Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/-kati
Appearance
Proto-Slavic
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]In Proto-Slavic, and probably Proto-Indo-European, many onomatopoeic sounds ended in */k/; for example:
- *bьlkъ! → *bьlkati, *bьlčǫ/bьlkajǫ (“to sound like a blazing fire or boiling water; to babble, chatter”)
- post-PIE *plāk- (“to beat, whip”) → *plakati, *plačǫ (sę) (“to beat, whip (oneself), cry, lament”)
This caused the suffix *-k- to be reinterpreted as having expressive/onomatopoeic meaning.
Cognate with Lithuanian -ke-, -kėti, Latin -ic- (as in e.g. fod-ic-ō) and Ancient Greek -κα- (-ka-). Similar to Proto-Germanic *-kōną (and from there with English -k, German -chen, etc) even though technically not cognates.
Suffix
[edit]*-kati
- Creates onomatopoeic verbs denoting an action of mimicking a sound in the root.
- *ble! → *blekati, *blečǫ/*blekajǫ (“to sound like a sheep”)
- *kra! → *krakati, *kračǫ (“to sound like a crow”)
- *kva! → *kvakati, *kvačǫ/*kvakajǫ (“to sound like a frog, crow or duck”)
- Creates expressive and emotionally colored verbs.
- *bakati, *bakajǫ (“to shout, scold, chatter”) : *bajati (“to speak, order, bewitch”)
- *blǫkati, *blǫkajǫ (“to loiter, wander”) : *blǫditi (“id.”)
- *brukati, *brukajǫ (“to soil, pollute”) : *bruditi (“id.”)
- *čakati, *čakajǫ (“to wait”) : *čajati/*čati, *čajǫ (“id.”)
- (by extension, from the previous meaning) Creates hypocoristic and diminutive verbs.
- *běžati (“to run, quickly move”) → *běžьkati, *běžьkajǫ (“to walk, run”) (of children)
- *bosti, bodǫ (“prickle, prick”) → *bodьcati, *bodьcajǫ (“to often lightly poke”)
Related terms
[edit]- *-čati (parallel formation with the same meaning)
Derived terms
[edit]- *-i-kati, -i-kajǫ (extended form)
- *-u-kati, -u-kajǫ (extended form)
- *-y-kati, -y-kajǫ (extended form)
See also
[edit]Descendants
[edit]- East Slavic:
- South Slavic:
- West Slavic:
References
[edit]- Sławski, Franciszek, editor (1974), “*-kati”, in Słownik prasłowiański [Proto-Slavic Dictionary] (in Polish), volume 1 (a – bьzděti), Wrocław: Ossolineum, page 49