Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/čitati

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 *čisti, *čьtǫ +‎ *-ati. Compare with Latgalian skaiteit, Latvian skaitīt, Lithuanian skaityti, Samogitian skaitītė.

Verb

*čitati impf^[1]^[2]^[3]

to count (determine the total number of)
Synonym: *ličiti
to divine
to read (to interpret, or infer a meaning, significance, thought, intention)
to pay attention, to pay heed, to notice, to perceive, to comprehend, to understand
to honour, to worship, to esteem, to respect

Conjugation

Conjugation of *čitati, *čita, *čitajetь (impf., -a-, s-aorist, accent paradigm ?)

Verbal noun	Infinitive	Supine	L-participle
*čitanьje	*čitati	*čitatъ	*čitalъ

	Participles
Tense	Past	Present
Passive	*čitanъ	*čitajemъ
Active	*čitavъ	*čitaję

	Aorist			Present
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*čitaxъ	*čita	*čita	*čitajǫ	*čitaješi	*čitajetь
Dual	*čitaxově	*čitasta	*čitaste	*čitajevě	*čitajeta	*čitajete
Plural	*čitaxomъ	*čitaste	*čitašę	*čitajemъ	*čitajete	*čitajǫtь
	Imperfect			Imperative
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*čitaaxъ	*čitaaše	*čitaaše	—	*čitaji	*čitaji
Dual	*čitaaxově	*čitaašeta	*čitaašete	*čitajivě	*čitajita	—
Plural	*čitaaxomъ	*čitaašete	*čitaaxǫ	*čitajimъ	*čitajite	—

Derived terms

*počitati (“to honour”)
*začitati (“to accept, to respect”)
*sъčitati (“to regard, to consider”)
*jьzčitati (“to read over”)
*perčitati (“to re-read”)
*čitateľь (“reader”)
*čitařь (“professional reader”)
*čitadlo (“reading instrument”)
*čitаlъkа (“reading room”)
*čitаlišče (“lyceum”)

Descendants

East Slavic:
- Old East Slavic: читати (čitati)
  - Old Ruthenian: чита́ти (čitáti), чыта́ти (čytáti)
    - Belarusian: чыта́ць (čytácʹ)
    - Carpathian Rusyn: чітати (čitaty)
    - Ukrainian: чита́ти (čytáty)
  - Russian: чита́ть (čitátʹ)
- Old Novgorodian: цитати (ćitati)
South Slavic:
- Old Church Slavonic:
  Old Cyrillic script: читати (čitati), чьтати (čĭtati)
  
  Glagolitic script: ⱍⰺⱅⰰⱅⰺ (čitati)
  - Bulgarian: чи́там (čítam) (dialectal)
  - Macedonian: чи́та (číta)
- Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic script: чѝтати
  
  Latin script: čìtati
- Slovene: čítati, čȋtati (tonal orthography)
West Slavic:
- Old Czech: čítati
  - Czech: čítat
- Old Polish: czytać
  - Polish: czytać
  - Silesian: czytać
- Old Slovak: čítať
  - Pannonian Rusyn: читац (čitac)
  - Slovak: čítať
- Pomeranian:
  - Kashubian: czëtac
- Sorbian:
  - Lower Sorbian: cytaś
  - Upper Sorbian: čitać

Non-Slavic:
- → Romanian: citi

References

^ Derksen, Rick (2008) “*čitati”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Slavic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 4), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 90: “v. ‘read, count’”
^ Sławski, Franciszek, editor (1976), “čisti”, in Słownik prasłowiański [Proto-Slavic Dictionary] (in Polish), volume 2 (caca – davьnota), Wrocław: Ossolineum, page 206
^ Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1977), “*čitati”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 4 (*čaběniti – *děľa), Moscow: Nauka, page 123