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Appendix:Proto-Balto-Slavic Swadesh list

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

This is a Swadesh list of words in Proto-Balto-Slavic, compared with definitions in English.

Presentation

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For further information, including the full final version of the list, read the Wikipedia article: Swadesh list.

American linguist Morris Swadesh believed that languages changed at measurable rates and that these could be determined even for languages without written precursors. Using vocabulary lists, he sought to understand not only change over time but also the relationships of extant languages. To be able to compare languages from different cultures, he based his lists on meanings he presumed would be available in as many cultures as possible. He then used the fraction of agreeing cognates between any two related languages to compute their divergence time by some (still debated) algorithms. Starting in 1950 with 165 meanings, his list grew to 215 in 1952, which was so expansive that many languages lacked native vocabulary for some terms. Subsequently, it was reduced to 207, and reduced much further to 100 meanings in 1955. A reformulated list was published posthumously in 1971.

List

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EnglishProto-Balto-Slavic
edit (180)
1I (1sg)*ēź-, *ēˀźun
2you (2sg)*tūˀ
3he, she, it (3sg)*ís, *anas
4we (1pl)*mes
5you (2pl)*jūˀs
6they (3pl)*eis
7this*śis
8that*tas, *anas
9here*śei
10there
11who*kas
12what*ki
13where*ku
14when*kadā́ˀ
15how*kā́ˀkas
16not*ne
17all*wišas
18many*managas
19some*kelis
20few
21other*kitas
22one*aiˀnas, *eiˀnas
23two*duwō
24three*tríjes
25four*ketúres
26five*pénki
27big
28long*dílˀgas
29wide*platús
30thick*stā́ˀras
31heavy*tingús
32small*(s)malas
33short*kartus
34narrow*ánźus
35thin*tenˀwas
36woman*génāˀ
37man (adult male)*wī́ˀras
38man (human being)*źmō
39child*dēˀtis, *waikas
40wife*génāˀ
41husband*mangjás
42mother*mā́ˀtē
43father*áta
44animal*źwēˀrís
45fish*źū́ˀs
46bird*putā́ˀ
47dog*śwṓ
48louse*(l)úšis
49snake*ángis
50worm*kírmis
51tree*dérwa
52forest*lḗˀsus, *medjā́ˀ
53stick*kaukas
54fruit*awáktis
55seed*sḗˀmen
56leaf*lápas, *léistas
57root*kárō
58bark (of a tree)*karā́ˀ
59flower*kwaitas
60grass*trāˀwā́ˀ
61rope*wírwis
62skin*ā́dāˀ
63meat*mēnsāˀ, *mḗns
64blood*krauja, *krū́ˀs
65bone*káuˀlas
66fat (noun)*tauˀkás
67egg*ṓja
68horn*rágas
69tail
70feather*plúnksnāˀ
71hair*kasā́ˀ, *válśas
72head*galˀwā́ˀ
73ear*áušis
74eye*ak-
75nose*nasús, *nāˀs
76mouth*áusta
77tooth*dantís, *źámbas
78tongue (organ)*inźūˀ
79fingernail*nagutis
80foot*pēdā́ˀ
81leg*nagā́ˀ
82knee*kal-, *kel-
83hand*ránkāˀ
84wing*spárnas
85belly*wēˀdera
86guts
87neck*grī́ˀwāˀ
88back
89breast*pírˀśis
90heart*śḗr, *śirˀdís
91liver*entrá, *jaknāˀ
92to drink
93to eat*ḗˀstei
94to bite*kánˀstei
95to suck
96to spit*(s)pjáutei
97to vomit*rūˀgā́ˀtei, *bljáuˀtei
98to blow*dúmˀtei, *wḗˀtei
99to breathe*dūšā́ˀtei
100to laugh*smijḗˀtei
101to see*weiˀdēˀtei
102to hear*klauˀšitei
103to know*źnōˀtei
104to think*minḗˀtei
105to smell*ṓˀstei
106to fear*bajā́ˀtei
107to sleep
108to live*gīˀwetei
109to die*mertéi, *mir-
110to kill*maréitei
111to fight*bárˀtei
112to hunt*lavī́ˀtei
113to hit*káuˀtei
114to cut*gínˀtei, *skerstei, *tinˀtei
115to split*skéltei, *dail-
116to stab*bádīˀtei, *bestei, *kálˀtei
117to scratch*késtei
118to dig*grebtei
119to swim*plauˀtei
120to fly
121to walk*éitei
122to come
123to lie (as in a bed)*légtei
124to sit*sēdḗˀtei
125to stand*stā́ˀtei
126to turn (intransitive)*wirtḗˀtei, *wártīˀtei, *suk-
127to fall*pṓˀstei
128to give*dṓˀtei
129to hold
130to squeeze*gémtei
131to rub*térˀtei, *tírˀtei
132to wash
133to wipe
134to pull*tíngtei, *wílktei
135to push*ráiˀtei
136to throw*méstei, *wérˀgtei
137to tie
138to sew*sjū́ˀtei
139to count*(s)keistéi, *(s)keitā́ˀtei
140to say*sákīˀtei
141to sing*gāˀi-, *páitei
142to play*igrā́ˀtei
143to float*plū́ˀtei
144to flow*téktei, *bḗˀgtei
145to freeze*mírźtei
146to swell*brínktei
147sun*súlˀnis, *sáuˀlijāˀ
148moon*láukšnāˀ, *mḗˀn(e)s-, *mḗˀnō
149star*źwaisdā́ˀ
150water*wandō
151rain*dúsdjas
152river*raikā́ˀ, *ápāˀ
153lake*éźera
154sea*mári
155salt*sal-, *sāl-
156stone*ákmō, *kā́ˀmō
157sand
158dust*páršas, *pírštis
159earth*źemē
160cloud*néba
161fog*míglāˀ
162sky
163wind*wḗˀtrāˀ
164snow*snáigas
165ice*ledús
166smoke*dū́ˀmas
167fire*úngnis
168ash*pel-
169to burn*degtéi
170road*pántis
171mountain*garā́ˀ
172red*raudas
173green*źelˀ-
174yellow*gílˀtas
175white*balˀta
176black*kiršnas
177night*náktis
178day*deinas, *dinas
179year
180warm*téplas
181cold
182full*pílˀnas
183new*náujas, *náwas
184old*sénas, *wétušas
185good
186bad
187rotten*gnéiˀlas
188dirty
189straight*prṓˀwas
190round
191sharp (as a knife)*aśrás
192dull (as a knife)
193smooth*glā́ˀdus
194wet*walg-
195dry*saušás
196correct
197near*tuwas
198far
199right*déśinas
200left*laiˀwás
201at*prei
202in*in
203with*śun
204and
205if*ar
206because
207name*inˀmen

References

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  • Derksen, Rick (2008) Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
  • Derksen, Rick (2015) Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 13), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN

See also

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Swadesh lists
Individual languages
Language families, family branches, and geographic groupings
Constructed languages
Reconstructed proto-languages
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