Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/bolь

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

The only parallels exist in Germanic languages: compare Old English bealo (“evil”), Old Norse bǫl and Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐍅𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (balweins, “torture”). Proto-Indo-European root is unclear. Derksen derives it from Proto-Indo-European *bʰol(H)-i- with Old Cornish bal (“illness”) as a further cognate.

Noun

*bȍlь f

1. pain

Inflection

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

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*bȍlь	*bȍli	*bȍli
genitive	*bolí	*bolьjù, *boľu*	*bolь̀jь
dative	*bȍli	*bolьmà	*bȍlьmъ
accusative	*bȍlь	*bȍli	*bȍli
instrumental	*bolьjǫ́	*bolьmà	*bolьmì
locative	*bolí	*bolьjù, *boľu*	*bȍlьxъ
vocative	*boli	*bȍli	*bȍli

^* 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).

Derived terms

• *bolestь

Alternative reconstructions

• *bȍľь (Trubachev (ESSJa))

Descendants

• East Slavic:
  • Old East Slavic: боль (bolĭ)
    • Old Belarusian: боль (bolʹ)
      • Belarusian: боль m (bolʹ)
    • Russian: боль f (bolʹ)
    • Carpathian Rusyn: боль m (bolʹ)
    • Ukrainian: біль m (bilʹ)
      • → Carpathian Rusyn: біль m (bilʹ)
• South Slavic:
  • Old Church Slavonic:

    Cyrillic: боль f (bolĭ)

    Glagolitic: ⰱⱁⰾⱐ f (bolĭ)

  • Bulgarian: бо́лка f (bólka), бол m (bol) (dialectal)
  • Macedonian: болка f (bolka)
  • Serbo-Croatian:

    Cyrillic script: бо̑л f or m

    Latin script: bȏl f or m

  • Slovene: ból f
• West Slavic:
  • Czech: bol m
  • Polish: ból m
  • Old Slovak: bôľ m
    • Pannonian Rusyn: боль m (bolʹ)
    • Slovak: bôľ m
  • Polabian: *bül ?
  • Pomeranian:
    • Kashubian: ból m
    • Slovincian: ból m
  • Sorbian:
    • Lower Sorbian: ból f
    • Upper Sorbian: ból f

• → Romanian: boală

Further reading

• Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1975), “*boljь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 2 (*bez – *bratrъ), Moscow: Nauka, page 191
• Vasmer, Max (1964–1973) “боль”, in Oleg Trubachyov, transl., Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), Moscow: Progress