимологический словарь [Russian Etymological Dictionary] (in Russian), numbers 13 (два – дигло), Moscow: Russian Language Institute, →ISBN, page 351
• Anikin, A. E. (2019) “дига”, in Русский этимологический словарь [Russian Etymological Dictionary] (in Russian), numbers 13 (два – дигло), Moscow: Russian Language Institute, →ISBN, page 366