Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/klętva

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

Verbal noun of *klęti (“to swear”) +‎ *-tva.

Noun

*klętva f

1. curse, imprecation

   Synonym: *proklętьje

2. oath, vow

   Synonyms: *prisęga, *rota, *obětъ

Inflection

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

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*klętva	*klę̀tvě	*klę̀tvy
genitive	*klę̀tvy	*klę̀tvu	*klę̀tvъ
dative	*klę̀tvě	*klę̀tvama	*klę̀tvamъ
accusative	*klę̀tvǫ	*klę̀tvě	*klę̀tvy
instrumental	*klę̀tvojǫ, *klę̀tvǭ**	*klę̀tvama	*klę̀tvamī
locative	*klę̀tvě	*klę̀tvu	*klę̀tvasъ, *klę̀tvaxъ*
vocative	*klę̀tvo	*klę̀tvě	*klę̀tvy

^* -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).

Related terms

• *klętьba (“curse”)
• *klętьje (“damnation, execration”)
• *klętъ (“cursed, damned”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: клꙗтва (kljatva)
    • Belarusian: кля́тва (kljátva)
    • Russian: кля́тва (kljátva)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: клѧтва (klętva)

    Glagolitic script: ⰽⰾⱔⱅⰲⰰ (klętva)

  • Bulgarian: кле́тва (klétva)
  • Macedonian: клетва (kletva)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: кле̑тва

    Latin script: klȇtva

• West Slavic:
  • Old Czech: klatva, kletva
  • Polish: klątwa

Further Reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1983), “*klętva”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 10 (*klepačь – *konь), Moscow: Nauka, page 39
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “клятва”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1979), “клетва”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volumes 2 (и – крепя̀), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 441