Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/klětь

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

Akin to Latvian klẽts (“barn”), Lithuanian klė́tis (“barn”), Old Prussian clenan. Either:

• From an earlier *klḗˀtis, cognate with the Baltic terms; perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *kelH- (“to rise”). In this case, one would expect fixed accent (AP A).
• From an earlier *klaitís, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (“to cover”), with Baltic words borrowed from Slavic. Further akin to Proto-Indo-European *ḱléytreh₂ (“shelter”), Lithuanian klaĩmas (“sty”), Proto-Slavic *xlěvъ (“pen, fold”) (Germanic loanword). Disputed by Vasmer and Derksen.

Noun

*klě̑tь f

1. the commonality in all the descendants, including some derived terms (closet, hut, cabin, cage, granary, cellar, barn), is that of a 'closed space'

Declension

Declension of *klě̑tь (i-stem, accent paradigm c)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*klě̑tь	*klě̑ti	*klě̑ti
genitive	*klětí	*klětьjù, *klěťu*	*klětь̀jь
dative	*klě̑ti	*klětьmà	*klě̑tьmъ
accusative	*klě̑tь	*klě̑ti	*klě̑ti
instrumental	*klětьjǫ́	*klětьmà	*klětьmì
locative	*klětí	*klětьjù, *klěťu*	*klě̑tьxъ
vocative	*klěti	*klě̑ti	*klě̑ti

^* 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).

Alternative forms

• *klětъ (o-stem)

Derived terms

• *klětъka
• *klětьca
• *klětьnъ

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: клѣть (klětĭ)
    • Belarusian: клець (kljecʹ)
    • Russian: клеть (kletʹ)
    • Ukrainian: кліть (klitʹ)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Old Cyrillic script: клѣть (klětĭ)

    Glagolitic script: ⰽⰾⱑⱅⱐ (klětĭ)

    • Church Slavonic (Russian recension): клѣть (klětĭ)
  • Bulgarian: клет (klet)
  • Macedonian: клет (klet), клед (kled)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: кли̏јет, Cyrillic script: крлетка

    Latin script: klȉjet, Latin script: krletka

  • Slovene: klẹ̑t (tonal orthography)
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: klec, Czech: kleť
  • Polish: kleć
    • →? German: Klitsche
• Non-Slavic:
  • → Medieval Latin: clēda
  • → Middle High German: glēt, klēt m
    • Yiddish: קלייט f (kleyt)
    • Baltic and East Prussian German: Klete, Kleete f
  • → Middle Low German: klêt, kleit m

References

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1983), “*klětь/*klětъ”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 10 (*klepačь – *konь), Moscow: Nauka, page 25
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “клеть”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress