Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/čukati

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

Morphologically from *čukъ (“bang, clang; hammer, knocker”) +‎ *-ati. Proposed further origin:

• Vasmer, Snoj: Onomatopoeic related to Lithuanian kaũkti (“to howl”), Latvian kàukt (“to yell, to howl”), possibly Sanskrit कौति (káuti, “to cry, to lament”), Ancient Greek κωκῡ́ω (kōkū́ō, “to shriek”). Ultimately may reflect Proto-Indo-European *(s)kew- (“to growl, to wail”). Compare also Proto-Slavic *čavьka (“jackdaw”), Proto-Slavic *skovykъ ⇒ Slovene: skovȋk (“pygmy owl”), Proto-Slavic *čuxalъ ⇒ Bulgarian: чу́хал (čúhal, “scops owl”).
• Possibly an expressive k-extension of *kuti (“to hew”) +‎ *-kati, in particular for the secondary sense “to hammer, to hew”.

Verb

*čukati impf (perfective *čuknǫti)

1. to knock, to rattle, to throb

   → to caw, to cackle (in Slovene, East Slavic)

   → to hammer, to strike, to hew (in Eastern South Slavic)

Inflection

Conjugation of *čukati, *čuka, *čukajetь (impf., -a-, s-aorist, accent paradigm ?)

Verbal noun	Infinitive	Supine	L-participle
*čukanьje	*čukati	*čukatъ	*čukalъ

	Participles
Tense	Past	Present
Passive	*čukanъ	*čukajemъ
Active	*čukavъ	*čukaję

	Aorist			Present
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*čukaxъ	*čuka	*čuka	*čukajǫ	*čukaješi	*čukajetь
Dual	*čukaxově	*čukasta	*čukaste	*čukajevě	*čukajeta	*čukajete
Plural	*čukaxomъ	*čukaste	*čukašę	*čukajemъ	*čukajete	*čukajǫtь
	Imperfect			Imperative
Person	1st	2nd	3rd	1st	2nd	3rd
Singular	*čukaaxъ	*čukaaše	*čukaaše	—	*čukaji	*čukaji
Dual	*čukaaxově	*čukaašeta	*čukaašete	*čukajivě	*čukajita	—
Plural	*čukaaxomъ	*čukaašete	*čukaaxǫ	*čukajimъ	*čukajite	—

Derived terms

• *čukadlo (“hewing tool, knocker”)
• *čukanъ (“mortar”)

Related terms

• *čukъ (“hammer”)
• *čuxati (“to growl, to shoo”)
• *kukati (“to cuckoo”)
• *čučati (“to hang/sit on a high place (e.g. tree, pylon)”)
  • *čučedlo (“scarecrow”)
• *čugati (“to trim, to crop”)

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Russian: чу́кать (čúkatʹ) (dialectal)
  • Ukrainian: чу́кати (čúkaty)
• South Slavic:
  • Bulgarian: чу́кам (čúkam)
  • Macedonian: чука (čuka)
  • Slovene: čúkati

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1977), “*čukati”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 4 (*čaběniti – *děľa), Moscow: Nauka, page 131
• Snoj, Marko (2016) “čūk”, in Slovenski etimološki slovar [Slovenian Etymology Dictionary] (in Slovene), 3rd edition, https://fran.si: “sorodno z ... glagolom čúkati “oglašati se kot čuk””